Blessed are the 'Pure in Heart'

Last Week:

We learned that mercy is not something that comes to us naturally

We often want to lash out at people and give them ‘what they deserve’

But Jesus offers a different way: a way of mercy

And the great promise of showing mercy to others is the fact that we will be shown mercy by God

Today we head on the the next beatitude, the pure in heart:

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 5:1–12 (CSB)

When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the humble,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

What is the ‘heart’?

Before we address what it means to be ‘pure in heart’ we need to know what the heart is

Backpack analogy - labels

ASK: What is the heart?

It’s more than just our feelings

What did the authors of the Bible mean by the ‘heart’?

What did Jesus mean by the ‘heart’?

What ideas do we share with the Biblical authors?

Source of sustaining life

Physical organ for pumping blood and sustaining life

Center of our emotional life

This we get.

We think ‘the heart is what you feel’

We oppose our heart and our minds:

Our heart is what we feel

Our minds are what we think

We even think of the phrase: ‘follow your heart’

Not what logically makes sense, not wisdom from others

But what we feel is right at the moment

Even in the Bible:

The heart is where you feel emotions. You feel pain in your heart, like Hannah did when she couldn’t have any children.

1 Samuel 1:8 (NASB)

Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad?

Your heart is also where you experience joy. In Hebrew, to be happy is to be “good of heart” or to have a “heart of joy.”

Judges 16:23-25 (ESV)

23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them.

In fact, the phrase “a broken heart” comes from biblical Hebrew. You also experience fear in your heart. Your heart can melt or be distressed. Your heart can even be depressed.

This isn’t anything new to us, but the Bible is on the same page

What else did Biblical authors mean?

We have some agreement and understanding with the authors of the Bible on what the heart means

But in the Bible it means more than just what we feel at any given time

Seat of intellectual activity

Israelites had no concept of the brain or any word for it. They imagined that all of a human’s intellectual activity takes place in the heart. For example, you know with your heart. Your heart is where you understand and make connections.

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom dwells in the heart.

Proverbs 14:33 (CSB)

Wisdom resides in the heart of the discerning;

she is known even among fools.

And your heart is what you use to discern between truth and error, like Solomon did when he was king.

1 Kings 10:24 (CSB)

The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.

So the heart in the Bible is more than something we feel with, its something that we think with

And perhaps even more fundamental than something we feel or think with, our hearts are the:

Center of affection and will

It is the place deep down in us where we make decisions and our deepest desires are kept

Psalm 37:4 (CSB)

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Proverbs 16:9 (CSB)

A person’s heart plans his way,

but the Lord determines his steps.

In summary: Your entire being

One of my professors calls the heart the human ‘control panel’

It entails our feelings, thoughts, desires, decision making

Its how we experience and process the world and how we make decisions while we live in the world

So then, in the Bible, the heart is the center of all parts of human existence. As in the well-known Proverb:

Proverbs 4:23 (CSB)

Guard your heart above all else,

for it is the source of life.

Matthew 12:34 (ESV)

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

And as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago:

Jeremiah 17:9 (CSB)

The heart is more deceitful than anything else,

and incurable—who can understand it?

We find ourselves in a deep problem

The way we think, feel, understand, desire, and make decisions is deceitful

Just like in the garden, we define good and evil on our own terms

Usually at the detriment of others

So now that we know what the ‘heart’ is in the terms of the Bible:

What does it mean to be ‘pure in heart’?

We also bring many ideas along

What does it mean to be pure?

When we think of purity, we often associate it with sexual purity and moral terms, terms like holiness, or maybe being free from sin, and guilt.

So we export that meaning into ‘pure in heart’

Those who have hearts that are free from sin

Those who have no feelings of guilt

And just like our teaching on hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I think we can miss the point

Some people teach that this is only something that passively happens to us

We can turn it into ‘blessed are those that believe in Jesus’s work on the cross and receive the purity he brings’

But I think Jesus is reaching at something deeper here

What does Jesus mean by ‘pure in heart’?

The term pure, really means to be whole, undivided, unclouded, clear, single focused.

“Purity of heart then means a complete and single-minded devotion to God that is rooted in the heart but expresses itself in everything we do" - Peter Leithart

A searching question is who are we when no one is around? Are we selective in those we love, forgive, show mercy to? Are we selective in our righteousness and justice that we deal out. This is all evidence of a divided (impure) heart.

