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Other, Practical Helps, Sermons

When God Prayed: Jesus’ Devotion to Prayer (Luke 5:16)

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That annoying alarm wakes us up. We grab a shower and a cup of coffee, then we’re out the door on our way to work. We might listen to a sermon on the radio during our morning commute, or we might read the Bible at lunch time. And soon enough, it will be time to go home. We go home, do a few things around the house, cook supper, pay bills, and then we’re off to bed to restart the process. But here’s a pressing question: when did we stop and talk to God, and really spend some time praying to Him? If you’re answer is anything like mine, you might feel a bit of shame. Most of us would likely admit that we haven’t been praying as much as we should be. For me, reading the Bible isn’t a problem. I’ve got a Bible reading plan that keeps me in line. But prayer . . . that’s another story. It is difficult for me to find time in my busy day to really spend time with God. That’s an honest confession.

I read something in the Scripture today that drove me to prayer this morning. It’s something I’ve read dozens, probably hundreds of times before. But a few details helped my understanding and application of it. What I read today was Luke 5, the verse that convicted me to prayer was v. 16 where Luke notes that Jesus prayed at His busiest moment at the beginning of His ministry. It reads in this way:

“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16).

In this passage, Luke records Jesus cleansing a leper saying that once He healed this leper, “even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities” (v. 15). Jesus cleansed this leper, and word got out about His healing power. Because of this, crowds came to hear Him preach and teach, and they came to be healed of their many diseases and infirmities. Jesus was getting popular at this point. More and more people began to know about Him as time went on. And Luke says that there was one thing He would always do, even when He was busy with His teaching and healing ministry: He would withdraw Himself from the crowds, to places where He could be alone, and He would pray. There are several passages of Scripture in the gospels that tell us that Jesus prayed alone, prayed for others, and prayed long prayers (Matt. 11:25-26; Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; 22:41-44; 23:24; John 17:1-26). The fact that Jesus prayed is astounding for two main reasons. First of all, because He was God in the flesh, and still prayed. Because He was God, it would make you think that Jesus would not need to pray, but it is very apparent from the gospels that prayer is something that He needed and something that He did. Though Jesus was God, He prayed to His Father and He made use of prayer.

Second, it is astounding that Jesus prayed because He was occupied with more tasks than any of us ever will be, and He still found time to pray. We might say, “But Jesus didn’t have a full time job like I do. Jesus’ didn’t cook supper for children, or pick them up from school everyday like me. Jesus didn’t have emails to send and receive.” Historically, that’s absolutely true. Jesus wasn’t a factory worker, working from nine to five. Jesus didn’t go to see His children play football at the high school. Jesus didn’t have an iPhone and wasn’t able to Tweet or check emails. But let me tell you what Jesus was involved in doing: Jesus was teaching crowds of hundreds of people everyday, and they were increasing as He became more popular. When is the last time you taught growing crowds of people multiple times a week? He was healing all kinds of diseases, people were coming to Him to be healed of all their infirmities and sicknesses. When is the last time you cleansed a leper? He was calling and teaching His disciples. He was dealing with the persecution of the religious rulers. Everywhere He went, He had to walk. When is the last time we did any of those things? And here’s the biggie: no one else could duplicate Jesus’ ministry. No one else could do what He was doing. It would be different if Simon Peter could heal the same way Jesus was, and teach the same way He was. But there was only one Son of God, and there was only one ministry that could do all this: Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was one busy man.

So even though Jesus was God, and even though He was unbelievably busy, nothing seemed to deter Jesus from spending extensive time in prayer. So we need to reflect now on our own prayer life. In light of this passage of Scripture, what is keep us from spending time in prayer? Whatever it might be, we need to get it out of the way and spend time alone with God, taking our requests to Him, praising Him for His blessings upon us, and praying for His grace and enabling to be obedient. I’ve said it before, and it’s something I have to constantly remind myself of: if you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. Let us pray, and let us devote time to prayer. Jesus did, so should we.

