Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
-
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -
Item description
I had the privilege of visiting the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount in 2010 with my wife. The Chapel was built in 1938, before that it was a wide open hillside. When you are there you wonder, how did Jesus’ voice carry to the back of a crowd of thousands on that small Mount. But Matthew’s Gospel records that Jesus turned to his disciples and taught these ‘blessed’ words, so these ‘beatitudes’ may have been taught to the disciples rather than a crowd. So we have an accurate account of the Lord’s words passed down the oral tradition until Matthew put pen to papyrus.
Our reading in Matthew 5 begins:
‘When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down..’
The scriptures in Matthew 5-7 are known as: ‘The sermon on the Mount’
It is very interesting that Jesus (see Matthew 4) moved from his home in Nazareth to Capernaum (and he didn’t go back there again). Galilee was a great place for a new message to take off. It is a small region about 50miles x 25miles. It is densely populated. Historian, Josephus recorded 204 towns and villages in the region. Josephus also wrote:
“Galileans’ were by nature were open to change.. and never short of courage… more anxious for honour than for gain.”
This place was ripe for the gospel - the good news. It is the place where Jesus delivered his 'Sermon on the Mount,’ (Matthew 5-7) which contains the most radical, ethical standards ever articulated.
Let’s look at the beatitudes
Who we are in Him
The Qualities we have in him (focussing on the fourth beatitude)
The Blessings we have and will have
-
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus is teaching us who we are in Him, the Qualities we have in him and the Blessings we are promised in these Beatitudes:
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn – for they will be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek - for they will inherit the earth.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – for they will be filled
5. Blessed are the merciful – for they will be shown mercy
6. Blessed are the pure in heart – for they will see God
7. Blessed are the peacemakers – for they will be called the children of God
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness
Eight principles which stand in stark contrast to the way the world may describe being blessed say:
1. Blessed is the one who makes a fortune.
2. Blessed are those who earn six figures p.a.
3. Blessed is the one who has a house in the city and a summer house by the sea.
4. Blessed are the ones who are praised by their peers.
5. Blessed are the people who become celebrities in society.
“Blessed is one of those words with a spiritual depth for which the English language has no alternative. Happiness is an emotion, a feeling triggered by external happenings. Happy are those who go out for a nice meal. Blessed is not the same type of word. It is a deep spiritual joy, untouchable by life’s events.”
Who we are in Him
Who we are – Christians (i.e. Christ’s ones). Clearly, the Beatitudes are taught to his disciples and we must start by saying the Beatitudes are not directed at Bishops, pastors, monks, nuns. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness is not creating a super-group of Christian super-spirituals. Beatitudes are for those who are ‘In Christ!’
The Beatitudes and indeed the whole Sermon on the Mount teaches us that we are called to be ‘counter-cultural’, meaning we will be counter-cultural to the world and Counter-Cultural to the Religious world. Salt and Light, Salt of the earth, Light on a hill (Matthew 5:13-15). The Beatitudes are the closest thing to a manifesto that Jesus ever spoke. Delivered on the hillside in this vibrant area of Galilee.
In Matthew 5:21 when Jesus said:
“You have heard it said of old...but I say unto you.”
That one who he spoke about ‘of old’ was Moses. Jesus is saying that was Old Testament, I am the ‘New Testament.’ This is a manifesto of who we are in him (Jesus) and what he wants to do through us. Following our new birth and our new personal relationship with Jesus, we hunger for righteousness, become merciful, pure in heart in Christ (alone), peacemakers, and persecuted.’
Throughout Matthew Chapters 5 to 7 we find Who we are in Christ
We are Righteous — Matthew 5:6 (We have a right standing with God) — 2 Corinthians 5:21
We are merciful — Matthew 5:7, Forgiving as we have been forgiven — Matthew 6:12
We are not judging that we may not be judged — Matthew 7:1
We are pure in heart — Matthew 5:8 (holy as he is Holy — 1 Peter 1:16 )
We are Peacemakers — Matthew 5:8 We have peace with God, (the peace that passes understanding — Philippians 4:7)
We are the light of the world — Matthew 5:14
We are Salt of the earth — Matthew 5:16
We have treasures in heaven, where our hearts are also — Matthew 6:21
We have a Father in Heaven, hallowed be his name — Matthew 6:9 (we are joint heirs with Christ — Romans 8:17 )
We are the wise man who builds our house on the Rock which is Christ — Matthew7:24
We are free from the law of sin and death — Matthew 5:20, — Romans 8:2
I need to add a few extras………….. We are greatly loved by God — John 3:16
Christ lives in me, and I live by faith in Him — Galatians 2:20
Redeemed, forgiven of all sin, cleansed through the blood of Christ — Ephesians 1:7
We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us — Philippians 4:13
We are more than conquerors through Christ who loves us — Romans 8:37
Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world — 1 John 4:4
We are ambassadors for Christ — 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Blessedness is based on who we are in Christ and who we are becoming through the transforming Holy Spirit in our lives as we hunger and thirst for Righteousness.
