Blessed Are the Hungry and Thirsty

Sermon on the Mount

“Hunger and Thirst”

Matthew 5:6 NASB95

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

The Bible is clear that whatever we put into our body, will come out. That is true physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

If we continually feed on fatty or high sugar foods, we will become obese, diabetic, lethargic, etc. The opposite is true when we try to eat healthy and remain active.

As it relates to our emotions, if we constantly focus on the negative, seeking out those who always complain; that negativity will come out in how we act and speak towards ourselves and those around us.

Those who constantly watch violence, listen to music with violent lyrics and play video games that are violent in content; it comes out in that person by acting violent.

It only stands to reason that the same can be said for spiritual things. The Bible does use figurative speech of eating and drinking to spiritual things.

Luke 22:30 HCSB

so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

Isaiah 55:1 HCSB

“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

Yet the thought here in this Beatitude is not the actual participation of eating or drinking, it is the craving. As it applies to the spiritual, if we focus on evil, evil will come out…and I’m not only speaking about what we would consider evil because considers ALL sin evil. So maybe it is better said that if we focus on things not of God, then those things will be produced in the fruit that we bear.

In this Beatitude, Jesus tells us what we ought to eat and how we must eat if we are to have spiritual health and ultimate satisfaction. Spiritual health comes from hunger. A person who is starving for righteousness is not a blessed or happy person, if that person is only focused on his or her immediate circumstances.

I. Translation of dikaiosune {dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay} - “righteous”

A. What it doesn’t mean

1. “imputed righteousness” – justification

Some believe Jesus is speaking to objective righteousness or imputed righteousness. The type of righteousness described in Romans.

God imputes righteousness on the person who comes to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:17 HCSB

For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Romans 3:21–22 HCSB

But now, apart from the law, God’s righteousness has been revealed —attested by the Law and the Prophets —that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

Philippians 3:9 HCSB

and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ —the righteousness from God based on faith.

This gift of righteousness is the foundation to every believer who has placed their faith in Christ for salvation. But that is not what Jesus is describing here.

2. “social righteousness” – oppressed

Some have thought it to mean social righteousness…the type of righteous treatment of the poor and oppressed. I must admit that social righteousness or what today’s world calls “social justice” is partly what Jesus is referring to.

We can’t deny that Jesus’ message here and throughout His ministry was partially focused on His justice or judgement on evil people and evil acts.

Matthew 4:12–17 HCSB

When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the sea road, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles! The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned. From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”

Isaiah 9:1–2 HCSB

Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future He will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.

In the end, it won’t be the powerful that will reign, but rather, it will be those who a part of God’s family and who exhibit God’s grace in their lives.

However, the root meaning here in regarding hungering for righteousness, refers to something very different.

B. What it does mean

1. Dikaiosune used 7 times by Christ

Here in Jesus’ sermon on the mount, He uses the word Dikaiosune seven times. The use of this word here in all seven instances help define what the word means.

2. “subjective righteousness”

The meaning is what I would describe as a subjective righteousness. It is an inner righteousness of people.

a. Follower of Christ works it out

First, this righteousness is something that a follower of Christ works itself out.

It is so much a part of the person, that it has to come out in the person’s life and who they are.

b. Live out in conformity to God’s will

It is worked out by a person who is so in love with God, that they want to live out what God teaches and who Christ was. It is not that we work out our salvation or that we can earn our salvation, but rather, when a person becomes a child of God through the blood of Christ, they want to live for Christ out of love for Christ.

It is righteous living. Thus, those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”, long to live righteously and for righteousness to prevail in the world.

c. Ever increasing desire to know God

It is a passionate desire to live in compliance with God’s will in their life and to live out God’s will for the world. It is a desire to be like Christ in every aspect of life.

This desire is expansive, in that, I mean it includes an ever-increasing sense of a need for God and a passionate desire that the righteousness that the Beatitudes represent – both personally and in the world.

“The one who hungers and thirsts wants the character of the kingdom. He pants after the fruit of the Spirit. He wants God’s will and all it entails.”

3. Desperation

To some degree, we can’t fully understand the analogy here in Jesus’ call to pursue conformity to God’s will. The intensity of his expression is difficult for us because if we are thirsty, we go to the water fountain or fridge or the tap at a nearby sink. If we are hungry, we can go to the fridge, cupboard, pantry, or nearest restaurant or convenient mart.

a. Great intensity

However, in ancient Palestine, this was very clear to people because it was not inconceivable to die of starvation or dehydration. For many, daily life was focused on finding water or food for the day…or else die.

It is a difficult picture that Jesus painted. He wasn’t recommending a general desire for spiritual nourishment. He was telling them that they should be starving for righteousness and thirsting for God’s will as if their life depended on it.

b. Growing intensity

There should also be a growing intensity and desire for righteousness.

“Blessed are those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness”. David was a man like this in parts of his life. David wrote many Psalms about his interactions with God. He was a man after God’s heart.

David wrote many Psalms about his interactions with God. He was a man after God’s heart. At his best, David was a man who gained spiritual heights that few men attain. And yet, he wrote this:

At his best, David was a man who gained spiritual heights that few men attain. And yet, he wrote this:

Psalm 63:1 HCSB

God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

Psalm 17:15 HCSB

But I will see Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.

David wrote of his continual hunger and thirst for God.

II. Hunger and Thirst

This is the way that it should be for a healthy believer in Christ. The more you have of Him, the more you want…the more you thirst and hunger for God and His righteousness.

