Jesus Christ taught us: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
What did He mean by that? Far from being simply a feel-good platitude, this single verse contains a profound understanding of our human condition and the change God wants to see within us. Yet we cannot effect this change by accident; it requires our action. So, let us examine some of Jesus’ related teachings on this vital organ in order to gain a deeper understanding of this profound instruction.
The Gospel of Matthew deals extensively with the heart. In fact, Jesus described Himself as our role model in terms of the heart: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
But why is the heart so important that Jesus would describe Himself in this way? A “pure heart” is essential for knowing and understanding the will and purpose of God. Jesus understood His Father’s will and frequently mentioned His total harmony with that will. Referencing Isaiah 6:9–10, Jesus showed how lacking natural human beings are in terms of the will of the Father, highlighting the place of the heart: “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).
On the other hand, an “impure” heart is the seat of sin! Hence, He was able to tell us: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). As such, an impure heart has become the natural condition of humanity that is cut off from its Creator. Speaking to an audience that included the religious leaders of His day, Jesus stated: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8–9).
Later in the same chapter, we read of the sinfulness that comes when one is detached from the heart of the Creator: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:18–19).
Our heart, then, can be said to indicate our orientation in life. Is it inclined toward matters of God, or toward matters of physical gain? Jesus taught us: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
Jesus established a standard of heart—a standard He requires of us as well. Asked to name the greatest commandment, He told His inquisitor: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37–39).
Matthew shows us how clearly Jesus defined the natural state of humanity cut off from God, and how He emphasized the change that must take place for humanity to leave behind that natural state and to see God—literally to be accorded a place in the Kingdom of God.
Seeing With the Heart
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
―Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
The result of a pure heart is the ability to see our Father. To the Semitic mind, the heart was not just an organ—an essential pump to maintain human life. It was considered the seat of vital force, of feeling and emotion, of inclination, disposition, determination, courage, will, intention, attention, consideration, reason, strength and conscience (halot, 513). Jesus’ first-century audience referred to “heart” in the way people today would refer to “mind”—metaphorically, “heart” referred “to the entire person” (tlot, 639).
Even today, how often is someone asked to “have a heart”—simply to show some feeling in a situation? The children’s tale The Little Prince shows how this idea still exists in contemporary culture. Then, even as now, “heart” was at the center of the human problem. Consequently, a change in heart was essential for a proper relationship with God. Thus, King David, a man known by the Eternal for a different heart, could be inspired to write: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:10–12).
David understood that to maintain a close relationship with his Creator, he needed to keep a clean and pure heart. The Holy Spirit cannot work effectively with or in an unclean and impure vessel.
Matthew’s Perspective
When we look at Matthew’s spiritual discussions of the heart—which are more common in his gospel than anywhere else in the New Testament—we should consider how the early Christians would have approached his writings. As Dr. Douglas S. Winnail has pointed out in his booklet, The Bible: Fact or Fiction?, the book of Malachi was not the final book in the original Bible compilations. Rather, the “Old Testament” books ended with Chronicles. As a result, it should be no surprise that we find a profound continuity of message between that of the Chronicler and Matthew. Each addresses the question: How can we have a pure heart?
God’s Church recognizes that Ezra wrote Chronicles after the return from Babylonian captivity. He wrote looking back over the history of Judah, and forward in a prophetic sense to the coming of the Messiah as Son of David and High Priest, to rule the Kingdom of God from Jerusalem. Chronicles, along with the books of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah was part of the “Restoration” section of Scripture, referring to the restoration of the Kingdom of God.
Though many overlook it, the heart was one of Ezra’s major concerns. Take a concordance and examine the occurrence of the term “heart” in the two books of Chronicles—there are at least 40 instances in some 36 verses, well worth studying!
This reminds us that when Jesus Christ spoke of the need for a pure heart, He was repeating something that had been emphasized long beforehand. God had inspired David as the Psalmist to speak of the need for this condition (Psalm 24:4; 73:1). Later, Ezra expounded on this understanding, as he was inspired to identify Judah’s problem—the lack of a pure heart.
Jeremiah also wrote of this: “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars” (Jeremiah 17:1, KJV). The Eternal needed an iron pen with a diamond stylus to write on such an impure heart, hardened by sin! Jeremiah then wrote of Judah’s waywardness and the problem of the human heart. He contrasted the aridness of such behavior with the fruitfulness of dependence on God (vv. 5–8). His climax stated memorably how the Eternal sees the human condition, and reveals the part of the anatomy He examines to determine our orientation toward Him: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9–10, KJV).
Here we are given a warning: our heart is naturally deceitful. It needs to be tried as a precious metal for purification. The refining process used to attain purity is the concept being conveyed here.