Sermons

Anomaly: Lust, the Lethal Infection (Matt. 5:27-30)

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Introduction—Bitten on the Railway

A railway brakeman spent four months in the hospital of Sedalia, Missouri. This was because he was bitten by a tarantula on the tip of his middle finger on his right hand. At the time he felt a sharp twinge of pain, but paid no more attention to it until the finger began to swell. Soon the whole hand and arm were swollen to three times their natural size. Bit by bit the doctors amputated the affected finger, but the wound refused to heal. Finally the entire hand had to go. It was only after 29 amputations that the surgeons were able to stop the spread of the poison. Even then they considered it nearly miraculous that he recovered at all, because the poison had gone through his system.¹

Imagine how you would react in this situation. Likely, you recognize the deadliness of a tarantula’s bite, and if you were in this situation, you’d get help immediately. This is because when you recognize the deadliness of something, you will go to great lengths to avoid it. Think about the urgency of treating a cold versus cancer. Or about the urgency of treating a scab versus an open wound. In our passage of Scripture, Jesus describes something very deadly. Something that is far more deadly than a tarantula bite. Jesus talks about lust in this passage, and teaches us that radical measures should be taken against it because of how deadly it really is.

The Text: Matt. 5:27-30, ESV

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

I. The Deed and the Desire (vv. 27-28)

First, the person who lusts for someone already commits adultery in their hearts. Notice first in the text that this is what Jesus says. He shows that the person who lusts has already committed adultery in the heart: “You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (vv. 27-28).

A. The Deed

Jesus quotes the seventh commandment as we all know (Exod. 20:14). This was a prohibiting sexual relations outside of marriage, primarily by a married person. If someone married had sexual relations with anyone besides their spouse, it was known as the act of adultery. The punishment for adultery, like many other sins, was death—both for the “adulterer and the adulteress” (Deut. 22:22; Lev. 20:10).²

Because of the fatal consequences of adultery, the Proverbs are replete with commands against adultery:

“He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself” (Prov. 6:32).

“Keep your way far from her [the adulteress], and do not go near the door of her house” (Prov. 5:8).

Perhaps the most vivid description is in Proverbs 6:27-29:

“Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.”

Jesus’ audience, the Jews, would have understood adultery to be a serious sin, deserving of serious punishment, and carrying terrible consequences. They would have been especially familiar with the famous story of shame and regret that we all know, as told by the author of 2 Samuel—the story of David and Bathsheba. This grievous sin committed by Israel’s greatest king, this shameful act done by the man after God’s own heart, who penned the larger portion of the most beautiful book in the Bible, the Psalms.

We read in 2 Samuel 11 that David “saw from the roof a woman bathing” (v. 2), and then “he lay with her” (v. 4). From this, she became pregnant (v. 5), and David had Uriah (a commander in his army) deceitfully murdered (v. 17). Jesus says in the first verse of the passage, “You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery” (v. 27). He is saying, “You know this commandment.” They knew about David’s fall. They knew about the commandments. Especially the Pharisees and scribes—boy did they know the commandments. Do you recall when they were willing to kill the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11)? They knew the commandments, but apparently they didn’t actually know the commandments, or they would have easily understood Jesus’ next statement.

B. The Desire

Jesus says that even the person who lusts after another person has already committed adultery with them in their hearts: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (v. 28). Jesus speaks with authority, as the one who has come to fulfill the Law (v. 17), and says “But I say to you.” He is not saying anything different, He is not contradicting God’s commandments, but He is putting His word above the traditions of men and revealing the true intent of the commandment (which the people obviously misunderstood).

So what does Jesus say about lust? “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus says that looking at a woman with lustful intent is adultery in the heart. Why is that? Because, according to Jesus, sin happens in the heart before it happens physically. Before physical adultery is committed, internal adultery has already happened.

Now, just because Jesus says that looking at a woman with lust is adultery, it doesn’t let women off the hook. It doesn’t let anyone off the hook. Jesus doesn’t have mere men in mind here, neither does He specifically women—the point is that adultery happens in the heart by lust. That could be applicable to anyone. It could be lust for the opposite sex, or it could be lust for the same sex (Rom. 1:26-27).

Jesus isn’t saying that a desire for the opposite sex is wrong. God hardwired us to desire the opposite sex. The Song of Solomon illustrates this better than any book of the whole Bible. Listen to the way Solomon admires his bride:

“Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead” (4:1).

And his bride desired him as well:

“His mouth is most sweet, and his is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem” (5:16).

So there’s nothing wrong with desiring the opposite sex—the problem is burning with uncontrollable sexual lust in the heart. That’s where the problem is. The problem is in the heart. Adultery takes place in the heart before it does in the bedroom or the backseat.

It’s because the heart is who we really are. God says that the heart is what He really looks at (1 Sam. 16:7). What goes on in the heart is what’s really going on. It’s who we are: “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man” (Prov. 27:19). It can’t be trusted: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). So the person who lusts after another has already committed adultery in his heart. That’s the principle Jesus is communicating.

