2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Pure in Heart - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Pure in Heart - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Blessed are the

Pure

in

Heart

Jess

Stanfield

Zion Presbyterian Church

Macon

Ga

t is possible that the Gospel of Matthew was

written soon after Jesus'

ascension. He wrote

t to his

Jewish

brethren to

convince

them

that

Jesus was the promised King and Messiah and

also to point out that He was the

one

who

would

heal and restore

the

kingdom of God. This was

the good news according to Ivlatthew which

what

he announced

to his fellow countrymen.

Throughout this gospel, Matthew records 5

stimulating discourses

on

the kingdom of

heaven.

These heavenly discourses vary in

length (but

not

in

emphasis)

- each one makes

a

special

point

on

the

nature

and essence of

the

heavenly kingdom. Even the

discourses

that

barely

mal{c a

chapter

are worthy of our

meditation and theological consideration. These

discourses

are rich in

content

and

truth

and

will help every generation

understand

better

the kingdom of heaven established

by God on

earth through His beloved Son, Jesus

Christ.

The

first

discourse is

found in

chapters 5-7 - the

familiar

Sermon

on

the Mount. In this discourse,

Jesus teaches us about

the

righteousness

of

the

kingdom. Jesus announces

true

religion is one of

the heart, and all obedience must be

born from

an undefined, pure heart. He accepts nothing

less. Matthew's second discourse is found in

chapter 10. In this

discourse,

Jesus teaches us

about the power and authority of

the

kingdom

of

heaven

through the preaching and teaching

of the kingdom. The third discourse is

found

in

chapter 13, where Jesus teaches us the

kingdom

The

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of heaven is an ever-increasing

and expanding kingdom until it

fills

the

whole earth. This third

discourse

describes the "nature

of

the kingdom

of heaven.

The

fourth discourse

is found

in

chapter

18

and

is

shorter

than

all

the

others.

Its primary focus is

the "humility and

mercy

of the

kingdom

of heaven.

The

final

discourse

is found in chapters

24-25,

where Jesus predicts the

final

trimnph

of the kingdom

of

heaven.

Jesus

announces

that He is

coming

in

judgment

on Jerusalem because of their

apostasy and declares

He is

also

coming

again at the end

of

all history,

and then

He

will

completely eliminate

sin

and

death at I Iis final coming. He

will

have fulfilled all that He

came

to do and nothing is left

to be

accomplished. The words

of

John

will be fulfilled, Jesus came to

destroy

the works of the deviL

Matthew's Gospel is

more

of a

tract than

a

biography

of

Jesus'

life.

In

t you find all that is needed

to demonstrate that Jesus is the

Christ,

God's

promised Messiah

and

King, and all who

refuse

to

submit

to His

rule

and

kiss I Iis

cheek will

be

ground

to

dust.

A Word Concerning

the Beatitudes

This

portion of the

Sermon

on the Mount is

called

the

"Beatitudes" though the word

itsel f is not found in the Greek

text;

these

pronouncements

are frequently called

beatitudes

because in this passage

Jesus

begins each

statement with

a blessing.

The

English word

"beatitude"

is

derived from the

Latin

'beatus'

meaning blessed.

The Greek

word

translated

'blessed' is

makarios, which some

translations render

happy.

This

translation

is unfortunate because

l\ Iaking

the

Nations

Christ s

Disciples

it

misses

the

richness

of

the

actual intended connotation; not

to

mention

it

fosters a

common

theological

misunderstanding,

for

it

drives a wedge

between

the

Old

and New Testaments

and

it replaces

a

concrete and

covenantal

word

like

"blessed"

with

the more narrow word

happy.

This mistake comes not

because

happiness isn't

implied

in

being blessed, but rather

happiness

alone

fans

tremendously

short

of

the

full

idea conveyed

in our Lord's use of

the word

blessed . One significant reason

this interpretation

lends itself

to

theological

error

is t

disrupts

the unity and continuity

of

sclipture.

