Please take out your copy of God's Word and turn to the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 5.
! While you're getting there, Alex, I never heard the battle shield verse of Be That My Vision.
! That was great. Thank you, brother, for sharing that one with us.
That may need to be a permanent fixture in that song.
Clay said the next step is that we sing it in Gaelic.
This morning we're going to continue our careful consideration of the Sermon on the Mount.
Recall that this sermon is a declaration of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And we rightly understand that the Kingdom has come because the King has come.
Matthew records for us in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 17.
From that time, Jesus began to preach the beginning of His ministry, saying,
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Recall also that Jesus begins His sermon with declarations of blessedness for a people with particular characteristics.
He's showing us what those who are citizens of this coming Kingdom look like.
He has declared blessed those who recognize their spiritual poverty.
Those who come before God with nothing in their hands but an appeal to the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
And He says they're blessed because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
He has declared blessed those who mourn over their sinful state and over the sinful state of the world around them.
The sin-sick nature of the place in which they live.
And He declares them blessed for they shall be comforted.
He has declared blessed those who understand what they truly deserve.
Do not seek retribution when wronged, but trust in God's sovereign goodness and His final making of all things right.
And they're declared blessed for they shall inherit the earth.
So join me now in considering the fourth of Jesus' declarations of blessedness in Matthew chapter 5, verse 6.
Before I read it, beloved, I remind you that this is God's Word to us.
It was written for His glory and for our good.
And as such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
Matthew chapter 5, verse 6.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Now, as I've done over the past few weeks, I want to work through the single verse with a series of questions.
And I am going to take you elsewhere in the Scripture today.
So I'm going to encourage you to pull your ribbon marker out and stick it in Matthew chapter 5 as I take us to other places.
The first question I want to ask is simply, and most importantly, what is meant by those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?
Let's first think a little bit about this phrase, hunger and thirst.
Now, last week's text, Matthew 5, verse 5, was a direct citation of Psalm 37, verse 11.
I helped explain that to you and showed you a bit of the context of Psalm 37.
In Matthew 5, verse 6, Jesus is not directly citing any Old Testament text,
but he is drawing on metaphors that his listeners would have been familiar with.
It is understood that Jesus' primary audience, the Sermon on the Mount, would have been Jewish listeners,
and that Matthew's account, his gospel account, is particularly aimed at Jewish listeners.
That means we have to do a little extra work.
I'm assuming most of us, maybe none of us, are of Jewish descent,
certainly not familiar with the Old Testament text the way they would have been.
But these metaphors that he draws on, they would have been extremely familiar with.
I'm going to show you just two examples that are statements of hungering and thirsting
that end up with negative results,
but he's drawing on these types of metaphors to help us understand what it means to hunger and thirst
for anything, in this case, righteousness.
The first is from Isaiah chapter 55, verse 2, and the first half of verse 3,
which reads,
So God, speaking metaphorically through the prophet Isaiah, says,
Stop trying to satisfy yourself with anything other than me.
He's saying, I am the rich food that your soul needs.
I am your sustenance.
Another text, an example of this metaphor Jesus is drawing on,
Jeremiah chapter 2, verses 12 and 13.
This is from our Bible reading a couple of weeks ago,
if you're keeping up with us on this,
where we read,
Be appalled, O heavens, at this.
Be shocked.
Be utterly desolate or dismayed,
declares the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils.
They have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
This time, God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah,
speaks metaphorically of himself as an unending source of life.
Water bringing forth life.
And an ending source of it.
A fountain of living water.
And he accuses his people of seeking life in a way that will never satisfy their thirst.
They're digging for themselves wells that won't hold life-giving water at all.
So food and water are the most basic of human needs.
And I think we take that for granted.
There is food and water everywhere in the place that we live.
You can walk out in the hallway and drink as much filtered water as you want to
from a water fountain right now.
Right?
We don't quite appreciate in Jesus' day how much work it was to obtain sustenance
and to have clean, safe water for drinking.
But surely this is at the very core of life.
A person does not last long without one,
and certainly not long at all without both.
So Jesus is speaking of our most basic human need
as he picks up this metaphorical language.
It's very possible that none of us have really ever,
in the temporal sense, hungered and thirsted.
The way these people would have understood what it means to be hungry and to be thirsty.
So we have to apply our mindsets.
We have to try to imagine the type of longing that Jesus here is speaking of.
And what is it that he says we should hunger and thirst for?
Righteousness.
Why did Jesus say that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are going to be satisfied,
are blessed,
and not instead those who hunger and thirst for God?
