Who are the Hungry?
Jesus lets us know up front that He is not speaking of literal hunger or thirst, because He says they are hungry and thirsty not for food and drink, but for righteousness. But He does use the words to describe literal hunger and thirst to convey how we are to have that same kind of desire for righteousness as the starving and parched do for food and drink.
The word translated "hunger" is
peinao, which means "to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire" (
BlueletterBible.org). The word is used in
Matthew 4:2 to describe Jesus' hunger after He fasted forty days and nights. It is used in Mary's song of praise or
Magnificat in
Luke 1:53,
"He has filled the hungry with good things."
The word translated "thirst' is
dipsao, which means to painfully feel and eagerly long for those things which refresh the soul (Ibid.). Jesus uses these words
dipsao and
peinao in
John 6:35:
"And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.'" So, both words taken literally mean to feel physical pain due to being hungry and thirsty for food and drink, but taken in the sense that Jesus gave them here in our text, it means to feel a spiritual hunger and thirst, a longing for that which will satisfy the hunger of the soul and slake the spiritual thirst.
And what is it that will do both? Jesus tells us. It is righteousness; the Greek word is
dikaiosuna, to be right in the eyes of God. Remember the words of Jesus in
Matthew 6:33:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Psalm 107:9 teaches us that God certainly can satisfy the hungry soul. The Bible tells us of those who were hungry for God and God blessed them and satisfied them. Moses knew God and wanted to know Him deeper still when he said in
Exodus 33:18,
"Please, show me Your glory." David, who is described twice in the Bible as a man after God's own heart, said these words in
Psalm 42:1-2:
"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?"
(For more information on these biblical references, see John MacArthur's
The Beatitudes: The Only Way to Happiness, p. 117-18.)
A common theme in the saints of God past and present is this hungering and thirsting for God, to know Him, serve Him, and enjoy His presence in our lives. Augustine in his powerful work,
Confessions, was the first to write this now famous and often-quoted phrase about our restless hearts finding rest in God. He writes, "Great are You, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise; Your power is immense, and Your wisdom beyond reckoning. And so we men, who are due part of Your creation, long to praise You—we also carry our mortality about us, carry the evidence of our sin, and with it the proof that You thwart the proud. You arouse us so that praising You may bring us joy, because You have made us and drawn us to Yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in You." (
Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1)
How hungry and thirsty are you for righteousness? Is your heart restless because of your pursuit of lesser things? Keep reading this week as we learn more about this wonderful beatitude of Jesus Christ.
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