THE BEATITUDES

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

3. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 

6. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God - Yehovah. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you say every evil against you on my account. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

Now the first three Beatitudes are concerned with our need, our consciousness of need; poor in spirit, mourning because of our sinfulness, meek as the result of a true understanding of the nature of self and its egocentricity, that has ruined the whole of life. These first three beatitudes emphasize the vital importance of a deep awareness of need.

Then comes the great statement of satisfaction of the need, God's provision for it: `Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.'

Having realized the need, we hunger and thirst, and then God comes with His wondrous answer that we will be filled, fully satisfied.

From that point we are looking at the result of that satisfaction, the result of being filled. We become merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers.

After that, there is the outcome of all of doing this, `persecuted for righteousness' sake'.

It seems to me that the three beatitudes which follow the central statement in verse six correspond to the first three that lead up to it.

The merciful are those who realize their poverty of spirit; they realize that they have nothing in themselves at all. As we have seen, that is the most essential step to becoming merciful. It is only when a man/woman has reached that view of himself/herself that he/she will have the right view of others. So, we find that the man/woman who realizes he/she is poor in spirit and who is utterly dependent upon God - Yehovah is the man/woman who is merciful to others.

It follows from that, that this second statement which says, `Blessed are the pure in heart', also corresponds to the second statement in the first group, which was, `Blessed are they that mourn'.

What did they mourn about? We saw that they were mourning about the state of their hearts; they were mourning about their sinfulness; they were mourning, not only because they did sinful things, but still more because they ever wanted to do what was sinful. They realized the central perversion in their character and personality; it was that which caused them to mourn.

Very well then; here is something which corresponds to that: 'Blessed are the pure in heart.' Who are the pure in heart? They are those who are mourning the impurity of their hearts. The only way to have a pure heart is to realize you have an impure heart and to mourn about it to such an extent that you do that which alone can lead to cleansing and purity. 

In the same way, when we look at `peacemakers' we shall find that the peacemakers are those who are meek. If a person is not meek, he is not likely to be a peacemaker.

The order in which Jesus expresses the beatitudes is a way to discover what underlies their precise arrangement which the lord adopted. We take the three steps in order of need; then we come to the satisfaction; then we look at the results that follow and find that they correspond precisely to the three that lead up to it.

This means that this amazing and glorious statement: `Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' comes at this point. The emphasis is on the purity of the heart and not on the promise. If we look at it from that viewpoint, it will enable us to see why our lord set out this precise order.

He puts his emphasis upon the heart: 'Blessed are the pure in heart.' God's interest is in our hearts. In other words, we realize that our faith is not just a matter of our understanding of the word of God, but most important the condition of our hearts.

To be a follower of the lord Jesus is not just a matter of conduct and external behavior. It starts for all of us with this question: What is the state of our hearts?

The heart is the center of our personality. It is not just the seat of our affections and emotions. It is the center of our being and personality. It is the font out of which everything thing else comes. It includes the mind; the will; and the heart. It is the total man, and that is what our lord emphasizes. `Blessed are the pure in heart'; blessed are those who are pure, not merely on the surface but in the center of their being.

All our troubles arise out of the heart which, we are told by Jeremiah, is `deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?' indeed, mankind’s troubles originate at the very center of their being.

The problem is at the center of our being. The trouble is what is in the heart, and the heart is desperately wicked and deceitful. That is the problem. What can change the hearts of men and women?

What the gospel message proposes is to raise us up from our deceitful and wicked heart condition to become dead to self, as new creations in the lord Messiah Jesus, with newness of life, freed from the bondage of sin and enabled by his spirit to overcome the deceitfulness and wickedness of the heart! To become pure in heart means to become like the lord Jesus the Messiah, `who did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth' He was perfect and spotless and pure and entire. We can become like the lord Messiah Jesus by the enabling power of his spirit working in us and through us.

Note: It says the pure in heart will see God – Yehovah. When will the pure in heart see God – Yehovah? It will be after the earth has been cleansed by fire and then recreated by Yehovah. The heavens will also be recreated. This will occur after the White Throne Judgment has taken place. Only those who are immortal, glorified men and women [the new humanity] will be able to enter the newly created earth. At that time the New Jerusalem [whose measurements are amazing] will descend from where it has been created in the heavens and God – Yehovah will come down to dwell with the lord Messiah Jesus at Zion in the Tempe, and we will see Him at that time face to face. Glorious time indeed!

Note: The new earth and the new heavens are depicted on the last great day, the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the feasts of God – Yehovah we see His overall plan that consists of 7,000 years for mankind to see if they can be totally committed to following Him and fails to do so, as we see at the last rebellion of mankind against His son the Messiah Jesus and those who with him in Jerusalem at the end of his 1,000-year rule. The 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles depicts when the New Humanity that God – Yehovah has been creating since Adam's fall will enter into the newly created earth and heavens to live as glorified men and women for all time surrounding God – Yehovah and His son at Zion. The New Humanity will be able to enjoy the newly created earth and heaven for all time. What a great reward for those who hold fast to the end of their lives or this age!

Paul's confidence is also mine when he says: `He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus the Messiah'.

We who are new creations in the Messiah are in God’s – Yehovah’s hands, and God’s – Yehovah’s salvation process is ongoing. God is dealing with us, and our hearts are being cleansed. We are His workmanship. God has set His hand to this task, and I know, because of that, that a day is coming when all those in the Messiah shall be faultless and blameless, without spot or wrinkle, without any defilement. We shall be able to enter the gate of the holy city, leaving everything that is unclean outside, solely because He has brought us there. It is all of Him and nothing of us!

If there is anyone who disagrees with what I have written, I will be glad to hear your proof from the scriptures as to where I am wrong. Bruce Lyon