SIDEWAYS GRACE AND MERCY UPSIDE DOWN: THE BEATITUDES
BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 5:8
FEBRUARY 25, 2001
Mount Olympus is the tallest mountain in the nation of Greece. It rises 9,570 feet above sea level. The top of Mount Olympus has jagged peaks. Oftentimes the top of the mountain is covered with snow and ice. Sometimes the top of the mountain is shrouded in cloud and mist. In the ancient world, the Greek people believed that the throne of God was on top of Mount Olympus, and they believed that the Council of the Gods assembled there, that they had their palaces and temple there. For hundreds of years, no person in Greece climbed Mount Olympus. They did not climb it because they did not want to desecrate a holy place. They did not want to commit sacrilege. They did not want to incite the wrath and the anger of the gods.
Historians believe that it was about the year 800 BC when a group of Greek men decided to take a chance. They wanted to see the temples and the palaces. They wanted to see the Throne of Zeus. They wanted to see the face of God, and so they decided they would climb Mount Olympus. The climb was not easy. It was long and hard, but eventually they came to the summit. They found nothing but snow and ice and a cold bitter wind. They descended the mountain and then reported to the people, but the people were unbelieving.
In subsequent years, other Greeks climbed Mount Olympus, and they returned with the same report. It was because of these reports that eventually the Greek philosophers taught that the Throne of God was not on top of the earthly Mount Olympus but it was on top of the heavenly Mount Olympus. This is the view of the Odyssey ascribed to Homer, written perhaps 750 years Before Christ.
Today, of course, all the religions of the world acknowledge that God is enthroned in heaven and not on earth. But the earthly Mount Olympus, from historical perspective, represents the desires of men and women to see God, to see the face of God, to behold God. The Bible tells us no one has ever seen God. The only Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made God known. Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
Now, the Bible does tell us that, through the ages, there have been people who have experienced theophanies, visual manifestations of the Divine Presence. Elijah experienced a theophany before he was taken into heaven in the whirlwind as described in 2 Kings, chapter 2 and 1 Kings, chapter 19. Moses experienced a theophany twice on Mt. Sinai, in the burning bush as recorded in Exodus, chapter 3 and in the clouds and the lightning and thunder, Exodus 19 and following. Of course, the Children of Israel experienced a theophany, perhaps, in the Angel of God’s presence, certainly in the glory cloud and in the pillar of fire which accompanied the Children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings. The Shekinah which hovered over the Mercy Seat of the Arc of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and later the Temple was a kind of theophany, a visual manifestation of the Divine Presence. But, you see, nobody had really seen God. Nobody had really looked into the face of God, no one.
In this 6th Beatitude of our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus makes an amazing statement. He says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Blessed are the pure in heart. They shall see God. Now, the heart refers to the inward person. Blessed are those who are pure within. They shall see God. But what does it mean to be pure? Pure in heart?
The Greek word is “katharos.” This word has two meanings, and these comprise our two teachings. First of all, the word katharos means “unadulterated.” It means “unmixed, unadulterated.” Blessed are the unadulterated in heart, those whose hearts are unmixed. They shall see God.
Some of you have been to see the movie “Thirteen Days” starring Kevin Costner concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Kennedy Administration. John F. Kennedy was, of course, the 35th President of the United States. Tragically, on November 22, 1963, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Ceremonially, his body was taken from the White House to the Capitol Building. Three hundred thousand people lined the streets. Two hundred and fifty thousand people surrounded the Capitol, seeking to get a glimpse of the casket.
His memorial mass was held at St. Matthew’s Cathedral. After the mass, his body was taken in a motorcade to Arlington Cemetery, and a million men and women lined the streets. His body was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. The eternal flame was lit and then, of course, that flame still burns today. John F. Kennedy is beloved of many in our country, and he is remembered for his looks and for his charisma and for the courage of the stand that he took against Khrushchev and Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
But, for some people, the memory of John F. Kennedy will always be tainted because, you see, on September 12, 1953, John F. Kennedy was married. He took Jacqueline as his wife. He said that he would take her to be his bride, and he pledged his life to her, and he promised to be faithful unto death. But by the overwhelming testimony of those who knew John F. Kennedy, he was not faithful to Jackie. He was a known womanizer before he entered the White House, and in the White House, whenever Jackie was gone, Kennedy shared his bed with secretaries and Hollywood starlets. Peter Lawford said that he literally served as John F. Kennedy’s pimp. Senator George Smathers was one of Kennedy’s best friends. He said he had never met a man with a stronger libido. A strong libido is no excuse for adultery. Despite all of the good that was in John F. Kennedy, he was an adulterer.
