“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8
The audience at the Sermon on the Mount is learning very quickly that the life Jesus is talking about in the kingdom of God is not possible. They know their hearts and they know they do not meet these standards. That is exactly where Christ needs them to be. He wants them to realize their life of outward works and self-righteousness is not sufficient to enter the kingdom of God. Only then will they turn and cry out to God to save them. With the sixth beatitude the
Lord makes an unbelievable statement. Those who receive the blessing of living in God’s kingdom are pure in heart. They audience knows this is impossible for them. We know this is impossible for us; it can only be produced as the Spirit of God who lives inside us and has control over our lives.
Blessed We need to keep remembering this word and its meaning. Many read it and skip it over it – it is repeated for a purpose. Many simply think of blessed as being happy – we are happy in our lives as
we live this way. While this is true and important, this is not the focus of the Lord’s message. He describes those who are blessed by God through entrance into His kingdom We cannot read the sermon on the Mount and fail to see this emphasis. This is God’s word not how Judaism interpreted God’s law. God’s blessing results because of what is in the heart not what man tries to earn by doing.
The pure in heart The Lord says a characteristic of the people who live in His kingdom is they are pure on heart. The word pure means unmixed with anything undesirable – unstained and upright. Everyone who knows his heart and is broken in spirit over his sin knows his heart is stained. The Lord says the pureness required is not outward in nature. It resides in the heart. The heart is scripture refers to the center of our desires; it drives our will; it is what we do and think. How can he ever reach a state of being 100% pure, of being holy like God? It is impossible and that is exactly what the Lord is teaching his audience. Man’s works will not get us into God’s kingdom. If that is the case, our only hope is to turn to God. This is David’s plea to God in Psalm 51:10.
There are two important points here. God is concerned with inner moral purity not ceremonial purity and observance. The second point is of he heart is to be single and undivided, totally sincere in their devotion and commitment to God.
What can we learn? The word for “pure” used here is katharos meaning ti be “blameless or unstained from guilt.” It can also
refer specifically to that which is purified by fire. John the Baptist told people that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). Malachi speaks of the Messiah as being like a “refiner’s fire” (Malachi 3:2) This reminds us of the Bema Seat where each true child of God stands before the Lord and has his works judged by fire. The wood, the hay, the stubble is burned away. What is left is pure, it lasts for eternity and it will determine the nature of our relationship with God in heaven. This is why Jesus prunes, corrects, us in this life – He cuts away non-fruit-bearing activities so we will have fruit that remains from a pure heart. This can only be produced by God living though us. When that happens, God makes our heart pure and the fruit of our life pleasing to Him. This is what ”growing in grace” produces in the heart and life of a believer.