Settling

for

the word

"happy"

tends

to ignore the

covenantal relationship

of

the

Covenant

of

Grace applied

under

two

administrations.

A

faithful

expositor has

said,

"For happiness

is a subjective

state,

whereas Jesus

is

making an

objective judgment

about these people. He is

declaring

not what they

feel

like, but what

God thinks

of

them and on

that

account they are "blessedL"l

Jesus

uses

the term blessed,

covenantally, and this

is

exactly

how we are to

understand it, in

light of the Old

Covenant

blessings

and cursings

initiated

particularly

Deuteronomy

28. Moses clearly

affirmed to those

members of

the

Church

going

into the Promised

Land that "they who diligently

keep

His commandments" are

blessed and they

who

fell short

of

keeping

His

commandments

diligently,

God was

not

pleased

with and were cursed.

Like Moses,

Jesus

emphasizes the covenantal

characteristic

of God's

kingdom.

In

Luke's acoount of this same

sermon he gives the woes

Jesus used warning those who

had forgotten

or ignored

they

were in

a

relationship God

had

established

with their

fathers

and

God expected them

to

maintain

their

covenant

obligations. These

woes pronounced by the Lord

are nothing

less

than the curses

of

the Covenant

of

grace

given

by

Moses

1500 years

earlier.

Jesus

pronounced

woes (curses)

upon

the Scribes

and

Pharisees,

"you blind Pharisee, first clean

the

inside

of

the cup

and of

the

dish,

so that the outside

of

it may

become clean

also. Woe

to you,

scribes

and

Pharisees,

hypocrites

For you are like whitewashed

tombs

which

on the

outside

appear beautiful, but inside they

are

full of

dead men's

bones

and

all

uncleanness.

So you, too,

outwardly appear righteous

to

men,

but

inwardly

you

are

full of

hypocrisy and

lawlessness.

The

bedrock of Judaism was

deep

hypocrisy and self-righteousness;

this was

the

cause for

Jesus'

woeful pronouncements. By doing

so He

was

confirming

that

the

law

of

God

never

ceased being

their

standard

of

obedience even

i the

Scribes

and

Pharisees

snubbed it by replacing

it

with

their

own standards.

Those serving

faithfully and

obediently

are blessed in their

estates,

families, relationships,

bodies,

and

minds. This

blessedness encompasses

a

great

deal more then happiness:

t

includes man's entire

being

and every facet of life.

Blessing

and

the

New

Covenant

Understanding

these

beatitudes, or

blessings

in light

of the New

Covenant

being a

better

covenant, seems

to be a

forgotten

hermeneutic among

contemporary theologians. That

is

can the

blessings

of the Old

Covenant be

exceedingly greater

and more comprehensive than the

blessings of

the

New

Covenant?


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lessed are the Pnre in Heart

No;

not

at

all There is only one

Covenant of Grace under two

administrations;

it's not

absurd

to think the blessings under both

are

essentially

the

same

as well.

However,

Jesus

being

the

Prophet,

Priest

and

King of His

people

have

secured

for

them in

abundance

these promised blessings. He

has

secured these blessings

by

His

own

obedience

for

those who

trust

and

rest in

Him by

faith.

"Now He who establishes us

with you

in

Christ and anointed

us is God, who also sealed us and

gave us the Spirit in our hearts as

a pledge." 2 Corinthians

1:21-22

How can we separate the

meaning

of

Jesus'

words from

the Old

Covenant? Instead, we

should recognize them in light

of it,

remembering

Matthew

was writing to persuade his

countrymen

who were familiar

with the

Old

Testament scripture.

How appealing

would

it be for

the Jews to embrace Jesus as the

promised

Messiah

and King i

He

only

offered

the

petty

blesSing

of

external

and

momentary

happiness,

compared

to the

complex and

comprehensive

blessings of Moses that

they surely

understoodr

Furthermore,

how

can

the

Church expect

to

be

salt

and light provoking

the Jewish

people to embrace

Christ

as the

Messiah and Deliverer i Moses'

blessings

are

better then

Jesus'?

