Lesson # 5

1. Lesson # 5

2. Various Translations of Matt. 5:6 • Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (KJV) • Blessed [are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (NKJV) • "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (NASB) • Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (ASV) • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV) • "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill." {The New Jerusalem Bible}

3. Various Translations of Matt. 5:6 • "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." {RSV} • "Happy are the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they shall have their meal." {The Living English} • "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires: God will satisfy them fully!" {Today's English Version} • "How blest are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail; they shall be satisfied." {The New English Bible}. • "Blest are those who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill." {Catholic Bible NAB}

4. An Analysis of Matt. 5:6 • Matthew 5:6 --- "Blessed <3107> are they which <3588> do hunger <3983> [5723] and <2532> thirst <1372> [5723] after righteousness <1343>: for <3754> they <846> shall be filled <5526> [5701].“ - {KJV with Strong’s Numbers and MTV number systems} • 3983peinao peinao {pi-nah'-o} from the same as 3993 (through the idea of pinching toil; "pine"); • TDNT - 6:12,820; v, AV - hunger 10, be an hungred 9, be hungry 3, hungry 1; 23 • to hunger, be hungry • to suffer want • to be needy • metaph. to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire

5. An Analysis of Matt. 5:6 • Matthew 5:6 --- "Blessed <3107> are they which <3588> do hunger <3983> [5723] and <2532> thirst <1372> [5723] after righteousness <1343>: for <3754> they <846> shall be filled <5526> [5701].“ - {KJV with Strong’s Numbers and MTV number systems} • 1372dipsao dipsao {dip-sah'-o} from a variation of 1373; TDNT - 2:226,177; v AV - thirst 10, be thirsty 3, be athirst 3; 16 • to suffer thirst, suffer from thirst • figuratively, those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened

6. An Analysis of Matt. 5:6 • Matthew 5:6 --- "Blessed <3107> are they which <3588> do hunger <3983> [5723] and <2532> thirst <1372> [5723] after righteousness <1343>: for <3754> they <846> shall be filled <5526> [5701].“ - {KJV with Strong’s Numbers and MTV number systems} • 1343dikaiosune dikaiosune {dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay} from 1342; TDNT - 2:192,168; n f AV - righteousness 92; 92 • In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God • The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God • Integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting • In a narrower sense, justice or the virtue which gives each his due.

7. An Analysis of Matt. 5:6 • Matthew 5:6 --- "Blessed <3107> are they which <3588> do hunger <3983> [5723] and <2532> thirst <1372> [5723] after righteousness <1343>: for <3754> they <846> shall be filled <5526> [5701].“ - {KJV with Strong’s Numbers and MTV number systems} • 5526chortazo chortazo {khor-tad'-zo}from 5528;; v AV - fill 12, be full 1, satisfy 1, feed 1; 15 • to feed with herbs, grass, hay, to fill, satisfy with food, to fatten • of animals • to fill or satisfy men • to fulfill or satisfy the desire of any one

8. Mood Tense and Voice of the Various Parts of this Verse: of Matt. 5:6 • Matthew 5:6 --- "Blessed <3107> are they which <3588> do hunger <3983> [5723] and <2532> thirst <1372> [5723] after righteousness <1343>: for <3754> they <846> shall be filled <5526> [5701].“ - {KJV with Strong’s Numbers and MTV number systems} • 5723 Tense - Present See 5774 • Voice - Active See 5784 • Mood - Participle See 5796 • Count - 2549 • 5701 Tense - Future See 5776 • Voice - Passive See 5786 • Mood - Indicative See 5791 • Count - 251

9. Mood Tense and Voice of the Various Parts of this Verse: of Matt. 5:6 • Parts of the Speech: • 5774 Tense – Present • The present tense represents a simple statement of fact or reality viewed as occurring in actual time. In most cases this corresponds directly with the English present tense. • Some phrases which might be rendered as past tense in English will often occur in the present tense in Greek. These are termed "historical presents," and such occurrences dramatize the event described as if the reader were there watching the event occur. Some English translations render such historical presents in the English past tense, while others permit the tense to remain in the present. • 5784 Voice – Active • The active voice represents the subject as the doer or performer of the action. E.g., in the sentence, "The boy hit the ball," the boy performs the action. • 5796 Mood – Participle • The Greek participle corresponds for the most part to the English participle, reflecting "-ing" or "-ed" being suffixed to the basic verb form. The participle can be used either like a verb or a noun, as in English, and thus is often termed a "verbal noun."