You’ve got a problem with pornography? It’s happening in your heart. You’ve got a problem with lusting after girls? It’s happening in your heart. You’ve got a problem with lusting after men? It’s happening in your heart.

You know, there’s a silent killer very active today. He’s a repeated offender. He kills 400,000 people each year.³ And when you find out who he is, it’s too late. Can you guess his name? His name is heart disease. There can be many symptoms—shortness of breath, chest pain and tightness, constant leg cramps, and other symptoms. It results from clogging and plague build up in your arteries—your vital veins. And it becomes deadly when that clogging reaches your heart. Why? Because your heart is what keeps you alive! It pumps blood so that your body can function correctly. It’s fatal when clogging happens in the heart. Heart attacks that cause death most often happen because it’s in the heart—it’s deadly because it’s in the heart.

That’s what Jesus was saying here. Lust is deadly because it’s in the heart. That’s the first thing we need to recognize. Dealing with the sin of adultery and sexual immorality begins by identifying its source. But is there anything that can be done about it? That’s what Jesus talks about next.

II. The Deliverance (vv. 29-30)

Second, it is urgent that action is taken against lust, because the cost is very high. Notice that not only does Jesus define adultery by saying that it is lust, but listen to what He says concerning dealing with lust:

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell” (vv. 29-30).

Very powerful language there. Jesus tells His followers that if their right eye causes them to sin against God, they should remove it and forcibly cast if from them. Why? According to Jesus, it’s better to lose their eye than to lose their soul. He says the same thing about the right hand.

Of course, we know from the context that Jesus isn’t demanding literal amputation—we know Jesus better than that, and we know the Bible better than that. But His logic makes perfect sense—it’s better to lose a little than a lot. It would be far better for His followers to lose their eye or hand than to lose their own soul in hell.

So what is Jesus talking about? Should we resort to chainsaws to eradicate lust from our lives? Understand first, that for Jesus’ audience, the right side was seen as more valuable—how many of you are right handed? Likely the majority of you. Most people are right handed, and because of this, they do everything with their right hand. You write with your right hand, hold drinks, spoons and forks to eat, toothbrushes to clean your teeth, use your cellphone, and many other things. If you’re right handed, that’s your dominant hand—it’s more useful and valuable to you than your left.

Jesus is saying that if even what is very valuable to you causes you to sin, then it should be cast away and removed from you. The reason why is because of the high cost of doing nothing about it. It will cost you far more to do nothing, than it will to do something about removing the sources of temptation and lust from your life. Pornography might be valuable to you, but you should cast it away forcibly. Sexual relations before marriage might be valuable to you, but you should cast it away from you. Whatever it is that is causing you to sin, even if it is valuable to you, should be cast away from you!

But even further, if Jesus’ audience actually followed His figurative language literally, if they did gouge out their eye and cut off their hand, would this completely take care of the problem? No it wouldn’t—where does Jesus say that adultery takes place? In the heart.

So is He contradicting Himself? No, for lust happens in the heart, but the eye may contribute to lust happening in the heart, and so can the hand. Jesus is saying that, yes lust happens in the heart, but outside sources can and will contribute to it. And if there are sources in our lives that are causing us to lust, we need to take radical measures against them. Jesus’ point here is that it is urgent that action is taken against lust, because it could lead to God’s judgment. If nothing is ever done to conquer lust in your life, then you don’t view it as very serious. If you don’t view sin as serious, then it is very casual to you. If you see it as casual, then you will likely do nothing about it.

And this is a sobering biblical truth: if you do nothing about sin, if you do not repent, then you can safely bet that you’re not saved. John Owen captures this well: “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”

Concerning the cost of doing nothing about lust that leads to adultery, I read a shocking statistic recently. It read:

“In America adultery is no longer a crime in half the states, and in the others adultery is seldom, if ever, prosecuted. But sexual straying from marriage remains a costly, if not criminal practice. According to a recent estimate, the typical adulterous husband invests almost $26,000 over a four-month period in conducting an extramarital affair. Once his wife discovers his philandering, he can count on another $5,000 in legal bills, plus a $1,800 deposit on a place to live after she ejects him from their home. Apart from its immorality, adultery is a terrible investment. Only 5 percent of men and women who leave their marriages for someone else actually end up marrying that person.”4

Doing nothing about lust is far more costly than getting it out of your lives. Doing nothing will cost us far more than doing something. 

