“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8
Jesus had been teaching in the northern area of Palestine near the Sea of Galilee. One day he gathered his large group of disciples near him on a mountaintop. He was about to deliver a lengthy sermon. If we look in the Bible, we find that sermon in Matthew chapters five, six, and seven. It is the longest sermon of Jesus we have in the Bible. We call it his Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus began his sermon with a series of sentences, each beginning with the word blessed. The word was translated into Latin as beatitude. And so, even though beatitude is never found in the Bible, we call this series of sentences the beatitudes or the blesseds.
When we look closely at these statements, we notice each is divided into two parts. The first half tells us that those who are blessed are the poor, mourners, hungry and thirsty, persecuted, etc. That doesn’t sound good at all. But when we look closely, we read the second half of each beatitude, and it tells us why. The poor in spirit will inherit heaven. The mourners will be comforted. The hungry and thirsty will be filled. The persecuted will see heaven.
Jesus is telling us that although our time here on earth may be filled with all sorts of trials and problems, we are truly blessed because of what will follow. Jesus has something wonderful in store for his children. God’s blessings will be more than we could ever imagine. First Corinthians 2:9 (ESV) says, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
From the book “Precious Words of the Bible” by Reynold R. Kremer