These are the men who are blessed in the Beatitudes. After witnessing Jesus’ miraculous power, Peter said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.” Levi was a tax collector who likely gained his wealth by means of extortion and intimidation.
#Blessed are the pure in heart full
And this comes into full focus when we consider Jesus’ audience. So in other words, Jesus does not begin his Sermon on the Mount with legal obligations, but rather, with gospel blessings. This is the new covenant that was proclaimed by God centuries in advance in Jeremiah 31: “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt…” (31:31-32). Rather than offering blessing as the reward of obedience, Jesus first blesses his people and calls them to live in light of that new reality. In that covenant, Moses did say “You will be blessed if you keep the words of this law, and you will be cursed if you do not” And after hearing the law read, the people of Israel responded by saying, “All this we will do” (cf. In fact, that’s the basic structure of the Mosaic covenant. He’s not promising his followers future rewards on the condition of obedience to his commands. Too often I think many of us read these words as if Jesus had said, “You will be blessed if you become meek, merciful and pure in heart” but that’s not actually what Jesus is saying. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
What are we to make of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:8 when he says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Is this good news, or bad news? First of all, we need to take a look at the larger context of Jesus’ statement, which appears in the opening section of his Sermon on the Mount, often referred to as the Beatitudes:īlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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