The Qualities we have in him
These are not eight groups of people
these are eight qualities of one people
The Beatitudes are not eight groups of people who are blessed through their hardship; the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry. These are not eight groups of people these are 8 qualities of one people – us – who we are in Christ. The name Christian is short for; Christ‘s ones.
Some bible scholars believe each beatitude leads to the next.
John Chrysostom spoke about links in a chain some depict a ladder each step led to the other and each was dependent on the previous step. These pictures may help us memorise the eight, but it oversimplifies what Jesus is doing. He is using poetic language rather than graphics. If there is a sequence, I believe the ‘Qualities we have’ make sense like this:
Admitting our spiritual poverty
We mourn over our sin and helplessness
Leading to meekness and humility.
A hunger and thirst for righteousness
Develops characteristics of Showing Mercy, Purity, Peace-Making.
If we live this way, we will experience persecution.
If we live this way, those who choose to live the religious way or the worldly way will target us, as happened to believers before us, who experienced persecution and insults and some who were martyred. These are eight qualities we have.
Let me focus on Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
The first three qualities of the Beatitudes involves turning from self-sufficiency, sin and selfishness to new birth in Christ Jesus.
We are now ready to hunger and thirst for Righteousness.
In the past, we hungered and thirsted for all sorts of things but all that didn’t satisfy us. When you are hungry, it grows and grows till there are pangs it’s like a deep yearning for righteousness. The second half of each Beatitude states the Blessings the Christian has. In the case of the fourth Beatitude, the hunger theme is maintained in the second part, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness for they will be filled.
Psalms 42:1-2, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
THat is the Psalmist’s way of expressing thirst, ‘my soul longs for the living God.’
I wonder do we have that longing, thirsting and starving. How desperate am I today for more of the living God? Do I seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness before and above everything else as Matthew 6:33 challenges. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
The Christian is blessed, not by happiness but by the joy of a satisfied heart. Regardless of circumstances, God has satisfied our souls.
John 4:14, Jesus says, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” True fulfilment can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Blessings we have and will have
What is Blessedness? — (the Greek word is Makarios)
They possess the Kingdom of heaven, they inherit the earth, they are comforted, their hunger is satisfied, they receive mercy, they see God, they are called the children of God, all this Blessedness belongs together and is given to every Christian.
The eight characteristics collectively depict the Christian life and the eight blessings collectively describe the privileges of being a Christian.
Hear Jesus’ words again.
“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
“for they shall be comforted”
“for they will inherit the earth”
“for they will be satisfied”
“for they will be shown mercy”
“for they will see God”
“for they will be called sons of God”
“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
The blessings have both a present and future dimension, we enjoy the first fruits now but the kingdom blessing is still to come. The fourth beatitude says that our hunger and thirst for righteousness, will be satisfied. How so, because we are in him, his righteousness is imputed to us Christians, Christ’s ones. To be “satisfied” is to be content, to be filled. This is a rare condition in society today, with people expressing dissatisfaction with their jobs, the government, their circumstances, their churches, and themselves. The Bible teaches that finding genuine satisfaction in life depends on having a relationship with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus. hallelujah.
Billy Graham said, “The character which we find in the Beatitudes is, beyond all question, nothing less than our Lord’s own character, put into words.”
What does he mean? Look at these eight characteristics. He personified the beatitudes. Blessed are the meek they will inherit … He was meek, he gave up everything for us so that we can inherit eternal life. He was merciful but received no mercy on the cross so that you and I could receive mercy. Jesus was pure but the Father turned away from him on the cross (became sin) so that we could see God.
Christian, hunger and thirst for righteousness, his righteousness, for more or the living water that will not run dry. Hunger in prayer, in praise, in reading the scriptures, in being faithful in serving him, being merciful, pure in witnessing for him and as peacemakers wherever you are.
