Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be

filled.”

 

Amos 8:11-14 – a famine of the word of God in the land

Isaiah 32:5-8 – the false teachers and false prophets leave the people hungry

Psalm 63:1-6 – a soul that thirsts for God and his ways

Psalm 42:1-5 – a soul that pants for God and his word

 

“Hunger and Thirst”

  1. An intense longing, desire or need
  2. Not indiscriminate or universal. Not every one will be filled.
  3. This does not refer to living or working for physical food – Matt. 4:4; John 6:27
  4. This is clearly a person looking for something outside themselves, something bigger than themselves, something they do not have nor can they provide
  5. They can only get it by wanting it, not deserving it. It has to come to them by Grace
  6. This hunger and thirst is a passionate concern and desire for what is right in God’s eyes

 

“Righteousness”

  1. “Righteousness is from the Greek word “Dikaiosyne”. This is the Greek word used in the LXX for the Hebrew “sedaqa” which meant “deliverance”, “salvation” or “victory” referring to deliverance or victory of God when He intervenes in history to make the wrongs right.  It has an eschatological meaning and will be ultimately achieved when God establishes his kingdom.
  2. “Righteous” is the work of God in bringing justice and making right
  3. Translation from the NEB: “Those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail.”
  4. There are three times this Jesus’ words fit into our lives:
    1. Imputed Righteousness as in Romans 4:24-25
    2. God’s Righteous Corrections of the world in the new world – Second Peter 3:13
    3. Our righteous Actions in our lives today demonstrate that we are hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness. How can we say we hunger and thirst for God’s righteous corrections of our world if we do not live that way in our own lives? Matthew 5:10 indicates that Jesus is also thinking that our hunger for God’s righteousness will manifest in our own righteous character and behavior. (Also, 5:20)

 

“Filled”

  1. Once again we see grace in these verses since the word “filled” is being used and not words like “achieved”, “make”, “win”, etc. We are to hunger; God is to fill.
  2. “Filled” is the Greek word “chortazomai” which is a graphic word used to refer to the fattening of animals.
  3. This same verb is used in Matthew 14:20 to refer to the 5,000 people who ate the food that Jesus multiplied and were satisfied. (Also Phil. 4:12 – “well fed” and Rev. 19:21 – birds gourge themselves.)

 

Paul prays that the Ephesians be filled to the fullness of God in Ephesians 3:19

Daniel is told that the righteous will shine like the stars in Daniel 12:3

Paul says that our resurrected bodies will be like the stars in that they each have

a different splendor. This may be a reference to our fullness in eternity

being equal to the amount of righteousness we hunger for in time.