We will see this throughout the Sermon on the Mount, but the contrast we will see throughout the entire sermon is not Righteous vs. Unrighteous

The good person vs the evil person

Instead the contrast is between the Righteous vs Hypocrite

The person that does good from the heart and the person that does good with a divided heart

We see this in:

Murder/Adultery in the heart

Prayer/Fasting/Giving

Two Foundations (unseen)

So purity of heart is about being a single-minded, transparent, unbiased in our thoughts and actions

It is about being an authentic, without mixed motives, to everyone we interact with

Ask: Have you ever had someone be extremely nice to you and wonder what their motives are?

Is it something they want from me?

What is their motive?

Dafna/Steven

We are called to be people of integrity

What people see is exactly what they get

We behave the same whether or not anyone is looking because we are ultimately aiming to serve God

And this is something that is super simple but extremely difficult in practice

We are all two-faced

We choose to be loving and kind to others,

We choose to ignore and avoid others,

James 2

Later in the SotM Jesus says:

Matthew 5:46–48 (CSB)

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Indiscriminate Compassion

“What is indiscriminate compassion? Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, ‘I shall offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people?’ Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could only do that by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature---even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is the first quality of love---its indiscriminate character”

And like all of the rest of the beatitudes, Jesus is not just saying to be this to be this

He is saying that this is the best way to live our lives, this is a life of flourishing

The world tells us to fend for ourselves and ‘our people’

We view relationships as transactional

Im only going to bless those who can bless me back

Im only going to spend time talking to my friends and ignore others (in this room)

We are told we cant be ‘pure in heart’ because people will take advantage of us

And you need to have discernment, you shouldn’t willingly put yourself in repeated positions where you are taken advantage of

But we are called to be loving people like in

1 Corinthians 13:7 CSB

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Part of being a Christian is believing the best in people and putting ourselves in a position to be hurt

But the world says not to ever do that, only spend your resources on those who can repay you

Why is this a blessing?

This isn’t just a way to live because Jesus says so, it is a blessing, it is the way to live a flourishing life.

The blessing is that:

They will see God

And this is because our hearts are distracted and divided:

Isaiah 59:1–3 (CSB)

Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save,

and his ear is not too deaf to hear.

But your iniquities are separating you

from your God,

and your sins have hidden his face from you

so that he does not listen.

For your hands are defiled with blood

and your fingers, with iniquity;

your lips have spoken lies,

and your tongues mutter injustice.

But as we focus on God with a pure and undivided heart

He will make himself known to us

If we run away from God and ignore him

He is not going to force himself onto us

But if we make ourselves known to God, he will make himself known to us

If we honor God, he will honor us

Isaiah 58:6-12 (NLT)

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.

What Scripture has to say:

Psalm 24:3–6 (CSB)

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who has not appealed to what is false,

and who has not sworn deceitfully.

He will receive blessing from the Lord,

and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Such is the generation of those who inquire of him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Selah

Psalm 16:11 (NASB)

You will make known to me the way of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Jeremiah 29:13 (CSB)

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

2 Chronicles 16:9 (CSB)

For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.

1 John 3:2–3 (CSB)

Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

Psalm 73

If we wholeheartedly love God and others, God will show up in our lives

We will see God and we will see him work in our midst

But this isn’t something we can hunker down and do in our own strength...

Zechariah 4:6 (CSB)

‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.

God will do it

Ezekiel 11:19–21 (NLT)

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.

But as for those who [whose hearts] long for vile images and detestable idols, I will repay them fully for their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!

This isn’t something we can do on our own

But its not something we are completely passive in

Psalm 51

I want to leave us with some wisdom:

Proverbs 4:20-27 (NLT)

20 My child, pay attention to what I say.

Listen carefully to my words.

21 Don’t lose sight of them.

Let them penetrate deep into your heart,

22 for they bring life to those who find them,

and healing to their whole body.

23 Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life.

24 Avoid all perverse talk;

stay away from corrupt speech.

25 Look straight ahead,

and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;

stay on the safe path.

27 Don’t get sidetracked;

keep your feet from following evil.

Set your path

Guard your heart

Your emotions

Your thought

Your desires

Your actions