In Isaiah 55.3, which I just read to you,
what does he say is the place of sustenance?
What is the bread, the rich food that God's people should buy?
He says it's himself.
He says, come to me.
In Jeremiah 2.13, which I just read,
there's two evils.
First, that they've forsaken me.
They've turned away from me,
this source of water, living water,
and they've turned elsewhere,
failing sources of water.
An additional Old Testament reference,
Psalm 42, verses 1 and 2,
likely familiar with,
as a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants or thirsts my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
So why?
Why does Jesus say,
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
and not those who hunger and thirst for God?
I have to imagine,
and I think that good exegesis
has to be intermingled with a bit of imagination,
that his listeners cocked their heads a little sideways
when he said that,
instead of hungering and thirsting for God,
because they would have been familiar with these texts.
Isaiah 55, Jeremiah 2, Psalm 42.
Why does he say,
hunger and thirst for righteousness?
At the outset of our study,
just a few weeks ago,
I posited to you
that in the Sermon on the Mount,
two major things emerge.
The second of those that I posited to you,
which we have been dealing with now at length,
and will continue to deal with,
is this idea of human flourishing,
blessedness.
What does it mean for us to be doing well in the world?
Citizens of God's kingdom,
Jesus is saying to us,
will flourish.
They will have joy,
and comfort,
and peace,
and satisfaction.
We have seen,
and we're going to continue to see,
that the type of flourishing
that happens in God's kingdom
often runs,
rubs right up against,
pushes against,
stands in contradiction
to the world's concept of the same.
So that's one theme we've been looking at,
and we'll continue to.
The first that I presented to you
was the idea of whole person
righteousness.
Whole person righteousness.
Jesus corrects in this sermon
the misunderstanding that God is only concerned
with action.
Citizens of God's kingdom
will not only honor God with their actions,
but also with their thoughts,
and their intentions,
and their motivations,
and on,
with every bit of their being.
We sang Deuteronomy 6-5 this morning
with the kids.
Not by design,
but how wonderful,
a song for us to sing.
This very command
that we should love the Lord our God
with all of us.
Every bit of us.
Leveraged off into His direction.
This beatitude
picks this up.
This theme speaks to this whole person
righteousness theme.
Let me show you
elsewhere in the sermon.
So in Matthew 5,
verse 20,
Jesus says,
For I tell you,
unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes
and Pharisees,
you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.
So He's addressing
this issue of the day.
A great issue in Jesus' day
and a great issue
in our day as well
of rampant hypocrisy.
Many declared
and declared
to love God with their lips,
put on a pretty good show
to convince others
of the same,
the outward trappings
of religion,
of devotion to God.
But they denied
and deny
a love for Him
which totally
permeated
their lives.
Thoughts,
intentions.
John the Baptist
says,
You brood of vipers
to the Pharisees.
Who everyone else
would have looked at them
and said,
They've got it together.
These men know
how to rightly
worship God.
And they were indicted
for being
whitewashed tombs.
Jesus declares
the woe to them.
Whitewashed tombs.
You look nice
on the outside
but inside
you're full
of dead people's bones.
Jesus is trying
to correct this.
He's saying
it's not just outside.
That you can put on
the trappings
of religion
that all of you
is devoted
to me.
Further on,
in the conclusion
of this sermon
in Matthew chapter 7.
And these should be
scary words to us,
beloved.
Verse 21-23.
Jesus says,
In a warning to us
to not deceive ourselves,
He says,
Not everyone
who says to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter
the kingdom of heaven,
but the one
who does the will
of my Father
who is in heaven.
On that day,
the end day,
many will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
do we not prophesy
in your name
and cast out demons
in your name
and do many mighty works
in your name?
And then I will declare
to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me,
you workers
of lawlessness.
So we see here
that there are people
who are doing things
in the name of Christ
and it would seem
miraculous things
in the name of Christ.
I don't know any of you
who have done miraculous things
in anybody's name,
but here are people
who at least appear
to have done
some rather miraculous things,
but they're not keepers
of God's law.
They don't have
this whole person righteousness
that we're talking about here.
Jesus says to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me.
the Beatitudes,
beginning in Matthew 5,
and everything that follows
in this sermon
is Jesus' very careful work
of teaching His listeners
then and this morning
that a life that is pleasing to God
encompasses our whole being.
He's getting in
and He's mixing it up.
He's making very careful,
precise cuts
to help us to see
that there's nothing
we can do
to be accepted
by God.
Poor in spirit.
