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by Precarious Yates
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
There he stood on the mountain, desperate for the strength, the grace, and the revelation necessary to lead the 1.5 million people entrusted to him. Moses had a request for Yahweh, the holy and everlasting God who met him in the burning bush and again in the smoke, fire and thunder on Mount Sinai. He wanted to see God’s glory. In Exodus 33:18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
To his request, God replied:
[19] And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. [20] But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” [21] And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, [22] and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:19-23.
Seared into the mind of every Jewish man, woman, and child was this fact: no one could ever see God’s face and live.
Yet here, Jesus promises that those who are pure in heart will see God. How is this possible?
When Jesus walked the earth, hardly anyone recognized who He truly was. Some said a prophet, some said Elijah had returned. When Peter finally declared, in Matthew 16:16
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,”
Jesus answered him with
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17.
By revelation from God the Father, Peter was able to recognize God the Son! Did this mean that Peter was perfect? Not at all! Just a few verses later, it is recorded that Peter tries to rebuke Jesus for declaring that He would go to the cross. Jesus had to say to him, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter was not perfect, but God saw the purity of his devotion to Jesus. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”
Seven times in the book of Matthew, people worship Jesus. These worshippers saw Jesus for who He was. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 disciples in the Upper Room, they saw flames of fire touched the heads of each other. Through the in dwelling Holy Spirit, they received further revelation of who Jesus was. As Jesus told them,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
Through this revelation from the Holy Spirit, the disciples were able to recognize who it really was they had walked with for three and a half years. John declared at the very beginning of his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God” (emphasis mine). Later on, in his first letter, John said, in 1 John 1:1-3
[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—[2] the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—[3] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.’
Let us open our hearts today to the fullness of what God wants to reveal to us. By the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are made clean, we have pure hearts. We are not perfect, but we have been purified by the Lord. And blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God! Unlike Moses, we can experience the fullness because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. You are so loved!
God bless you!
About the Author:
Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.
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