Title: The Blessed Hungry

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”

Main idea: Jesus pronounced a blessing for those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

Righteousness
Have you ever been really hungry? Or thirsty? Many go hungry each day. Hunger and thirst, then, are two of the basic drives that sustain life. One who does not hunger or thirst is dead or dying. They are figures often used in the Bible for spiritual hunger. For example: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalms 42:1–2). Righteousness is whatever is right in the eyes of God. Jesus commanded, “But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). The kingdom, or reign, of God is a synonym for God’s will.
What did Jesus say righteousness is? His revelation gave us the final word about God’s righteousness. Jesus said to his disciples, “That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”
People who “hunger and thirst” are in real need. They will die if they are not fed. Such is the passion of those who desire righteousness. Abraham believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Man is unable to earn this right standing with God. No amount of good works will ever be able to atone for his sin. In fact,  “all our righteousness are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). In the context of the preceding beatitudes, righteousness includes several facets. It includes “justice” for those who have been downtrodden or who have experienced injustice. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness desire to see justice executed on earth, they long to experience righteousness in their own lives.

“they will be filled”
The ultimate source of righteousness is God himself (Psalms 42:1 – 2; 63:1). The scribes and the Pharisees focus on attaining righteousness through studying and interpreting the law, their efforts result in self-righteousness, which will not enable them to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20). But for those who deeply long for God’s righteousness, they will be filled. That divine satisfaction will come in a final sense in God’s future kingdom, but it will be experienced in the present by those who respond to Jesus’ invitation to kingdom life and enter into a relationship with him as he fills their deepest personal hunger and thirst for righteousness (John 4:13 – 15; 6:35). How does this hunger and thirst for righteousness become fully satisfied? By the imputation of Christ’s merits. Thus we obtain a righteousness of inner condition and outward conduct (Rom. 8:3–5; 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Thess. 2:13). Regarding the longing for a righteous world, Peter, hearing this message, later wrote to persecuted believers: “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Application
God made us in his own image. Spiritual hunger is an evidence of God’s work in one’s heart. The blessing, however, is not on the basic need in every heart for God but on one who actively hungers and thirsts for God. Hungry for righteousness? We don’t hear about that one too often. Whenever you pray for God’s will to be done, you are getting hungry for righteousness. Pray often, until your heart becomes centered on what God wants most. Notice, who is blessed? The person who hungers and thirsts after righteousness. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). “For they shall be filled” is the promise. One who does not hunger and thirst for God can never be filled, because one is doomed to unhappiness who does not know God. The father could not forgive and restore the prodigal son until he came home. Even God cannot forgive one who is unwilling to be forgiven. He cannot further reveal himself except to the receptive person.

Let’s pray together
Heavenly Father,  I thank you for your word. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” Help us Lord to hunger after righteousness. In Jesus Name Amen.