Matthew

is clearly pointing out

that Jesus is pronouncing the

same

covenant

blesSings

as

Moses

did

but with greater urgency, for

the axe

is already

at

the

root

of

the

tree",

and

hope.

Come

to

Me.

all who

are

weary and

heavy-laden,

and 1 will give

you

rest.

Take

My yoke upon you and

learn

from Me. for I

am

gentle

and humble in heart, and

YOU

WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR

SOULS. For My yoke is easy

and

My burden is light." Matthew

11:28-30. Jesus

has

secured

these

tremendous blesSings for all who

will rest in I-lim;

all who

will call

upon

Him and trust

in

Him and

His work, He graCiously

imputes

to them His righteousness, sealing

them

with

His Spirit making

them willing and able subjects in

His

kingdom,

where they desire

to please Him, by eating or

drinking

or whatever

they

do",

it is done

to the glory

of God.

For 1 will take

you

from the

nations, gather you from

all

the

lands

and bring you into

your

own

land.

Then

I will

sprinkle

clean water on you, and you

will be clean; 1 will cleanse

you

from all your filthiness and from

all your idols. "Moreover, I will

give

you

a

new

heart and put a

new

spirit

within you;

and

I will

remove

the

heart

of

stone

from

your flesh and give you a heart of

flesh. "I

will put

My Spirit within

you

and

cause

you to

walk in

My

statutes,

and you will be careful

to

observe My

ordinances. "You

will live

in

the

land

that

1 gave to

your forefathers; so you will be

My

people, and I will be

your

God.

"Moreover, I will save you from all

your unclemmess; and I will call

for the grain and

multiply

it, and

I will not

bring

a famine on you.

so 1

will multiply

the

fruit

of

the

tree and the produce of the field,

so that you

will

not receive again

the disgrace of famine among

the nations.

Ezekiel 36:24-30

Jesus'

Audience

Having a

better

understanding

of the covenant

and

its blessings

and

curses,

we can have insight

regarding

the condition of

the

Jewish people

when

Jesus

began

His ministry. The people in Jesus'

day

were

sorely

oppressed

and

afflicted; due to their ignorance

they

were

weighed down with

hypocrisy and

various other

lusts.

Their priesthood was corrupt,

their

political officials were

deviant,

plus

they

were in

bondage

to the pagan Roma n Empire.

Since the

conquest

of

Jerusalem

by Pompey, B.C. 63 .. the Jews

had been subject to the

heathen

Romans, who

heartlessly

governed

them by

the

Idumean

Herod

and his sons,

and

afterwards

by

procurators. Under this hated

yoke their Messianic

hopes were

powerfully raised, but carnally

distorted. They longed chiefly for

a

political

deliverer,

who

should

restore the temporal dominion

of David

on

a still more

splendid

scale; and they were

offended

with

the

servant

form of

Jesus, and

with

his

spiritual kingdom.

Their

morals were outwardly far better

than

those of the heathen; but

under the garb of strict obedience

(self righteousness) to

their

law,

they concealed great corruption.

They

are pictured in the New

Testament as a stiff-necked,

ungrateful, and impenitent

race,

the seed of the

serpent,

a

generation

of vipers.

Their own

priest and

historian, Josephus,

who generally endeavored to

present his countrymen to the

Greeks and Romans in the

most

favorable light, describes them

as at that time a debased and

wicked people, well deserving

their fearful punishment in the

destruction

of Jerusalem . 2

Matthew is very particular to

point out that

Jesus'

ministry

along

with

His disciples

was

a

ministry

of preaching and healing.

They

went

about

preaching and

healing the Sick, blind, deaf,

and

lame. In an attempt to see his

brethren brought into a right

relationship

with

God

through

Christ, Matthew was hoping

by

pointing out

this information,

t

would

resonate with those

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reading

his

gospel tract.

