Somewhere around the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, a massive crowd begins to gather around Jesus. Reports of His miracles have been spreading.

Jesus pulls away from the throng and climbs a nearby mountain. Finding a suitable place, He sits down to signify He is about to teach. With His newly chosen disciples assembling around Him, Jesus begins what would become known as the Sermon on the Mount.

This is no ordinary teaching session. It is the most complete sermon of Jesus recorded in Scripture. It is His manifesto. And for those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, we must pay special attention to this famous discourse. We must not ignore it, soften it, or domesticate it in any way.

Through this magnificent sermon, Jesus reveals God’s true intention for human life and society. He shares His vision for a new culture of Jesus people.

Jesus opens His sermon by giving a collection of eight statements we call the Beatitudes. Contrary to popular understanding, the Beatitudes are not advice or instruction. They are not commands. Nor are they formulas for success. The Beatitudes are simply announcements.

Through these eight statements, Jesus identifies the kinds of people who will receive the arrival of this Kingdom as good news. And right in the middle of them, Jesus makes an announcement that will become a recurring theme throughout His entire ministry: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

God at Work in Jesus

Essential to orthodox Christian faith is the confession of the divinity of Christ. Jesus of Nazareth was not merely a religious guru, a prophet, an enlightened teacher, or an ideal moral example to follow. The consistent claim of the New Testament is that He is the unique, eternal, divine Son of God.

Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Hebrews 1:3 affirms Jesus is “the exact representation” of God’s being. Paul put it this way: “The Son is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

Our English word “incarnation” comes from the combination of two Latin words: in (meaning “in”) and carnis (“flesh”). It is from the Latin word carnis that we get the modern Spanish word carne (“meat” or “flesh”). Jesus is God in the flesh — God incarnate.

As Jesus launched His ministry and began traveling throughout Galilee, people marveled at the unusual work of God that was happening through this mysterious man. Not quite sure what to make of Jesus, the crowds were always speculating about His identity and role within the scope of Israel’s prophetic story. Many quickly concluded the hand of God was upon Him.

But not everyone was able to see God at work in Jesus. There was a particular religious party in first-century Israel known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a sizable faction who promoted moral and religious purity within the Jewish world. They believed this state of purity would somehow be the impetus for God to deliver Israel from enemy occupation and restore its sovereign identity. In all of Israel, the Pharisees were held in the highest regard for their commitment to honoring God. Yet oddly enough, when God incarnate showed up in their midst, they fiercely opposed Him.

In a particularly memorable example, the people brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. According to Matthew 12:22–24, “Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that this fellow drives out demons.’”

Consider the irony here. The accusation that Jesus was demon possessed revealed the spiritual blindness of His accusers. And it happened in response to Jesus curing an actual demoniac of physical blindness. How could this group with a reputation for religious devotion fail to recognize the work of God through the divine Son?

What kept the Pharisees spiritually blind was not sin, per se. After all, everyone who encountered Jesus was a sinner in some fashion. In fact, many who were considered sinners celebrated His arrival and received the good news of the Kingdom. What blinded these religious experts from seeing God at work in Jesus was a particular category of sin. Theirs were sins of externalism: hypocrisy, judgmentalism, and religious pride.

Religious Externalism

There is a funny story about a man who was searching for some way to supplement his income and save his farm during the Great Depression.

One weekend, a traveling circus stopped in his town. The farmer went to the circus manager and said, “I’ll do anything you need. I just need some extra money.”

The circus manager didn’t hesitate.

“I’m going to turn you into a star,” he said. “Our gorilla died last week. He was a big part of the show. And in these tough economic times, we cannot afford to import another one. So, we would like you to wear a gorilla suit and perform the gorilla act.”

Desperate for cash, the farmer agreed.

Every night a rope hung near the lion’s cage. At the climax of the show, the fake gorilla was to grab the rope and swing over the lion several times while throwing bananas. The crowds loved it.

After a couple of nights, the farmer was beginning to enjoy the applause. One evening, he decided to improve on the act and beat his chest like a real gorilla. But the gesture caused his hand to slip from the rope, and he tumbled to the floor of the cage. The lion immediately pounced on him and let out a roar.

