When I grew up, I was an avid reader. One of my early heroes was the polar explorer, Sir Earnest Shackleton. In the Antarctic summer of 1908-9, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions attempted to travel to the South Pole from their winter quarters. They set off on October 29, 1908, with four ponies to help carry the load. On January 9, 1909, their ponies now dead, rations nearly spent, exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished. They had reached 88 degrees 23 minutes south. On the journey back to their ship, as Shackleton records in The Heart of the Antarctic, their time was spent talking about food. As they struggled against storms, fierce wind, and bitter cold, suffering from abdominal pain, living on half rations, and not knowing whether or not they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating. After trudging 127 days, and dealing with extremely short rations for 69 days, they finally reached their ship on March 1.
Shackleton and his team experienced intense hunger. Very few of us today know what it is like to be extremely hungry or extremely thirsty.
Jesus knew the severe pains of food deprivation with His 40-day fast in the wilderness. But He said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for RIGHTEOUSNESS, for they shall be filled,” (Matthew 5:6). Jesus didn’t say food. He said righteousness. For Shackleton, amid his circumstances of scarcity and possible death, his hunger was intense, his desire for food was his passion. For Jesus, this quote offers us a quick look at the passion, at the fervency that Christ intends for us to have in our pursuit toward righteousness.
Quick review. Blessed … What does blessed mean? Blessed, in a biblical context, means to have an inner peace, an inner bliss, an inner happiness, an inward joy that is not produced by our circumstances nor is it affected by our circumstances. Blessed is not about having a superficial attitude based on your life situation, but it is about having an inward attitude based upon the very indwelling of the character of God Himself.
What does it mean, to hunger and thirst? This beatitude speaks of a fervent desire, of a driving pursuit, of a passionate force inside of you. It has to do with having an overpowering personal resolve to honor, to obey, and to glorify God by partaking of His righteousness. This holy desire stands in opposition to man’s common desire to satisfy his own greed, to pursue his own goals, and to feed his own image.
Okay then, what is righteousness? Righteousness, by man’s standards, is usually defined as “the quality of being morally right or justifiable.” By man’s standards, this behavior may be characterized by possessing the “accepted” standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness, depending upon the culture of a nation or the culture of a people within a nation. This standard can vary widely from culture to culture.
The Bible’s standard for mankind’s righteousness is God’s own perfection, in every attribute, in every attitude, in every behavior, and in every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and provide for us the standard by which He measures human righteousness.
What does it mean then, that they shall be filled? The great blessing for those believers who hunger and thirst for righteousness is that they will be filled. The pangs of hunger and thirst will disappear. God Himself will fulfill our intense desire for a right relationship with Him.
Jesus’ teaching in this beatitude goes completely against the instruction of the religious leaders at that time. The Jews believed that they could achieve their own righteousness by outward obedience to the law. They taught that it was not something to be sought as a gift of God’s grace, but as something to be achieved by self-effort. They thought they could earn it.
The Jews were looking forward to the blessings of the Messianic kingdom as they pictured it. They were looking for a warrior-king, not a humble savior. They craved deliverance from Rome. They desired wealth, power, the world’s respect, and political domination over their neighbors. But Jesus ignored all of these self-centered external blessings and went on to describe the very essence of what they needed to become a Christian and live as a Christian: a passionate desire for righteousness, God’s righteousness. This passionate desire is rooted in the knowledge that righteousness is something we desperately need. We cannot stand before a holy God in our own righteousness. We do not have an acceptable, adequate, or saving righteousness of our own. Face it, you don’t have it, you can’t earn it, and you can’t buy it. It can only be given to you. Righteousness is His free gift. Salvation is His free gift. We call that grace. We can’t earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus Christ provided the way.
Jesus has removed all of our sins. Hebrews 10:17 says, “Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He has given us His perfect righteousness so that the gift of eternal life is ours. For anyone who desires and seeks forgiveness, who wants peace with God, and who wants reconciliation and fellowship with Him, Jesus is the only one who can give that satisfaction. Those who embrace Him as Savior by faith will be filled with “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). Only Jesus can do this.
Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you received His righteousness? Don’t try to go it on your own. Jesus paid the price for your salvation at the cross. Jesus paid the price for your righteousness with His sinless life. Have that passionate desire for His righteousness and allow Him to fill you today. Get to know Him as your savior. … Don’t wait.
By: Greg Snell, Pastor,
First Baptist Church, Saratoga
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