The Spirit of

the

Lord GOD is

upon

me,

Because the

LORD

has

anointed

me

To bring

good

news

to the afflicted; IIe has sent

me

to

bind up the broken hearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to

prisoners;

To

proclaim the

favorable

year

of

the

LORD And the day of vengeance

of

our

God; To

comfort

all who

mourn, To grant those who

mourn in

Zion, Giving

them

a

garland instead

of

ashes, The

oil

of gladness

instead

of

mourning,

The

mantle

of

praise instead

of a

spirit

of fainting. So

they

will be

called

oaks of

righteousness, The

planting of the LORD, that He

may

be

glorified.

Then

they

will

rebuild

the ancient ruins,

They will

raise

up the

former devastations;

And they

will

repair the

ruined

cities,

The

desolations

of many

generations.

Isaiah

61:1-4

Jesus appeals to

this

passage

when answering John's

disciples

about

whether

or

not

He was the

Messiah. He does

this by

saying

Go

and report

to

John

what

you

hear and

see: s

the

BLIND

RECEIVE SIGHT and

the

lame

walk, the lepers

are

cleansed

and the deaf

hear,

the

dead

are

raised up, and the

POOR

HAVE

THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO

THEM . He

points John's

disciples

to

His work. . y doing tht > Jesus

did more

than simply say

yes;

He was

saying compare what

I do with the word

and

it will

be clear

to

you

who I am.

Jesus' Words

Blessed

are the

pure

in

heart,

for

they shall

see

God

These

words

are

covenantal

pronouncemcnts

- they

are

declarations

regarding

the citizens

of the kingdom of heaven. They

jVIaking

the

Nations

Christ s

Disciples

are not

moralisms,

they

do

not

announce what

you

must

do

but

what

you must be. Jesus'

words are

stated

in

a way

that

causes the hearer

or

reader

to reflect immediately

upon

his

own

spiritual

condition.

These

words

are

a powerful

blow

to

all

spirituality

that

is

not

rooted in

the life

and

sacrifice of

Jesus Christ. They strike at the

root

of

every sin because every sin

has its origin in the

heart,

Watch

over

your heart with

all diligence,

For

from it flow the springs of

life, Proverbs 4:23.

f the heart

is impure the

man

is

impure and

only

evil will

come

from it,

just

as Jesus

warned

the crowd

about

the

false teachers, You will know

them by

their fruits.

Grapes are

not

gathered

from thorn hushes

nor figs from thistles,

are

they?

So

every

good

tree bears

good

fruit, but the bad tree bears bad

fruit

A good

tree cannot

produce

bad

fruit, nor can a

bad tree

produce

good fruit.

Every

tree

that

does not

bear

good fruit is

cut

down

and thrown

into

the

fire.

So

then,

you

will

know them by

their

fruit s Matth ew 7:16-20.

What is a

pure

heart?

What

exactly

is a

pure heart?

Is

a

pure

heart

a

sin

free

heart?

f it

is who would

be

worthy

of such an announcement? A

pure

heart

can be summed

up

in one

word, UNMIXED. A

pure

heart

isn't mixed with

other

motivations, desires and

cares.

It

is

freedom from defilement

and

divided affections;

it

is

sincerity, genuineness,

and

singleness of

heart.

As a

quality

of

Christian

character, we would

denne it as

godly simplicity.

t

is the

opposite of

subtlety and

duplicity.

Genuine Christianity

lays aside not

only

malice,

but

Blessed

are the

Pure

in

Heart

guile and

hypocrisy

also. It is

not

enough

to

be pure in

words

and

in outward

deportment. Purity

of desires, motives,

and intents

is

what

should

(and

docs

in

the

main)

characterize the

cltild

of God. Here,

then,

is a

most

important

test

for every professing

Christian

to apply to himself.

Arc

my

affections

set upon things

above? Arc my motives pure?