By His grace to us
in the personal work
of Jesus Christ,
we can stand right.
We can be righteous
before Him.
And all of our lives
can and should
be given to Him.
those who belong
to the kingdom of heaven
who have
been saved by God
through the personal work
of Jesus Christ
will,
at our core,
long,
desire,
deeply desire,
hunger and thirst
for righteousness.
We will desire
above every other desire
to serve the King
of the kingdom
that we are citizens of.
On your bulletin this morning,
a C.S. Lewis quote for you.
I hope this one's familiar to you,
but I think it's apt
in this particular spot.
He wrote,
If I find in myself
a desire,
so read there,
hunger and thirst
for righteousness,
a desire which no experience
in this world
can satisfy,
the most probable explanation
is that I was made
for another world.
I'm a citizen
of a different kingdom
because nothing
in this world
can satisfy
this deep longing
in me
for righteousness.
I want to make this point
just a bit further.
I'm answering the question
still,
in case you lost me.
Why did Jesus not say
hunger and thirst
for God?
Why this righteousness
theme here
in verse 6
of Matthew 5?
So let me show you
just a little bit
further
by showing you
a little bit
about the structure
of Jesus'
blessed declarations,
these beatitudes
that we see.
So look,
if you will,
Matthew 5.
There are
eight declarations
of blessing.
We've got
one per verse
through verse 10.
Excuse me,
verse 10.
And then we understand
verse 11,
although he does say
at the beginning of it,
blessed once again,
but to see it
as a further
explanation of
verse 10,
the declaration
of blessing
found in verse 10.
So there are
eight total.
And they are
grouped
into
two sets
of four.
Before we talk
about those
two sets of four,
though,
I want to show you
that the very first
beatitude
begins with
the kingdom
of heaven,
for theirs
is the kingdom
of heaven.
And the last one,
just before the
further explanation
of it,
in verse 10,
Jesus says the same,
for theirs
is the kingdom
of heaven.
So we have
this book ending
of the Beatitudes
with this idea
of citizenship
in the kingdom.
John Piper
referred to this
as a kingdom
of heaven sandwich,
which really
made me laugh
at the time,
and now that I'm
reading it,
it's not that funny,
but he talked
about the meat
in between,
I guess.
But anyway,
I chuckled
and I wrote it down.
So now,
when we look
at these two
groupings
of four,
the first four
are passive,
if you'll allow
the word.
They're happening
within.
They're attitudes
of heart.
They're understanding
of condition.
They're not
retaliatory
in the case
of meekness.
It's happening
within.
It's who we are.
And then the second
four are active.
They're evidencing
of who we are.
So verse six,
where we are today,
blessed are those
who hunger and thirst
for righteousness,
ends these first four,
this grouping
of these first four.
We're hungering for it.
We're lacking it.
We want it.
We want it to be ours.
We want to be filled
with righteousness.
righteousness.
And then at the end
of the second grouping
of four,
we see the result
of having been
filled.
Blessed are those
who are persecuted.
For what?
For righteousness'
sake.
So they are now
expressing righteousness
and people are seeing
righteousness
in God's citizens
of his kingdom.
And because of that,
they are persecuted.
So the first four
beatitudes describe
the broken,
grieving,
quiet person
who hungers
and thirsts,
wants to be filled
with righteousness.
And the next four
beatitudes describe
the merciful,
pure peacemaker
who is persecuted
because of this
righteousness.
So,
whole person
righteousness,
both inward
and outward,
right?
He's expressing
what the citizens
look like
under the lordship
of their king,
Jesus Christ.
I'm going to show you
a bit more
about righteousness
and what this is
going to look like
and express
in our lives.
And to do that,
I want you to turn
to Psalm 1.
This is our public
scripture reading
from last
Lord's Day.
very interestingly,
the Septuagint,
which is the
Greek translation
of the Old Testament,
I'm going to talk
a little bit more
about what the
Septuagint is
in just a second.
The Septuagint
translates
the Hebrew word
into Greek.
I'm not going to
tell you the Greek word.
It's not important.
I probably won't
pronounce it all
that well anyway,
but it's the same
in the Greek translation
of the Old Testament
as it is here
in Matthew chapter 5,
the same Greek word.
Now,
as a bit of an aside,
because I know
that I throw
the word Septuagint
out.
If you're reading
well,
you're going to see
this particular
piece of literature
referenced.
Septuagint
is our
Anglicanized word
of Latin,
of course.
You should study
Latin.
of the longer
title,
Versio Septuaginta
Interpretum.
I think I said
that right,
which means
translation of the
70 interpreters.