Conclusion: Practical Steps to Fighting Lust

So what can we do about it? Well, Jesus tells us to take whatever measures necessary.5

1) There is freedom through the gospel. For Christians, there is good news. Through the gospel, God has given us a new heart! We don’t have to be enslaved to lust. We can be free because He lives in us. He gives us the power daily to overcome sin, we must simply access it. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and Paul says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Live by God’s power each day and you won’t have to worry about falling into lust all the time.

2) By God’s power, we must guard against the first tiny thought of evil. We must allow God to make us sensitive to the tiniest speck of evil that floats around us. This happens by soaking up the Word of God—allowing the Bible to dictate our thought life. We’re going to have these thoughts from time to time. It’s impossible to be sinless. But let’s heed Martin Luther’s advice: “It is impossible to keep the devil from shooting evil thoughts and lusts into your heart. But see to it that you do not let such arrows stick there and take root, but tear them out and throw them away.”6

3) We must avoid the occasions of temptations. In other words, in battling lust in the heart, it is pointless to think you can overcome the battle if you thrust yourself into what causes you to lust. F. B. Meyer says, “It is useless to ask God not to lead us into temptation if we thrust ourselves thither.”7 Stay away from the sources of temptation. Maybe it’s an attractive coworker—don’t be alone with that person. Maybe it’s the internet—don’t invite temptation. Maybe it’s with your boyfriend or girlfriend, don’t ask for tempting situations.

We have seen today that the person who lusts for someone already commits adultery in their hearts, and that it is urgent that action is taken against lust, for it could lead to God’s judgment. If you have been bitten where you commute by the venomous spider of lust—don’t ignore it. Do something about it. Or you will end up losing a lot more than you’d like to lose. Give lust an inch and it will take you a mile. Will you go to whatever lenghts necessary to eradicate lust from your life, however radical it may be? So many people are enslaved by it, don’t let it be you—through the power of God, you can be the Christian who overcomes lust. You don’t have to let it rule you.

1. Tan, Paul Lee. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. (Rockville, MD: Assurance Pub., 1979), 138.
2. There is little evidence in Israel’s history that this was ever actually carried out. Still, the penalty of death was to show the severity of the crime, and God’s moral standard of holiness.
3. Kahn, Joel K. 4 Silent Signs You May Have Clogged Arteries. (Reader’s Digest: Dec. 2013) and WebMD, Coronary Artery Disease.
4. Cited in Larson and Elshof. 1,001 Illustrations That Connect. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 257. Yount, David. The Cost of Adultery (knoxnews.com. November 29, 2004).
5. This list is adapted from F. B. Meyer’s practical steps to purifying the mind in How Then Can We Purify the Desires of the Mind? on http://www.preceptaustin.org.
6. Davies, W. D. and Allison, Dale. C. Matthew: A Shorter Commentary (New York, NY: T & T Clark, 2004), 79.
7. Ibid.
Bible Questions, Theological Reflections

Demons . . . Can They Be Trusted?

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Most people view demons through the lens of the fictional portrayal of them by Hollywood—as the scary subjects of Satan with wings and horns. Interestingly enough, they are presented by Mark in his gospel as trustworthy. That probably sounds strange at first, but an examination of the mentioning of demons in Mark’s gospel reveals that the demons were actually right about who Jesus was—they serve as reliable witnesses to who Jesus is. The demons end up saying the same thing about Jesus that Mark does.

Mark’s purpose in writing his gospel was to prove that Jesus was the Son of God. He writes in the first sentence of his account (as a thesis statement), “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1, emphasis mine). There are numerous places in Mark’s gospel where demons attest to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. One of these instances of things said by demons about Jesus is found in Mark 1:24, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” That’s who Jesus is—the Holy One of God. Immediately Jesus rebukes the demon (“the unclean spirit;” Mark 1:23) and it came out of the man (1:26). Another statement that is said by demons of Jesus is in Mark 3:11, “You are the Son of God.” Mark writes that when the unclean spirits had seen Jesus, they had fell down before Him and cried out that He is the Son of God. Again, here Jesus is called the Son of God by demons. Similarly, He is called “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” by demons in Mark 5:7.

These statements are important to Mark because he is showing that Jesus is truly God’s Son. In other places in Mark’s gospel, he supports Jesus’ Sonship by writing about His power. The calming of the storm (4:35-41), for example, shows Jesus’ power of nature. From healing diseases to raising the dead to life, Mark further reinforces the truth of Jesus’ Sonship by writing about the power He has over demons and what the demons had to say about Jesus—that even demons know who Jesus is and tell the truth about Him—that He is the Son of God.