The Bible says that we who believe in Jesus Christ, we who belong to Him, we who have received Him as our Lord and Savior, we are married to Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ is called His Bride. We are called to faithfulness. Our relationship with Christ is to be unadulterated, pure; our devotion to Him unmixed. In your heart, is your devotion to Christ unmixed? Is your relationship with Him unadulterated?
On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, Graceland. On that same date, August 16, 29 years earlier in 1958, Babe Ruth died. Of course, Elvis Presley is one of the most beloved people in the history of American music, and Babe Ruth is one of the most beloved people in the history of American sports. There were many similarities between them. They both loved cars, and they collected automobiles like toys, the King and the Babe. They both gave Cadillacs to their friends and associates. They both loved food. They both ate like pigs.
Babe Ruth ate hot dogs, popcorn and peanuts in the dugout while he was waiting to bat, during the game. Elvis Presley’s favorite snack was a peanut butter and banana sandwich fried in a pool of butter. In his prime, Elvis Presley was 6’1,” and he weighed 170. Babe Ruth was 6’2,” and he weighed 175. Babe Ruth ballooned up to 270 and Elvis Presley to 250 pounds. They were both drug addicts. Babe Ruth was addicted to alcohol, and he could not control his alcoholic binges. He was addicted to nicotine. He smoked, according to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 30 cigars a day. He lit up a new cigar every half-hour. The prior cigar wasn’t even finished. He chewed tobacco, and he used snuff. It’s no wonder he died of throat cancer at the age of 53.
Elvis Presley was addicted to drugs, tragically. In the autopsy, the coroner’s report revealed that his body had become a pharmacological nightmare just riddled with a variety of uppers and downers. They were both womanizers. Neither one of them could maintain a relationship with a woman. Babe Ruth had women in every town. Elvis Presley turned Graceland into a brothel. The night Elvis died, he was with yet another woman. He overate yet again, and he died on the toilet in the middle of the night.
Yet, the most amazing similarity between Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth is this. They are beloved by the American people. I mean, the American people have fond memories of Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth. Fond memories… The American people choose to remember them in a positive way. People view Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth as kind of pure in heart. I mean, they used women, and they abused drugs, and they abused food, and they abused their very selves but pure in heart. People kind of assumed that their tragic behavior somehow cloaked or hid the purity of their hearts, that down deep they were pure.
Of course, Hollywood loves this scenario and has made countless movies about prostitutes with hearts as pure as gold. We kind of like to think like that. I mean we like to think that our hearts are purer than our actions, that somehow our actions cloak or hide the goodness of our heart. But, you see, our Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible tells us the opposite is true. There are 6 billion people in this world, and there’s not one person who is trying to hide a pure heart. There’s not one person who’s trying to cloak a pure heart. What people are trying to hide is an impure heart. What we’re trying to cloak is an impure heart. Our hearts are worse than our actions. This is what the Pharisees denied. They tried to hide and cloak their impure hearts by good behavior.
Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, and His whole point was that when you really understand righteousness and how it’s deep within you, how it must be deep within you, you’ll understand that we’re not pure in heart. We are not pure in heart. Even if our actions are somewhat pure, inwardly, our thoughts and our motives are impure. Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said of old, you shall not commit adultery. I say to you, whoever looks on a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.” Impure hearts regardless of actions. “You’ve heard it said of old,” Jesus said, “You shall not kill, and whoever kills will be liable for judgement. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother or sister will be liable for judgement.”
When was the last time you were angry? I was angry Thursday. It’s not so long ago. Thursday is my study day, and I prepare my sermons and do other studying on Thursday. Barb and I usually meet for lunch on Thursday. She called me from the church, and she said, “Let’s meet at Tokyo Joe’s” which is kind of a fast food Asian place. We usually go to Tokyo Joe’s right here in Highlands Ranch, but Barb was going to be up by the Tech Center, so she said “Let’s meet at the Tokyo Joe’s by the Tech Center.” I had never been there and I said, “Where is it?” She said, “It’s on Dry Creek just off of I-25.” Apparently she told me it was just west of I-25 but I didn’t hear that.
I drove up there to meet Barb at Tokyo Joe’s. I got off I-25, and I did go west just a little bit. I didn’t see Tokyo Joe’s. I turned around and went back east of the highway and began to look for Tokyo Joe’s. I drove all over, and I could not find it. I was beginning to get frustrated. I went west of the highway again just a little bit, turned around, came back east again, drove around for 15 minutes. Finally, I pulled into a restaurant, I think it was called Maxim’s. The receptionist there had never heard of Tokyo Joe’s. She said, “Go ask in the bar.” I went into the bar and I asked. Some people came. They hadn’t heard of Tokyo Joe’s. One person said, “You know, I think it is on Dry Creek. I think it’s over on Yosemite, west of the highway.”
