Hungry People || Behind the Beatitudes || Week 4

Welcome back to “Behind the Beatitudes!” This week, we are looking at the 4th beatitude found in Matthew 5:6. This beatitude talks about hungry people. Whether it’s hungry for food or hungry for God is up for debate (possibly?), and it’s up for us to decide what Jesus was talking about. Actually, we’re just discussing it because Jesus knew what he was talking about. Let’s just dive into it.

Matthew 5:6 – Great blessings belong to those who want to do right more than anything else. God will fully satisfy them.

Like a Pharisee…NOT!

Jesus was talking about the opposite of the Pharisee’s self-righteousness. It talks about those who seek God’s righteousness rather than wanting to establish a righteousness of their own. Paul goes into detail about this in two different scriptures. Let’s read those.

Romans 10:3 – They did not know the way that God makes people right with him. And they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God’s way of making people right.

Being ignorant of God’s righteousness includes what was shown in the law, the rest of the Old Testament, and the righteousness that comes from God via our faith. The Roman people were trying to seek their own way of doing things via what they believed about God’s law rather than their own standards of their traditions. Let’s check out what Paul also said in Philippians.

Philippians 3:9 – I want to belong to him. In Christ, I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him.

For Paul to be “in Christ,” it means that his relationship with God was only possible of the righteousness that Jesus possessed via God. Paul didn’t want his own righteousness to be based on the law. He wants that proud self-righteousness of external morality, religious ritual and ceremony, and good works. It’s this righteousness produced by the flesh, which cannot save us from sin. Paul’s righteousness comes from God through his faith. Faith is the confident, continuous confession of total dependence on and trust in Jesus for the necessary requirement to enter God’s kingdom. (The requirement is the righteousness of Christ which God gives each believer.)

Overall, Jesus wants us to do the right thing above everything else. Jesus didn’t want us to be like the Pharisees, but be like God. Jesus states that God will fully satisfy them if they believe in God’s righteousness. Paul says that accomplishing this form of righteousness comes through our faith in God. We should lean on God in all things of our lives. Regardless of how tiny we feel or how large we feel it is, God should be involved in all parts of our thinking, decision-making, actions, and words. We want to make sure we do the right thing before God and leaning on him as Solomon teaches us in Proverbs. When we seek God, it will give us a fulfilling relationship with those who can do all things.

Quenching Your Thirst

John 7:37 – 38: The last day of the festival came. It was the most important day. On that day, Jesus stood up and said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty may come to me and drink. If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from their heart. That is what the Scriptures say.

I want to focus on the “thirst” part with this. A tradition formed a few centuries before Jesus was born to play an exciting role in Jesus’ teaching. On the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, a golden container filled with water from the pool of Siloam was carried in procession by the high priest back to the temple. As the process came to the watergate on the south side of the inner temple court, three trumpet blasts were made to mark the joy of the occasion, and the people recited Isaiah 12:3. While everyone watched, the priest would march around the altar with the water container at the temple.

In contrast, the temple choir sang the Hallel. The water was offered in sacrifice to God at the time of the morning sacrifice. The use of water symbolized the blessing of adequate rainfall for crops. Jesus used this event as an object lesson and opportunity to make a very public invitation on the last day of the feast for his people to accept him as the living water. His words reflect what was said in Isaiah 55:1.

The invitation to go to Jesus and drink summarizes the whole point of the gospel. It recognizes the need, leads to the approach to the source of revision, and receives what is needed. The thirsty, needy soul feels the craving to come to the Savior and drink or receive the salvation he offers.

This connects back to the beatitude because accomplishing this task of believing in God and following the righteousness that he gives us via the Holy Spirits helps to quench our thirst as we desire a relationship with God himself. It’s a great way to learn about the spiritual meaning of “thirst” via the backstory with the tradition during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Wrap-Up

I know this was short and sweet, but it packs a lot of information inside of it. The next couple of weeks of this series may combine beatitudes. Meaning we may talk about multiple beatitudes in one blog. I’m not quite sure yet. If you have any suggestions for future blogs or want to continue the conversation, feel free to leave them in the comments down below. See you next week for the next installment of “Who am I?” Until then, stay blessed!