The terrified farmer screamed, “Help! Get me out of here! I’m going to die!”

Then the lion leaned forward and whispered, “Shut up, you fool! You’re going to get us both fired!”

Just as zipping up a suit cannot turn a person into a circus animal, merely putting on the trappings of religion never made anyone godly. The ever-present danger for those who begin the journey of faith is the potential to embody a sort of imitation Christianity, in which one bears all the external markers of Christian commitment but neglects to pay attention to the deeper issues of the soul. To follow this route is to venture off the path of Calvary and onto the broad road of religious pride and hypocrisy.

This shift into externalism is nearly imperceptible to the person involved, but it is toxic. While everything may look exactly as it should on the outside, there is a latent virus beneath the surface. And once it takes root, it can be spiritually devastating.

Jesus had a habit of exposing the externalism that existed in the lives of many of the Jewish leaders of His day. Each of His stinging rebukes were loving attempts to awaken them to their blind condition:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matthew 23:25–28).

Jesus similarly talked about externalism in the Sermon on the Mount. At one point, He applied the term “hypocrites” to those who drew attention to their practices of prayer, fasting, and generous giving so other people would praise them (Matthew 6:1–8,16–18).

In Matthew 15:7, Jesus used the word “hypocrites” to describe leaders who elevated religious traditions over the supreme responsibility of loving others. He then quoted from Isaiah: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (verse 8).

Jesus’ clashes with these leaders over their objections to His acts of healing on the Sabbath repeatedly expose this deadly virus of religious hypocrisy. Jesus taught that the sum of the “Law and the Prophets” boils down to the commands to love God and love our neighbors (Matthew 22:37–40). Yet these leaders used adherence to religious standards to promote their own interests at the expense of others.

Hypocrisy, judgmentalism, and religious pride keep us in spiritual blindness.

This condition of spiritual blindness is not something God had inflicted upon them. On the contrary, Jesus — who perfectly embodied God’s will — kept pleading with them in hopes they would eventually recognize their sinful state and repent.

Spiritual Sight

Imagine your inner life as having a window. Windows accomplish two things. First, a window lets in light. Second, a window provides a view of the world beyond the building’s walls. Thus, a window allows us to see both inside and outside.

But if the window is never cleaned, and grime is allowed to accumulate to the point that it eventually becomes caked over with filth, it will no longer serve any useful function. The inhabitants will live in darkness and will be unable to see through to the outside.

What we learn from Jesus’ interaction with these religious experts is that hypocrisy, judgmentalism, and religious pride keep us in spiritual blindness.

In John 9, one such confrontation occurred after Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth. In that culture, it was commonly assumed blindness was a sign of God’s judgment. (See verses 2 and 34.) When some of the Pharisees learned of this man’s healing, they attempted to discredit Jesus and even called Him a sinner (verse 24).

In response, Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (verse 39).

This entire incident illustrates Jesus’ point. The man who was born blind received new sight, both physically and spiritually (verse 38). Yet the Pharisees who claimed to have pristine spiritual perception were unable to identify the Son of God even when He stood right in front of them.

Once the virus of religious hypocrisy takes root in a person’s heart, it has the potential to thoroughly destroy his or her ability to perceive and cooperate with the work of God. What makes this virus particularly insidious is that as it grows within an individual’s inner life, everything may look exactly right on the outside. Meanwhile, the incongruence between the interior and exterior life widens.

Seeing God at Work

A number of years ago, our church launched a long-term residential program for men with addictions. It has since become an incredibly fruitful endeavor that God has blessed in many ways. Once a man enters our program, we provide him with food and lodging for an entire year, equip him through life-on-life discipleship, and train him in vocational skills with the goal of placing him in a suitable job and living arrangement upon graduation.

Early in our program, one of the young men participated in the filming of an informational video on behalf of the ministry. Sitting in front of a beautiful cross, he briefly shared part of his story. For several years, he had struggled with addiction. He lost his job, became estranged from his family, and spent time in jail. Out of desperation, he finally made a decision to seek help. After spending a year in our program and accepting Christ as his Savior, the trajectory of his life began to change dramatically.