\Vhy do I

assemble with the

Lord's

people? Is it to be seen of

men,

or is it

to meet

with

the

Lord

and

to enjoy

sweet communion

with Him

and

His people? 4

A pure heart

has

only one

master and

love

it

is

devoted

to

God alone,

it

is

not

double

minded; it keeps itself

from the

things that

God's l aw forbids

and

calls abominable, on the watch

for

distracting things

that

rob the

heart

of its affection

and

zea1. It's

pure devotion

without mixture

to

God alone. Having a pure heart

promotes creaturely dedication to

God as

God, the only

Living God.

The pure

in heart seek

to

conform

to God's law

in

thoughts, word

and

deeds.

The Psalmist

writes:

How

blessed arc

those

who observe His testimonies,

who

seck Him

with all

their

heart. Psalm

119:2

I shaH give

thanks

to You

with uprightness of

heart,

When

I

learn

Your

righteous

judgments. Psalm

119:7

Your word I

have treasured

in

my

heart, that

I may

not

sin

against

You.'1 Psahu 119:11

Give

me

understanding,

that

I

may

observe Your law And keep

it

with all my

heart. Psalm

119:34

May

my

heart be blameless

Continued

on

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5/644

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

ontinued from

page 19

in

Your

statutes,

So

that

I will

not

be ashamed. Psalm 119:80

Examining

yourself

in

light

of His \\lord

and

with the

discernment

of

the

Holy Spirit,

these are the kind

of

questions

you must

ask

yourself:

Is my love of God

pure?

Does

He have

my

whole

heart?

Does

He have my absolute allegiance?

Or

is

my heart

divided?

Our

hearts

must

be

pure,

singular,

uncorrupted.

Do

you

love

wealth

more

than

Jesus?

Or sports?

Or

power?

Or

pleasure?

Only

the-

pure

will

see

God.

Noone

else shall. Am I living- a

clean,

pure, h?ly life?

r

am I allowing

corruption'into my

life

OTIe small

-step,ata'time? Have'lbegun to

t o l e r ~ t e d i s h o ~ e s t y ? 01'- pdde?

O t l ~ s t ? Or covetousness? Am

r

Ii4l:t-lgingJies,

even

i f they

are

only s o ~ c a n e d w h i t e

lies?

Am

I

i-ndidging_-thek,

even,

iHts only

petty

theft? Am I indulging

, innoGent flirtations,

harmless

: . gossip;',-q[

sof-t' pornography?S

'thomas Watson lists

7

, crurr;acteristicsof a,pureheart.

1 A

sincere heart is a

pure h e a r t ~ There are

several

characteristics

of a

sincere heart

a.

a

sincere heart desires to

serve the

Lord

with, all his heart,

even

though he stumbles

and

falls,

there

is never a

question

of

who-

has the

love of

his heart;

b. a

sincere

heart

is a

tender

heart, and

is

very

sensitive

to

a

conscience informed by

the

Word;

to

the

all

searching

eye of God.

A pure heart longs for puri ty- i t

has

God's law written

on it like

a

deer pants

for water so the

soul

of

the

pure

hearted pant

after

purity.

There

is a love for

all

that

is

pure and

never easily

allows events,

relationships

or

other

pursuits

to get

in

the

way of

the means

of grace.

A pure heart

hates

sin- a man

may

forsake a

sinful

practice

but

that

doesn't mean he

has

a pure

heart. A pure hearts hates sin

in

him and others everywhere sin

reigns his desire is to fight against.

A

pure heart avoids the

appearance

of

v H ~ it

seeks to

avoid

situations

that

may put

him in a.

compromise as

well

as

people'

who

take

sinning

lightly and

thinh

nothing of

breaking--their vows to God.

A

pure heart docs

good

w o r l \ : s ~

it

longs

to serve God

and G o d ~ s

people. It wants- to

put into practice the

word and,

see

reform,

it wants the banner

of Christ raised

in

every place,

when the heathen sees his goods

he will glorify the God of glory.

A pure heart

prays-

an

unbeliever may pray but he

does

not pray like the pure in heart.

The pure in

heart

pray with

tears

of sorrow

and

joy with

passion that

burns

for

righteousness and with

a

hatred

for

personal

sins. Those

who are pure

in heart

pray to

God like

He is

their

own

God

and

Father and

they

are confident

He

is.

c. a sincere heart is a

charitable

Are you pure

in hearf?