So,
the translation
of the 70
and its abbreviation
the LXX.
So,
you're reading a book
and you see LXX,
that's the Roman numeral
for 70,
right?
is derived,
this title is derived
from a legend
that 72
Jewish scholars,
that's six
from each of the
12 tribes of Israel,
worked independently
to translate
the whole of the
Old Testament
into Greek
and ultimately
produced identical
versions.
I don't buy into
this legend at all.
I don't believe
that the Septuagint
is inspired.
However,
it's useful,
right?
So,
more likely,
we don't know
exactly the dates,
but the work
of translating
into Greek
began in the
3rd century B.C.
and was completed
in 132 B.C.
So,
it was a work
done across
a bunch of time,
more likely.
But the way
it's helpful to us,
right,
not being
speakers of
Hebrew
or of
Koine Greek
and we're trying
to take
our English minds
and get them
connected to
this very,
very ancient text
is that men
who are much
closer to
the original
Hebrew text
of the Old Testament
who were also
Greek speakers,
helped us.
What did they
understand the word
to mean?
Like,
how did they
read Psalm 1,
blessed is
the man?
And they brought
it over
into this
Greek word
that is inspired
in Matthew chapter 5.
Are you connecting
with me?
I hope that you are.
I haven't lost you
completely.
It's helpful for us
in drawing connection
between the Old Testament
and the New Testament
simply as the minds
of the readers
help us
understand the
original language.
Ask me more questions
later if I've lost you
entirely.
It's helpful.
So if you hear people
refer to the
Septuagint
or to the LXX,
this is what they're
talking about
as we look at these words.
So,
Psalm 1,
the very first word
in the Greek version
of the Old Testament
is the same
as the word
in Matthew chapter 5
verse 6.
Blessed
is the man
who walks
not in the counsel
of the wicked,
nor stands
in the way of sinners,
nor sits
in the seat
of scoffers.
But his delight
is in the law
of the Lord
and on his law
he meditates
day and night.
He is like
a tree
planted by streams
of water
that yields
its fruit
in its season
and its leaf
does not wither.
In all that he does
he prospers.
The wicked
are not so,
but are like chaff
that the wind
drives away.
Therefore the wicked
will not stand
in the judgment
nor sinners
in the congregation
of the righteous.
For the Lord
knows the way
of the righteous,
but the way
of the wicked
will perish.
So you can see
here this man,
this flourishing man
and we can see
the way
in which he
flourishes.
Again,
a metaphor.
Verse 3,
he's like a tree.
A tree that's
planted by water,
has all
of the sustenance
it needs,
does the work
that it's supposed
to do,
that is yielding
its fruit
at the proper
time.
its leaf
never dries up,
it's always
productive.
And we see
the contradiction
to that,
the wicked
who are like
a byproduct
of the harvest
that's no good
for anything
and the wind
simply blows
it away.
And so there's
a way
of the wicked
and there's
a way
of the righteous.
righteous
and the man
who walks
in the way
of the righteous
is declared
blessed.
This kind
of living
is a great
work of God
on our behalf.
Beloved,
this is not a thing
we do ourselves.
Just like poverty
of spirit
is not a thing
that we produce
ourselves
or deep sadness
over our sin
and the sin
of the world
is not a thing
we produce
in ourselves
and meekness
is not a thing
that's accomplished
by ourselves.
In the same way,
this type
of hungering
and thirsting
to walk
in the ways
of God
is a great
work of God.
John 15
verse 5
about in the middle
of what we call
the upper room
discourse
Jesus said
I am the vine
you are the branches
whoever abides
in me
and I
in him
he it is
that bears
much fruit
for apart
from me
you can
do
nothing.
And just
before this
in the very
same discourse
in chapter 14
verses 15
through 17
Jesus said
to his disciples
if you love me
you will keep
my commandments
and I will ask
the father
and he will give
you another helper
to be with you
forever
even the spirit
of truth
whom the world
cannot receive
because it neither
sees him
nor knows him
you know him
for he dwells
with you
and will
be in you.
