Creator, Father, King #171

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE the television, Internet, social media, and everything else that drives news and popularity, Jesus was A BIG DEAL. Huge crowds followed him as he traveled throughout Galilee proclaiming the gospel and healing people.

Seeing the multitudes, he climbed a mountainside and taught the people in what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5–7). Jesus began with a series of blessings we refer to as “The Beatitudes” (from the Latin word beatus, meaning “blessed” or “happy”), featuring nine types of people whom God blesses. Today’s verse—“God blesses those whose hearts are pure”—is one example.

The Beatitudes, like the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, were unlike anything the crowds had ever heard.

What’s It Mean?

Just like John the Baptist before him, Jesus came declaring, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). But quite frankly, his original audience didn’t know how to do that—or that they even needed to. The hard-hearted, hypocritical Pharisees and religious leaders of first-century Palestine had taught the people for centuries that God’s blessings were for (1) Abraham’s descendants and (2) scrupulous adherents to the Old Testament law and traditions of the Jewish elders.

However, a right relationship with God is not a matter of religious observances, but a matter of the heart. So Jesus taught the people what true “blessedness” really looks like.

He taught them that God blesses those whose hearts are pure (today’s verse). He told them God blesses those who “mourn” over their sin (Matthew 5:4), show humility before God (verse 5), “hunger and thirst for justice” (verse 6), are “merciful” (verse 7), and so on.

Of course, no one can earn salvation—or a “blessed” relationship with God—through these actions and traits. Rather, these things are indicative of people whose hearts have already been changed by God’s Spirit and are now part of his Kingdom—enjoying and seeking his blessings.

What is your relationship with God like? Are you seeking his blessings through external performance? If so, you’ll be nothing more than a hypocritical Pharisee. But if you trust in Christ for your righteousness and seek to honor God with a “Beatitude heart,” you will be blessed!

Now What?

Read through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 and pray about the areas you need to grow in.

Did You Know?

Luke 6:17-49 bears many similarities to the Sermon on the Mount. Biblical scholars, who sometimes refer to this as the Sermon on the Plain, are divided regarding whether it describes the same event featured in Matthew 5–7.