A healthy believer in Christ is always hungry. In fact, hungering and thirsting for righteousness is the only approach the Beatitude accepts.

A. Become conscious of our need

For some Christians, this Beatitude doesn’t make sense because it rules out a self-satisfied and half-hearted religion. For some Christians…maybe some here tonight…Jesus’ words may uncover buried and almost forgotten glimmers of times past when you first came to Christ and you hungered and thirsted for more and more of God’s righteousness and Christ.

You couldn’t get enough of the Word and you joyously sought after God’s righteousness. You were willing to deny self in pursuit of serving God. But time and life have blunted your excitement and desire. And – over time – your hunger ceased.

And yet you still haven’t forgot the joy and warmth of earlier times when you were on fire for God. The call is to all Christians who may have lost that hunger and thirst for God. Heed the call of the Holy Spirit and God will restore you.

Jesus said that those who are spiritually famishing and dehydrated are blessed…they are approved by God. What? Why? Because those who truly hunger and thirst for righteousness know Christ. That should be a warning to all evangelical Christians.

Concern for righteous living is on the decline in today’s church. Polls tell us that the ethical gap between the world and the church is narrowing. It is becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between a Christian and a lost person. If you don’t have a longing for righteousness, you better take a look at your soul.

What can I do to get that desire back?

1. Eliminate false righteousness

Unfortunately, many Christians today have replaced their relationship with Christ for a religion with Christ. When our relationship turns into a religion, the common theme is self. I turn to self for righteousness by looking at what I do, who I associate with, what activities I can insert to keep busy for God….I replace God’s righteousness with my false righteousness.

2. Avoid “diet pills”

Too many look to quick fixes or replacements for work.

They look to what tickles their ear and what can easily be inserted into their life. They look to the latest fads or false doctrine to give them a pick-me-up. The only problem…they loose muscle along with the fat.

Just as in any relationship, we must work at our relationship with God.

3. Inject discipline

a. Association

b. Study

c. Prayer

III. Satisfaction

Think of your favorite desert or snack. After you take that piece of pie or cake, or take that cookie or brownie, or whatever is your favorite and you bite into it, there is an immediate satisfaction as you are eating it. But what happens when that piece is gone? If it is truly your favorite, you want more. Even if you can’t have another piece right away, the desire is there to eat more the first chance you get. That is similar to what we should experience with God.

A. Searching for God brings contentment

B. Searching for God brings desire

C. Satisfaction only comes to the believer

The world can only offer diet pills, empty containers, and imitation fulfilment. That is why Jesus emphasized that ONLY those who hunger or thirst for righteousness, or they alone, will be filled.

1. Presently

No one can know the satisfaction that only comes from God but a believer in Christ.

John 4:14 HCSB

But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

John 6:35 HCSB

“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.

Psalm 107:9 HCSB

For He has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.

The satisfaction that Jesus offers is for our present day and it is complete. But it is more!

2. Eternally

There will be a divine and eternal feast – the Bible speaks about that in various places. Jesus told His disciples:

Luke 22:29–30 HCSB

I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.

Isaiah 55:1–2 HCSB

“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.

What a feast there will be when we eternally dine at the King’s table. Talk about eternal satisfaction!!

IV. The Result – Blessedness

As a refresher, let’s go back to the definition of blessedness. Some translations use the word “happy” for the word translated here as “blessed”. To some, the Greek word should be translated “highly favored” by God. It is more than what we think of happy or what the worlds uses to define happy.

Our modern idea of “happiness” is a diluted version of the joy implied by the term Jesus used. Our idea of happiness is a dependence on circumstances. Instead, God’s happiness or joy is dependent on the assurance of God’s blessing (sometimes present, often future), not on current circumstances, and it abides deep and undisturbable within the believer.

Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 58). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The world not only has the wrong definition, but it goes about trying to find it in the wrong way.

If you truly want to be blessed as described here in the Beatitudes, then it:

A. Never should be sought directly

Blessedness or happiness is not the thing we should be thirsting for. It is not the thing we should hunger for.

The world has it wrong…some Christians have it wrong. They are hungering and thirsting for happiness…wrong.

B. Always a result of seeking something else

Blessedness is a byproduct of that which we should seek…righteousness.

It is the same with each of the Beatitudes. It is emphasized here in this one. We need to seek with all that we have for righteousness. When we do that, God satisfies and He blesses.

V. Pathway to Blessedness

A. Seek righteousness

Matthew 6:33 HCSB

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

1. Learn God’s instruction

2. Follow God’s instruction

3. Eliminate sin

a. Practice

As you begin to eliminate sin in your life, fill the void with God and His ways. Practice makes perfect. Develop habits – holy habits – in your life.

b. Desire

When we seek the kingdom and righteousness of God, we should see God also change us – change our desires to the point where our desires become God’s desires for us.

John 4:10 HCSB

Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”

Our desire should be from the living wellspring of God. His refreshment satisfies our thirst to the point where we want more of him and less of the world.

B. Long for complete holiness

Skeptics of Christianity argue that the Bible cannot be true because of all the evil in the world. “Why has not God done anything about that?” they sneer. One Christian responded, “Your skepticism only seeks to excuse yourself. For the moment, let us set aside the evil ‘out there.’ The question you should be asking is, ‘What shall we do about the evil in you?’ ” For kingdom servants, there should certainly be a hunger and thirst for righteousness to be restored in our surrounding world. But there must be an even deeper hunger that such restoration begin within our own heart. (Old Testament parallels include ; ; ; ; ; .)

Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew (Vol. 1, p. 59). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.