Hungering for Righteousness

Last Week:

We landed the plane and started to get on the ground and in the weeds of the sermon on the mount

We talked about the the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, the beatitudes

Then specifically we learned about the first three:

Poor in Spirit

Those who Mourn

The Humble/Meek

Again all of these are Jesus inviting his listeners into a truly good and flourishing life

It just doesn’t look how we would expect

“It is actually good and flourishing to be poor in spirit”

“It is actually a good thing to mourn”

“It is a sign that you are blessed and living the truly good life, if you are humble”

We talked about how this is truly counter-cultural

These beatitudes rub us the wrong way

When we don’t take them to heart, they can sound cliche or outright false

But remember, Jesus is forming a new community of people

He’s making a new kingdom of people, defined by their faith in him

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is setting forth the values of his kingdom and what it looks like to be a citizen of this kingdom

This kingdom is everlasting, eternal, and truly flourishing

Where every human is treated with dignity and respect

Where love is the rule, and people selflessly care for each other

Where God is the king, and no one tries to exalt themselves

So this morning (and the next several weeks) we are going to be focusing on one beatitude

Matthew 5:6 (CSB)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 5:1–12 (CSB)

When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the humble,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Outline

So today, we have a pretty simple outline, my goal is to answer three questions.

What is righteousness?

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Why is this a blessing?

What is Righteousness?

Before we can understand what it means to understand ‘hungering and thirsting for righteousness’ we must know what ‘righteousness’ means

ASK: What does righteousness mean?

It is a word we hear a lot, but do we know what it means?

There are a couple of different nuances/meanings to it and if we don’t have the correct one we can miss the point

Imputed Righteousness?

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 (CSB)

It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

*Explain imputed righteousness*

The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary Righteousness

“hungering and thirsting for righteousness” is often interpreted as longing for God’s imputed righteousness or the salvation he gives.

Why this isn’t sufficient

Look a little later, “blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake”

Righteousness isn’t just something we have, its something we do

People aren’t persecuted for believing in Jesus, they are persecuted for living like Jesus (while believing in him)

Biblical Understanding of Righteousness

This isn’t a word that is only found in the New Testament regarding Jesus

It is all over the place in the Old Testament

God’s people are called to be righteous people

In the simplest sense righteousness has to deal with relationships

It is:

Being in right relationships with God and others

This is God’s intention for humanity

Love God and Love others

Righteousness and Justice go hand and hand

These sound like very abstract terms

Justice - righting wrongs - restorative

Righteousness - being in right relationship with others and God

10 commandments

Right relationship with God (honoring him)

Right relationship with others (honoring images of God)

So this is what righteousness is: Maintaining right relations with others

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

This is far more than just longing for God’s salvation and the righteousness we have in Jesus

ASK: Given how we described righteousness (right relations), What do you think it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Have you ever been extremely hungry or thirsty?

Its unbearable

It takes our attention from other things

It consumes us until we fill the need

We all hunger for something

Humans are not as independent as we think...

Even in the beginning, after saying, it is good, it is good, it is very good, we read:

Genesis 2:18 (CSB)

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

We aren’t meant to live independent and alone

We are made for relationships

This is before the fall!

Scripture tells us that:

Ecc 3:11

He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

We have eternity planted in our hearts

We know we were created for something bigger and greater than we can ever imagine

All humans have a hunger for significance and meaning

But scripture also tells us:

Jer 17:9

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

We all have this deep void in our hearts, but we deceive ourselves trying to fill it with all sorts of things

I will find my significance in:

Academic Achievement

Knowledge and Understanding

Athletic performance

Our Influence with Others

How well we are liked

Prestigious Career

A Model Family

We say: “Yes, I acknowledge I have this deep hole in my heart, and I know exactly what will fill it.”

The problem with an eternal or infinite hole is that it must be filled by something eternal or infinite

There is no amount of performance, achievements, influence, wealth, or anything that can fill the hole

I love this simple quote from Jim Carrey:

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”

Its like a children’s toy with shapes to fit in different spots

It doesn’t fit so the hole will never be filled

Or like a magic mag that can never be filled

These desires will eat and eat away and they will never be completely filled

There will never be any satisfaction in the end

John D. Rockefeller has a famous quote:

“How much money does it take to make a man happy? Just one more dollar.”

At the peak of this man’s wealth he had a net worth of about 1% of the US economy… ONE MAN

He owned 90% of the oil and gas industry

He makes people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates look like they are poor

“Just one more dollar”

This isn’t something new to our times, this is true of all humanity at all times

Over 350 years ago Blaise Pascal said:

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there, the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

The question is not: Are you hungering and thirsting?

But: What are you hungering and thirsting for?

Jesus came to say that the most blessed thing people could long for is righteousness

ASK: What is righteousness?

The best direction for our longing is deeply desiring righteousness

Right relationships with God and others

Remember what it is like to be hungry and thirsty... (Pause)

Imagine being hungry to honor others and God

It’s unbearable

It takes our attention

It consumes us until it is accomplished

I long to be at peace with God and others

This is what Jesus is saying

Why is this a blessing?

In short: “Because you will be filled”

You see this is a paradox of Christianity

The more we focus on ourselves the more discontent and unsatisfied we become

You would think that to fill ourselves up we would focus on ourselves

I don’t fill up my neighbors car with gas and expect my car to be full

But that’s not the way things work with our souls

The more we try to fill ourselves up the bigger the hole gets

Bigger and bigger over time, until we are all consumed with ourselves

The more we focus on others (God included) we begin to be filled, satisfied, content with anything that comes our way

Our filling up has two aspects: Now and In the Age to Come

Now:

As we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we WILL be filled

That’s a promise

This deep and infinite longing we have can be filled today!

Listen to the words of Paul in Philippians:

Context: Paul was poor, and the Philippians helped him, he is saying thank you

Philippians 4:10–19 (CSB)

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it. I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

And you Philippians know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s longings were set on honoring God and others, and he was filled.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us some famous words:

Matthew 6:33 (CSB)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Now living this out will not be easy

Even in Paul’s case, his life was plagued with hardships

Even later in the beatitudes, Jesus tells us:

Matthew 5:10 (CSB)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

That’s why our true and lasting hope, our anchor in difficult times, is in Jesus’s return:

The Age to Come:

When Jesus returns, we will be filled once and for all

Now we live in a world with our fleshly desires that we must say no to

We live in a world with broken relationships where righteousness is extremely difficult and sometimes feels impossible

But we have a hope that one day, when Jesus returns, we will be filled for all eternity

The Bible ends with these sobering words

Revelation 22:10–13 CSB

Then he said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let the unrighteous go on in unrighteousness; let the filthy still be filthy; let the righteous go on in righteousness; let the holy still be holy.” “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Conclusion:

Guys this is the gospel, the good news

The deepest longings we have, God wants to fill them

Wanting to be liked by others (or that particular other)

Wanting to be belonged, fully known and loved by others

Wanting to have significance in our lives and the things that we do

Wanting to live at peace with others and not fear broken relationships

Wanting to make a difference in the world

And this isn’t just some future far off hope,

But this is being offered to you all right now

This is the way of the kingdom of God and millions of people have walked this path before us

The question is are we willing to walk in the way of Jesus

Accept his teachings

Live like Jesus

As you go through the week I pray you would identify these desires, hungers, longings, in you

We all have them, they may look a little different from person to person, but God wants to fill them all