I got back in the car, and I drove over to Yosemite and there it was! Tokyo Joe’s. A little parking lot with a few restaurants and shops. No parking places. No parking places! A few side streets. ALL filled with cars. All the slots in the parking lot filled with cars. I drove around the parking lot looking for a parking place. There’s not one. I drove out in the street looking for a parking place. Not one! I drove around again and again. Finally, somebody backed out, and I waited. Just before I could go in, somebody shot into the parking place in front of me! By the time I went into the restaurant, by the time I went in to see Barb who had already ordered for me in Tokyo Joe’s, who was I mad at? I was made at EVERYBODY!
When I sat down at the table and the waitress was already bringing the food, my first comment was, “I’m never coming here again!” Barb just kind of looked at me. I’d like to say it’s the first time she had ever seen me like that. When I finally prayed for the food, I asked the Lord to forgive me. Of course, it’s not enough to ask Him to forgive you. You must truly repent, and you must renounce sin. I do renounce anger, but the problem is I get angry again. Do you know why? It’s because my heart’s not pure. The reality is, what’s true of me is true of you. Your heart’s not pure. It’s true of people all over the world. Our hearts are not pure. It’s true of pastors everywhere, every pastor. Even preaching has some vain glory in it. Because of impure hearts, it has vain glory in it, what the Bible calls “doxa mataios,” ”vain glory,” “glory that is not of God, that is of self.”
D.L. Moody was a famous evangelist. The story is often told of him. It’s been told of others… That he preached a sermon one Sunday, and it was the best. He just uncorked one! I mean, he just gave a great message! When he was done, a woman came up to him and said, “Dr. Moody, Reverend Moody, that was the best sermon I’ve ever heard in my life!” D.L. Moody smiled and said, “Thank you. The devil already whispered that in my ear!” That’s vain glory.
The story is told of Charles Spurgeon who was a great preacher in London, England. He preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. One Sunday he asked a seminary graduate, a brand new graduate of seminary, to speak at his church. This seminary graduate had been a champion of the Homiletics Class and considered a bright star for the churches in terms of his preaching ability. Spurgeon asked him to preach. As this young man ascended the platform, he walked up very proudly with his head lifted high, almost cocky. Then as he looked out at the 5,000 people that filled the Metropolitan Tabernacle, he became nervous. He preached well in class, but this was a different situation. He began to get nervous. As he became nervous, he began to lose his train of thought. Pretty soon he was just a mess. When he was done, he was broken. As he walked down from the stage, he had his head down, and he was depressed and low. When he sat down next to Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon turned to him and said, “You know, if you’d gone up the way you came down, you might have come down the way you went up.”
Of course, the truth is, he shouldn’t have gone down or come up with pride because what is preaching but sinners speaking to sinners. No one has the right to preach. It’s insane, but God calls people to do it. With impure hearts. When I was ordained to the gospel ministry, it was July 1, 1973. I was ordained by the San Gabriel Presbytery, the United Presbyterian Church, Glendale Presbyterian Church. The sermon at my ordination was delivered by Bruce W. Thielman. Bruce Thielman took his passage from Ezekiel, chapter 2. The sermon was entitled, “Son of Man, Stand on Your Feet.”
If you look at Ezekiel, chapter 2, you will see that it was the call of God to Ezekiel to minister to the House of Israel. God said to the prophet, “Son of Man, stand on your feet!” Bruce W. Thielman summarized the message as a call to action. Son of Man, stand on your feet! You are called to action. He summarized the message by saying, ”You make no footprints sitting down. Son of Man, stand on your feet. You make no footprints sitting down.” The ministry is a call to action. I remember Bruce Thielman said to me that day 28 years ago, “You know, Jim, if you wait until your motives are pure, if you wait until your heart is pure, you’ll never minister. If you wait until your heart is pure, you’ll never preach.” The ministry is a call to action.
Well, I’ve taken that seriously, and I’ve tried to be active, but the truth is, I still want a pure heart. Hopefully you want a pure heart too. This is a quest that’s constantly before us as Christians, that we would seek a pure heart, that our thoughts would be pure, that our motives would be pure in everything we do in life as well as our actions. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” But, of course, the frustrating thing is we’re not pure. If we have to be pure, then in this life there is no sense in which we can see God. But, you see, fortunately this word “katharos” has a second meaning, and we close with this. The word “katharos” does not only mean “unadulterated.” It also means ”washed.” It means “cleansed.” Blessed are the washed. Blessed are the cleansed for they shall see God.”