And when we read
that John 14
verse 15
and following
in light of
John 15
5
I think it's
right to
restructure it
a bit
to hear Jesus
saying
if you love
me
I've given
you the helper
in fact
the fact that
you love me
is a sign
that I've given
you the helper
and he
will help you
to keep
my commandments
and it's
these people
I hope it's
you people
I praise God
that it's
me
that hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
that have this
declaration spoken
over us
of
blessed
Jesus says
we're the ones
that are
flourishing
that are
doing well
in the place
that we live
and will
forever
why are
those who
hunger and thirst
for righteousness
declared
a blessing
right
because
they shall
be
satisfied
and this
statement by
Jesus has
both present
and future
implication
those of us
who hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
will be
satisfied
in three
ways
first
and all of
these are
from the
book of
Philippians
if you
want to
go there
I'll read
carefully
to you
we will
be satisfied
in three
ways
first
we are
found
righteous
in
Jesus
Christ
those of
us who
are citizens
of God's
kingdom
finding in
us working
this longing
to be
righteous
before God
are
found
righteous
in Jesus
Christ
we have
been
declared
righteous
there is
a status
of being
righteous
Philippians
chapter 3
verse 9
Paul says
not having
a righteousness
of my own
that comes
from the
law
but that
which comes
through faith
in Christ
the righteousness
from God
that depends
on faith
and so
in Jesus
coming to
earth
incarnate
becoming a
man
fully
taking
on
being
100%
man
while also
being
100%
God
he came
and he
lived
a perfect
life
he kept
the law
in every
possible
sense
no one
else has
ever done
this
right
except
the God
man
Jesus
Christ
and so
righteousness
was his
and by
faith in
him
that
righteousness
is credited
to our
account
so we
positionally
stand before
God
as
righteous
as those
who hunger
and thirst
for it
right
we're
satisfied
because we
have it
in
Christ
in this
declarative
sense
we've been
justified
before God
he has
looked at us
and said
righteous
secondly
the second
way
is that
we will
be
increasing
in
righteousness
the
day to day
practice
of obedience
to God
the
declaration
is
waving
over us
as a
banner
and yet
we're still
meant to be
turned out
in appreciation
for what
Christ has
done for
us
in the
pursuit
of
holiness
Paul
writes
again
in
Philippians
chapter 2
verses 12
and 13
I'm actually
working backwards
through the
book
he says
therefore my
beloved
as you
have always
obeyed
so now
not only
as in my
presence
but much
more in
my absence
work out
your own
salvation
with fear
and trembling
now what
he's saying
here
is not
work for
your salvation
but evidence
your salvation
right
be about
the work
of one
who is
saved
one
who is
a citizen
of the
kingdom
don't
delude
yourself
and think
that you
can live
however
you want
to
those who
have been
saved
by God
who have
been
drawn
into his
kingdom
who have
been
declared
citizens
are so
glad
to live
in this
place
to be
citizens
of the
kingdom
of heaven
and therefore
serve
the king
so work
out your
salvation
with fear
you can
say
with
awe
and with
trembling
verse 13
for it is
God who
works in
you both
to will
and to
work
for his
good pleasure
so this is
the process
of
sanctification
we've been
justified
we are
being
sanctified
biblical
sanctification
is often
called
progressive
sanctification
we're getting
a little
bit better
one degree
of glory
to the
next
as we
work
and God
works
in us
for his
good pleasure
and so you
want this
to be true
of you
you want
to not only
say
hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
but evidence
your hunger
and thirst
for righteousness
by doing
good works
by being
obedient
by pursuing
righteousness
by in the
temporal sense
being filled
with
righteousness
and then
thirdly
third way
we'll be
satisfied
as we
will one
day
be
completely
righteous
Philippians
chapter 1
verse 6
Paul writes
to the
Philippian
church
and I
am sure
of this
that he
who began
a good
work
in you
will bring
it to
completion
at the
day
of Jesus
Christ
so the
day will
come when
Christ will
return
or will
go home
to be
with him
whoever
comes
first
and will
set aside
the burden
of his
bodies
of death
our
having been
delivered from
sin
still our
sinful
inclinations
and we
will have
no choice
but to live
rightly before
God for
forever
all of our
living will
be given
in worship
to him
and while
we await
that glorious
day
we'll be
set free
from the
hindrances
of our
flesh
and we'll
experience
the full
devotion
to God
we will
stand
confident
before him
in the
accomplished
righteousness
of Jesus
Christ
and
work
to become
righteous
by the
power
that he
works
within us
we will
hunger
and thirst
for
righteousness
the
contemporary
pastor
John
Piper
I don't
think I have
to tell
you who
he is
but anyway
said this
in a sermon
on this
text
which I
appreciated
he said
the great
tales
of the
future
will be
written
about
real men
and women
who are
passionately
committed
to one
thing
the
righteousness
of God
Jesus
speaks to
us
today
blessed
are those
who hunger
and thirst
for
righteousness
for they
shall be
satisfied
join me
in prayer