Do you

heart, and

seeks, to

think

the best want

to

be? Only

those who

have

of

others until proven otherwise;

a

pure heart can see or will see

God.

He rewards

those

who

d. a

sincere heart

is a

searchable

heart, it is willing to

submit

itself

have

undivided hearts

with

His

fellowship. They walk together,

eat together, talh:

at night

before

sleep

and

in

the morning and

through out

the day, Who

may

ascend into the hill

of

the

LORD?

And who

may

stand

in

His holy

place?

He who

has clean hands

and

a

pure heart,

who

has not

lifted

up his

soul to falsehood

And

has not sworn

deceitfully. He shaH

receive a blessing from

the

LORD

and

righteousness from

the

God

of

his

salvation,

Psalm 24:3-S.

God desire have fellowship with

the

pure in heart. A

pure

heart

is a cleansed heart, a heart that

has been washed

by the

sovereign

Spirit

of God,

Then

I will

sprinkle

clean water

on you, and

you

will

be

clean;

I

will cleanse you

from

all

your

filthiness and from all

your

idols, Ezekiel

36:2S. Then

you

will-live

with a pure heart, as salt

a ~ d , l i g h t in

a

perverse

generation

and'

God will

be your

God

and

you

will

be His people, They

will-

no

longer defile

themselves

with their

idols,

or

with

their

detestable things,

or

with any

of their- transgressions;

but

I

will deliver

them

from all

their

dwelling places

in

which

they

have

sinned, and

will

cleanse them.

And

they will be My people, and I

will be their

God, Ezekiel

37:23.

Let

us

end this section

with a

comment

from

Thomas

-Watson:

Sec

what beauty that sets

off

the soul in

God's eye, namely,

purity

of

heart.

You

are

never

so beautiful are but spiritual

lepers until you

are

pure

in

Heart

... God is

in

love with

the

pure

in heart

for He

sees

his

own

picture

drawn

there.

Take away

purity

from

an

angel

and

he

is

no

more an

angel

but

a deviL You who

are pure

in

heart

have

the angers

glory

shining in

you. You have

the

embrOidery

and workmanship

of

Holy Spirit upon you. The pure

heart

is God's paradise

where he

delights to

walk

It's His lesser

The Counsel

of

Chu [cecl


6/6

heaven.

The

dove delights

in

the purest air. The Holy Ghost

who

descended in the likeness

of a dove

delights

in the purest

soul..

..

Of

all

hearts God

loves

the

pure heart

best.

You

who dress

yourselves

by

the

glass of

the

word

and

adorn

'the hidden

man

of thy heart' I Peter 3:4, arc most

precious in

God's eyes,

though

you

may

be blear-

eyed as Leah,

lame as Mephibosheth, yet being

'pure in heart' you

arc a

mirror

of

beauty and may

say "yet shall

I be

glorious in the eye's of the Lord'

Isaiah 49:5. How

may this raise the

esteem of

purity

This is a beauty

that never

fades

and which makes

God

himself fall

in

love with us."6

The

Privilege of the

Pure

n Heart ....

They shall see

God

"Once more

we

would

point

out that the promises attached

to

these

Beatitudes have both a

present and a

future

fulfillment.

The pure

in heart possess

spiritual

discernment, and with the eyes of

their understanding

they obtain

clear views of the Divine character

and

perceive the excellency

of His

attributes.

\Vhen

the

eye is

single

the whole body is full of light.

Tn the

truth, the

faith

of which

purifies

the heart, they

"see

God"; for

what

is that truth,

hut

a

manifestation

of

the

glory

of

God

in

the

face of Jesus Christ 2

Corinthians

4:6). An illustrious

display of

the combined

radiance

of Divine holiness and

Divine

benignity .

.