The word “katharos” is the word that is used in John 13 when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. He washed their feet. Katharos. That passage of scripture in John 13 is oftentimes viewed as a call to service. Jesus served us. He washed our feet. We should serve others. We should wash their feet. It IS a call to serve, but it’s more than that.
Jesus came to Simon Peter and began to wash his feet. Peter said, “Lord, you’ll never wash my feet.” Jesus said, “Simon, if I do not wash you, you have no part of Me.” There’s a symbolic message here. Washing is a metaphor of forgiveness of sins and regeneration. Jesus Christ needs to wash us. He needs to cleanse us. He needs to forgive us. That’s why He came into the world. That’s why He died on Calvary’s cross. We desperately need His washing.
In Matthew, chapter 8, just after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus descends the mountain and a leper comes up to Him. The leper says, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.” The Greek word, again, is “katharos.” “You can make me clean.” Of course, lepers had to stand a hundred yards away from any normal person and shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” Lepers were excommunicated from their communities, banished from their families, made to dwell in dens and caves of the earth while their bodies rotted. It was as tragic as AIDS and more so.
This leper came up to Jesus and said, “Lord, if You will, You can wash me. You can make me clean.” Jesus reached down, touched him and said, “I will. BE clean. BE washed. BE cleansed.” Instantly that leper was made pure. So, we come to Christ with disease-riddled souls. With hearts impure, we come to Him and we say, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean,” and He alone has that power. He touches us, and He makes us clean. I John, chapter 1. “This is the message we’ve heard from the beginning. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.” The Greek word “katharos.” “Cleanses us from all sin.” So, we come to Jesus to be cleansed of sin.
You know, some of you have been to London, England. The city of London was established by the Romans in 43 AD. They called the city Londonium. Of course, the word London comes from that. Just after the year 200 AD, the Romans built a wall around the city of London to protect London from invaders. A Roman legion was stationed there.
In the year 410 AD, barbarians attacked the city of Rome, and all of the Roman legions were called home, back to Rome, and so the Roman legion left the city of London. The city of London ceased to be a Roman city. The city diminished and shrank. Through most of the Middle Ages, the city of London was little more than a village. It was in the year 1042 when Edward the Confessor decided to build a monastery two miles from the little town of London. That monastery was the beginning of Westminster Abbey. Then in 1066, in that same century when William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in that new monastery … Through all of those things, London became known, and people began to move there. London began to grow. By the year 1700, London was the largest city on the earth. One million people in the year 1700. For a hundred years, London was the largest city in the world.
Today, London is the 9th largest city in the world with almost 7 million people in the greater London area. People go to London. They go to see Westminster Abbey. They go to see the Tower of London. They go to see Buckingham Palace, and they go to see St. Paul’s Cathedral. But, you see, just 50 years ago, very few tourists went to England. Eight million a year go to London today. But just 50 years ago, very few tourists, the reason being that the air was horribly polluted, and all the buildings of London were black with soot.
In the 17th Century, 80% of the world’s coal was produced in the city of London. For three hundred years, London was the largest producer of coal in the world. The city became black, layered with soot. Fifty years ago, 1952, 49 years ago, they decided to clean up the city of London, to try to purify its air, to try to clean its buildings. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of millions of man-hours. They have created strong chemical compounds, and they have used them in washing the buildings. The task is still going on. The city of London is being cleaned.
It’s like that in this world. We can clean anything. It might be hard, and it might be hard and it might take a long time, but we can clean anything except for the human soul. We can’t clean the human soul, not in 50 years, not in 50 million years. We can’t clean, we can’t wash, we can’t purify our souls. No amount of good deeds can purify your soul. No amount of ascetic, monastic self-discipline can purify your soul. Only Jesus can purify our soul.
So, we come to Him at the cross and we ask Him to forgive us of our sin and we thank Him for dying for us, His body broken and His blood shed. Whenever we, as Christians, sin, we come to Him again and say, “Wash us anew that we might be cleansed.” Blessed are the cleansed. Blessed are the washed for they shall see God, and you don’t see God when you have sin that’s unforgiven. Sin blocks your experience with God. It blocks your relationship with God. You only enter into relationship with God through Christ when you receive Him as Lord and Savior and your sins are forgiven. Then even as a Christian, your walk with God is diminished because of unconfessed sin. So, we come daily to Jesus and we say, “Wash me anew. Cleanse me anew that I might see God.”
As we close, I want to give you a chance to come to the cross if you’ve never done that and ask Jesus to wash you, cleanse you and to give you eternal life and bring you into His family. After the service, if there’s any sin in your life and you want to come and confess it to somebody, we have prayer people down front who love you and are confidential. If you’d like to make a little confession and experience that washing that only Jesus can give, we invite you to do that today. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.