Clean Hearts: From Ritual to Real Purity

Reflections on Matthew 5:8

This is the second of three devotionals on Matthew 5:8 leading up to The Pure in Heart conference on February 7-8. This conference is designed for both men and women, helping to connect the promises of God with the struggles of pornography and sexual sin. The conference speaker will be Garrett Kell, he is faithful pastor and great friend, I hope you will consider joining us!

Jesus and the Emphasis on True Purity

If we want to understand what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:8, we first need to remember that in Jesus' world, He was surrounded by many Jews who placed a strong emphasis on purity.

However, their focus was on the meticulous preservation of outward purity: cleaning rituals, washings, and following every rule to maintain an outwardly "pure" appearance.

But Jesus teaches that God’s word was always meant to go much deeper!

As we see in Matt. 5:8, the true path to happiness and godliness is not about outward purity, but inward purity in our hearts.

The Call for Greater Righteousness

Just a few verses later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). These scribes and Pharisees were known for their “purity” through their outward religious rituals.

This is why one of the main points of Jesus’ sermon is that external righteousness is insufficient.

The heart of God’s law is not found in external obedience alone, but in the internal transformation of the desires of our heart. This is why Jesus calls us to a righteousness that goes beyond surface-level actions and gets to the heart of what God truly desires.

And what is that God truly desires? … Our hearts!

The Heart of True Religion

Later in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their extreme focus on human-made traditions, like hand washing, while neglecting God’s basic commandments.

He says, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

Similarly, in Matthew 23:25-28, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for cleaning the outside of the cup while leaving the inside filthy. Once again, He is calling for a cleansing of the heart, showing that external religious rituals are meaningless if they do not lead to inner purity.

Both of these passages reveal a sharp contrast between empty external practices and true inward religion, one that cleanses the heart of the worshipper.

The Pure in Heart Will See God

It is extremely important to recognize that Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 5:8 about being "pure in heart" is not a new idea. In fact, it is clearly rooted in the teaching of the Old Testament, especially in passages like Psalm 24:3-6, which asks,

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-4).

The psalmist understood that true purity before God comes from inner holiness: clean hands, yes, but also a pure heart.

Jesus is reaffirming this old truth and inviting each us into His kingdom where sinful hearts can be cleansed by the Holy Spirit!

Join Us!

If you want to think through this more, then join us this weekend for the Pure in Heart conference on February 7-8.

If you can't make it to the conference, there will be at least one more devotional in this series, where we'll look at the final part of Matthew 5:8: the beautiful promise, "for they will see God."