And

he

[who is

pure

in

heart]

not

only obtains

clear and satisfactory views of

the Divine

character,

but he

enjoys intimate and

delightful

communion

with

God. He is

brought very

near God: God's

mind becomes his mind;

God's

will

becomes his

will; and his

fellowship is

truly

with

the Father

lvIakin,g

the

NaNo ns

Christ s

Disciples

and

with His Son

Jesus Christ."?7

Jesus

promises to the pure

in

heart, "they will see God." Right

away, we must understand

tha

t

Jesus

is not

necessarily promising

us

an

empirical sensation or

experience in which

we physically

"look at" God. Even in English,

besides "to perceive

by

sight,"

the word "see"

can

mean, among

other

things, "to come

to know:

DISCOVER,"

"to

pcrccive

the

meaning or

importance

of:

UNDERSTAND,"

"to

be aware

of: RECOGNIZE,"

"to imagine

as a possibility: SUPPOSE,"

"to regard

as: JUDGE,"

and "to

grasp something mentally."8

There

are

numerous examples

in

scripture that proves

this

interpretation

in John

3:3,

Jesus

says, "I

ten

you

the truth, no

one can sec the kingdom

of

God unless

he is born again."

Docs He mean that

the

kingdom

magically

appears when one is

regenerated?

Ohviously not

Rather,

His

meaning corresponds

with

something

that

He says

almost immediately afterward

in verse

5 of John

3, "I

tell

you

the

truth,

no one can enter the

kingdom

of

God unless he

is

born

of

water

and

the

Spirit."

Based

on

the

context, it is

much

more

natural and appropriate to

regard

the meaning

of

"see"

in

verse

3

as something

like "discover,"

"understand,"

or "cOlne to IUlOW."

Another example comes

from

John 12:40, which is a

quotation

from Isaiah

6:10,

"He

has

blinded

their eyes and deadened their

hearts, so they can neither see

with their eyes,

nor

understand

with

their

hearts,

nor turn -

and I would

heal them." In

its

context, it is obvious that

the

words

"blinded their

eyes"

do

not

refer

to a physical

blindness,

hut

instead have the exact

meaning

Blessed are the Pure in HeaTt

of

"deadened

their

hearts."

That

they cannot "sec with their eyes"

refers

to the

fact that

they cannot

"understand with their hearts."

Again,

"see"

here docs not

refer to

anything

empirical,

hut

it

refers

to something intellcctual.9

"Therefore I speak to them in

parables; because while seeing

they

do

not

see,

and

while hearing

they do not

hear,

nor

do

they

understand,

v

"In

their

case

the

prophecy

of Isaiah is

being

fulfilled, which says, you will

keep on

hearing,

but

will

not

1l,nderstand; you will keep

on

seeing,

but will not

peTceive;

for the heaTt of this people has

become

dull,

with

their ears

they

scarcely heal ,

and they

have

closed their eyes,

otherwise

they

wottld

see with their

eyes, heal

with their

ears,

and understand

[vith their heart and return,

and would heal them. "But

blessed are

your

eyes,

because

they

see;

and

your ears,

because

they

hear." Ma tthew 13:13-16

Jesus plainly

teaches

here that

seeing means

"perceiving,"

being

able to

grasp the truth

so

as

to

respond to its message

with

faith.

Not

to see God

is

synonymous

with not knowing

God

-

these

blind people walk

in

darkness

and

they do

not

know where they

are

going,

mentally,

intellectually,

spiritually

-

"the

Light

shines

in the darkness

and

the

darkness

did

not

comprehend

it," John 1:5.

"Thus the promise

of

Jesus

is

not

If

you

will

become

pure

enough

in

your

heart, I will

let

you

take

a look at God," but rather,

"Those

of

you who

are pure

in

heart -you

Christians

- arc

blessed,

hecause God

will reveal

himself

to

you and cause you to know him "

Of course, Christians already

Imow

God

to a

certain

extent, and

thus they

have

already

"seen"

him

2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Pure in Heart - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Transcript of 2008 Issue 5-6 - Blessed Are the Pure in Heart - Counsel of Chalcedon