To Be Pure in Heart
From the verses given above, we can see the need for the heart to become pure. We can also appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the payment for sins to enable that purity. But, what do we mean by being pure?
The word translated as “pure” in Matthew 5:8 is the Greek katharos, from which we derive our term “catharsis.” It relates to purging, but the Greek term had a wider application than our English term and relates to two separate aspects of cleanness or purity that we need to consider.
The first aspect involves ritual purity, a matter that may seem far detached from our lives today until we consider the matter closely. Remember, a person who was ritually unclean or impure was not allowed into the Tabernacle or Temple to worship, no matter how much they desired to do so. The New Testament offers many examples of people whose physical state denied them access to the Temple. In healing them, Jesus Christ removed a level of impurity so they could appear before God.
Likewise, the calling of our Father and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ have enabled us to become pure in this regard, and to have access to the very presence of God. Paul expressed this when he wrote: “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14–16).
At the end of the chapter containing the Beatitudes, we see another facet of purity. Matthew records the instruction of Jesus that we are to become “perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The concept of perfection speaks to a moral state and that of spiritual maturity. It does not directly relate to the ritual aspect of purity discussed above, but can only come about because of that purity (Philippians 3:15; Colossians 1:28). Interestingly, the Hebrew equivalent for the Greek term used in Matthew 5:48 is the term tom. In the Scriptures, this term is linked with the word for heart. So we find expressions such as “integrity of heart” or a “perfect heart” (1 Kings 9:4; Psalm 78:72; 101:2).
This purity is not a state that comes immediately upon washing or bathing; it is the consequence of a growth process as we learn to live according to God’s way. Interestingly, Psalm 101:2 refers to a “perfect way”—the way we have been called to live. It is a way of life in which the impurities of this world are removed from our thinking and behavior. The Scriptures portray both the Father and Jesus Christ as being pure in this way (Daniel 7:9; Revelation 1:13–15). Their environment also exemplifies this purity (Exodus 24:9–10; Revelation 21:17–21).
How Do We Become Pure?
Most people are concerned about their outside appearance. People dress, even informally, to convey a message. That message reveals how we would like others to think of us and relate to us, rather than who we really are. The God Family appearance, on the other hand, is a true reflection of their innermost being. How do we achieve this true reflection in our own appearance? The inspired writers of Scripture tell us that the Father has a process to bring this about, a process of “trying” that we as followers of Jesus Christ must undergo.
The Apostle Peter describes this process at length in his first epistle. He tells us that our calling is to a pure inheritance—one that lacks defilement or any form of impurity or uncleanness (1 Peter 1:3–22). He writes about the trials of life as a process of purification—the fiery trial that tests the genuineness of our faith and is incomparable even with gold, which decays (vv. 6–7). The ultimate aim of this purification and our salvation is an eternal relationship with our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
The analogy of refining is not amiss, as the purpose of refining is to remove any impurities that exist in precious metals. Likewise, we experience trials so that we can become pure throughout our entire being—to our very core. Peter also uses the term “holy”—which is also related to the concept of purity. He writes of our purifying ourselves with the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, so the impurities of our previous life are removed and we can be considered holy. In so doing, he addresses the two facets of a “pure heart” we have considered above: Since you have purified (facet 1) your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure (facet 2) heart (1 Peter 1:22). In other words, we must obtain and maintain a pure heart as we pursue our calling in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom (1 Peter 4:1–14).
That process of trying involves the heart as well. Paul speaks to the Hebrews about how the Word of God is able to separate the good and evil that reside within our hearts (Hebrews 4:12–13). This echoes the Psalmist’s instruction that purity is achieved by harmonizing our actions and thoughts with the Word of God (Psalm 119:9). John wrote to the churches of Asia Minor about the power of Jesus Christ to search our hearts and minds, and His ability to reward us accordingly (Revelation 2:23).
So, the importance of a “pure heart” is not a platitudinous or pious statement made by Jesus Christ. It is not something we should expect to come as a future blessing without effort. Rather, it goes to the very core of our calling and purpose, why humanity was created and the goal and purpose our Father has in store for us. If we do our part, we will be blessed. Having been called and brought into a relationship with the God Family, we have a responsibility to be involved in a purification process that encompasses our whole being. As the Apostle Peter noted in the verse quoted above, a pure (katharos) heart (1 Peter 1:22) is our goal. The Apostle John reiterated this using terms similar to Peter’s: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2–3).
Ultimately, those with pure hearts will see our Heavenly Father. But even now, we should see in ourselves and one another the elements of our Father’s character as we strive toward purity of heart.