In the video, this man could hardly contain his excitement as he described the restoration that was happening in his personal life. He beamed as he gave thanks for God’s mercy. He then expressed a desire for God to use him to help others.

When we shared the video on social media, most people who commented were thrilled to hear about the change in this young man.

However, one individual had an objection. This person was known in the local community as a self-styled theological watchdog. He had a reputation for barking at other Christians, preachers and churches who didn’t happen to agree with his view on seemingly any issue. (Of course, the trouble with watchdogs is they often can’t tell the difference between a thief and a mailman.)

Upon watching the brief two-minute video, this critic noticed what he felt was an apparent flaw in the reformed addict’s expression of faith — specifically, the lack of terminology like “repentance,” “blood of Jesus,” or “born again.” Therefore, though he had never met the man in the video, the faultfinder wrote a lengthy post publicly questioning this new believer’s walk with Christ.

The intent of the video was simply to promote the program. The men in our ministry have other opportunities to share their testimonies, most notably at their baptisms. The video fulfilled its purpose of spreading awareness about the program so other individuals and families suffering through addiction could find help.

To this day, the man in that video is walking in freedom from addiction. He is still young in Christ, but the glory of God continues to shine through his life. He may not be as theologically articulate as some, but the work of God in his life has been amazing to witness.

There is so much more gospel hope found in stories like this young man’s than can ever be found in the smug judgmentalism of those who are able to define terms like “atonement” and “propitiation” but cannot see the work of God happening right in front of them.

Over the years, I have been grieved to witness friends and acquaintances who, for whatever reason, latch onto unhealthy and toxic preaching that propagates a similar form of religious externalism. While all the external markers may be present, the fruit that is produced bears no resemblance to the life exemplified by Jesus hanging on the cross praying for His executioners.

Near the end of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus issued this warning: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15–17).

Jesus was drawing upon a common motif from Isaiah, who frequently used fruit-related imagery in his prophetic declarations. And according to Isaiah, the fruits that God longs for are righteousness and justice (Isaiah 5:1–7).

In other words, God calls us to live in right relationship with Him and with one another. This is exactly the subject matter of the entire Sermon on the Mount, encapsulated by the Beatitudes.

There are false prophets working against the value system set forth in the Beatitudes. These “ferocious wolves” mercilessly ignore the cries of the meek and the oppressed, seeking to gain power and influence by demonizing other leaders. And their distinguishing characteristic is religious pride.

Jesus warns us to beware of those whose lives display a veneer of religiosity but do not produce the fruits of righteousness and justice. If we constantly feed on influences that are contaminated with self-righteousness and legalistic pride, the virus of religious arrogance will take root in our hearts and even begin spreading among the people around us.

Take a few moments to reflect on the following questions:

• Who are the primary influencers in my life (authors, preachers, leaders, podcasters, etc.)?
• Do they inspire me to crave more of God’s presence, or do they just beat me down?
• Are they capable of seeing God at work in other churches, ministries, and leaders, or have they confined God to their own rigid boxes?
• Do they empower me to live a contented life with Christ, or do they inject anxiety and insecurity into my spiritual life?
• Do they encourage me to follow Christ’s way of living humbly, walking in mercy and loving my enemies?
• Do they motivate me to live a more others-oriented life?

In the interest of spiritual health, we must intentionally surround ourselves with humble-hearted, life-giving people, who are genuinely committed to Jesus, and who share His burden to reconcile all things and all people to the Father.

The sixth Beatitude teaches us that our capacity to see God is connected with the purity of our own hearts. If the windows of our hearts are clean, we will be able to perceive the work of God in others. But if our hearts have become polluted with pride and hypocrisy, all we will notice are their faults.

It requires no keen spiritual perception to look at other people and point out their deficiencies. To use Jesus’ term, any hypocrite can do that. Spiritual sight is the ability to look at other people, other places, and other churches and identify the handiwork of God.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to purge our hearts of spiritual pride, we will begin to see the redemptive work of Jesus with fresh eyes. And every place He is at work will become a beautiful, panoramic vision of the glory of God.

Adapted from Jesus People: Communities Formed by the Beatitudes by Ryan Post. Copyright ©2021. Used with permission of the author.

This article appears in the Summer 2021 edition of Influence magazine.