10. Mood Tense and Voice of the Various Parts of this Verse: of Matt. 5:6 • Parts of the Speech: • 5776 Tense – Future • The future tense corresponds to the English future, and indicates the contemplated or certain occurrence of an event which has not yet occurred. • 5786 Voice – Passive • The passive voice represents the subject as being the recipient of the action. E.g., in the sentence, "The boy was hit by the ball," the boy receives the action. • 5791 Mood – Indicative • The indicative mood is a simple statement of fact. If an action really occurs or has occurred or will occur, it will be rendered in the indicative mood.

11. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Mt. 5:6). "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled" (Lk. 6:21a). • The first beatitude requires humility, • a poverty of spirit; • the second expected godly sorrow over sins; • the third beatitude called upon citizens to be meek; • the fourth looks for an earnest, zealous longing for righteousness. • The first three beatitudes demand that one empties himself. A citizen of the heavenly kingdom is to empty himself of his pride, empty himself of his haughty joy over sin and empty himself of his own selfish interests. • The fourth beatitude then reminds one that he is to recognize his emptiness and eagerly seek to fill up that emptiness with the only thing that can truly satisfy, righteousness.

12. Comments and Application • Firstly this verse is not speaking of the physical nourishment that sustains our physical bodies, but rather of the spiritual nourishment that is required to sustain our Spiritual bodies. • This is what Christ said in the temptation: Matthew 4:4 • But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " (NKJV) • What is meant by Christ in: John 6:27 • "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." (NKJV) • Unlike the animal that survives purely on the physical nourishment, man is created in a duel body of flesh and spirit --- the part that is made in the image of God. • The righteousness that is enjoined on all is the fellowship and communion that one needs to have with God in Christ.

13. Comments and Application • The first part of this beatitude indicates to us that there is life. • Illust: A newborn baby who comes out of the womb instictively gropes and searches for nourishment. • Only those things which have life in them have the desire and the need to sustain their well being. • Secondly with this we see that there is a good healthy appetite. • Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.” (NKJV) • Psalm 63:1 – “O God, You [are] my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.” (NKJV)

14. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • Jesus expressed the depths, pain and longing of physical thirst in his brief poignant words from the cross, "I thirst" (Jn. 19:28). • Luke does not include "and thirst after righteousness," as Matthew, but clearly his single term "hunger" is an abbreviated reference to spiritual hunger. • Man is not only a physical being with physical needs, he is also a spiritual being with deep spiritual needs that must be satisfied. • "To hunger" is used in a figurative sense to describe a fervent craving, a deep and eager desire.

15. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • One who "thirsts" has an almost painful longing. • The idea of spiritual hunger and thirst is not new to the New Testament. • Several Old Testament passages vividly and painfully express the emptiness and longing for spiritual satisfaction. • This is perhaps best illustrated in the Psalms also in Isa. 55:1-3; 65:13). • “,every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (KJV) • “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:” (KJV)

16. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • Along with the need for hunger and thirst for righteousness, the Old Testament promised God would satisfy and fill this need for his people. • "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple" (Psa. 65:4). • The "hungry soul" would be filled, "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psa. 107:9). • "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever" (Psa. 22:26). • Those who thirsted would have their thirst quenched, "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them" (Isa. 41:17).

17. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • In the New Testament, Jesus repeatedly referred to the spiritual need of men as hunger and thirst. • He promised that he came to fulfill and completely satiate that empty longing eternally. • To the woman of Samaria, Jesus promised, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (Jn. 4:14). • To the multitude that followed after him for physical bread, Jesus promised the superior spiritual bread and water, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst" (Jn. 6:35). • To those gathered a feast in Jerusalem, Jesus told them, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:38).

18. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • A good appetite is a sign of health, vigor and growth. • Likewise, those who desire to be and remain part of God's kingdom, need to have a good appetite for spiritual things. • God placed this desire within us. God has provided the means to fulfill our deep need for righteousness. • For one to truly hunger and thirst, he must first recognize he is empty and then long to be filled. • We must recognize and develop this need. • The desire for spiritual things is a sign of spiritual health, vigor and growth (See, 1 Pet. 2:1-3).

19. Comments and Application - To hunger and thirst expresses the basic needs of life. • Jesus provides the best example of how deep one must "hunger and thirst after righteousness.“ • Even though Jesus was physically hungry after fasting for 40 days, his hunger and thirst after righteousness was still far more intense. • Jesus refused the temptation of Satan to fill his belly with bread miraculously produced from stones (Mt. 4:1-11). • In Samaria, after a weary travel from Jerusalem, Jesus' disciples brought food for Jesus to eat. • Jesus refused the physical food, he had more important spiritual food to partake of. • He declared "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work" (Jn. 4:34; See, vss.31-34).

20. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • Only those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" "shall be filled." • The word "filled" is the same verb in Matthew and Luke. • It was used in the Greek to refer to filling animals with fodder (See, Rev. 19:21) and a form of the Greek word is translated "green grass" in Mark 6:39. • Righteousness is not an option or a luxury, it is a deep and basic need, as necessary and important to the soul as food and water is to the body. • Jesus promises to completely fill this need.

21. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • Once again Jesus' words harken back to and fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61. • The Lord promised his faithful ". . . that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified" (Isa. 61:3). • The Lord would clothe his people "with the garments of salvation" and "with the robe of righteousness" (Isa. 61:10). • "[S]o the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations" (Isa. 61:11; See also, Isa. 62: 1-2).

22. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • What is the "righteousness" one must eagerly desire ("hunger and thirst after") and which is promised ("shall be filled")? • The basic idea of "righteous" is the condition or character of being right or just. • "Unrighteous" is the opposite condition of not being right. • True righteousness begins in the character of God. God is righteous (Psa. 50:6; 71:19; 97:6) "and there is no unrighteousness in him" (Psa. 92:15). • God's Word, reveals God's righteousness character by revealing God's righteous plan for making men righteous. • "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:16-17).

23. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • Men become unrighteous by committing sin (1 Jn. 5:17; 1:9). • In order for unrighteous men to become righteous, they must be forgiven of their sins and thus cleansed of their unrighteousness. • To those who believe and obey his Word, the Lord provides forgiveness which removes unrighteousness and makes those forgiven, righteous (Rom. 3:21-22; 4:3, 6-8; Phil. 3:9). • Those forgiven and made righteous must continue to "work righteousness" (Acts 10:35) by yielding themselves as "instruments of righteousness unto God" (Rom. 6:13). • Thus, the one who "doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous" (1 Jn. 3:7; 2:29) • And is "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Phil. 1:11).

24. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • In the gospels the word "righteousness" occurs only in Matthew with the exception of Luke 1:75. • It appears seven times in Matthew, once regarding Jesus' baptism by John and once in reference to John the Baptist (Mt. 3:15; 21:32). • The remaining five occurrences are contained in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:6, 10, 20; 6:33). • An examination of Jesus' use of "righteousness" in his sermon indicates that Jesus was describing the character and conduct of those who do what is right and obey God. • Jesus admonished his disciples to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" (Mt. 6:33). • He warned that their "righteousness (must) exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, (or) ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:20). • Jesus said that his followers would be "persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Mt. 5:10).

25. The Promise of Matthew 5:6 • There is not only a present satisfaction promised in the fourth beatitude, there is also a future and eternal fulfillment. • Citizens of the kingdom shall inherit a new world "wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Pet. 3:13). • In that future time and place God will provide his saints with the completion of all his promises, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (Psa. 17:15). • There those who have hungered and thirsted through this world, • "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Rev. 7:16-17)

26. Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled" (Lk. 6:21a).