While demons will never be saved, but will one day be cast into hell (Matt. 25:41), they can be trusted about who Jesus really is: the Son of God who has authority and power over all things; that “all things are in subjection under Him” (1 Cor. 15:27).

Bible Questions

You’ve Got Questions: What Does “Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness” Mean (Matt. 5:6)?

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You’ve Got Questions: What Does “Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness” Mean (Matt. 5:6)?

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the beginning section is what is known as the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12) and they are a description of true Christian characteristics. In the fourth Beatitude, Jesus says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).

Jesus is talking in a way that we can relate. “Hunger” and “thirst” represent the necessities of physical life. In the physical realm, we hunger because we lack nutrients and food that our bodies know they need to survive. Food contains the vitamins and minerals necessary for our survival and functioning. So our stomach aches with hunger pains to notify us that we need food. It’s a natural desire. We hunger because we desire; we desire because we lack; we lack because we have not that which we need. It works the same way with thirst. But does Jesus say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for food and water”? No, He says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” So Jesus’ analogy demonstrates that just as a hunger for food and water are necessary for physical life, so hungering for righteousness is necessary for true spiritual life. Without the righteousness of Christ, you cannot be saved (2 Cor. 5:21). It’s a strong desire, a passionate force inside the soul. It’s not something that just comes and goes—it means a hungering that keeps on until it is satisfied. Unlike Israel’s love for God in Hosea that was just coming and going: “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away” (Hosea 6:4). What do morning clouds do? They go away. What happens to dew? It goes away. It doesn’t remain. Our hungering and thirsting for righteousness will not just come and go, and the way to true happiness, the way to being truly “blessed,” is the way of spiritual hunger and thirst.

Jesus says that we are to hunger and thirst “for righteousness,” and righteousness is twofold here. The goal of hungering and thirsting for righteousness is both hungering and thirsting for salvation, and for sanctification.

For Salvation. First of all, without a hunger/desire for salvation, you cannot be saved. The Scriptures say, “No one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom. 3:11). Without Christ, we are in a state of spiritual depravity and dead-ness (Eph. 2:1-3). And as sinners, we are naturally bent towards sin and evil. We will always choose evil over good; sin over obedience. It’s not that we are as sinful as we could be, but every faculty of our being is corrupted by sin. So when it comes to the choices we make, we are always going to choose evil. It’s not that sinful man doesn’t do some good, but even that good he does is with wrongful intentions. In any moment of decision, your greatest desire (in that moment) will determine the decision you make.

Let’s imagine that you walk in to McDonald’s for lunch. You realize that you haven’t been eating very healthy lately, so when you look at the menu, you have a desire to get a salad. But you also notice how delicious looking that McDouble is. Your desire to eat that McDouble is now greater than your desire to eat salad, so you order a McDouble. Even if you choose not to eat at all, still your strongest desire in that given moment determines the choice you make (your desire to not eat at all is stronger than choosing a McDouble or a salad). Everything that sinful, unregenerate man does in his rebellion against God, is sin. “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Since we are so depraved, God in His grace must give us a spiritual appetite for Jesus Christ, the bread of life. No one has ever got up one morning out of bed and said, “Today, I think I am going to become a Christian!” Since man is prone to sin, God must give man spiritual hunger for the salvation that comes from the Lord. That hunger will lead to an acting on that hunger: repentance and faith, which is also by the grace of God. If you have a sincere desire to know God, you need to act on that desire; God gave it to you.

For Sanctification. Not only should we hunger for salvation, but also sanctification. Sanctification is the process by which we become more and more like Jesus Christ. It’s the goal of our Christian lives. We should desire to know God more, to love God more, to be more for God. Peter writes, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity” (2 Peter 3:18). Similarly, Paul says “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph. 4:15). Do you hunger to be more for Christ?

 

For further reading, please consult: Sermon on the Mount: Those Who Hunger and Thirst
Sermons

Sermon on the Mount: Those Who Hunger and Thirst

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Sermon on the Mount: Those Who Hunger and Thirst (Matt. 5:6)

You’ve seen the late night commercials. Footage of children in countries like Sudan and Ethiopia who are malnourished and suffering due to severe hunger. According to World Food Programme, when it comes to the world population as a whole, “The vast majority of hungry people (827 million) live in developing countries, where 14.3 percent of the population is undernourished.” And for children, “Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year.” (1) Hunger is a major problem today, and there are hundreds of organizations that exist to feed those who are hungry throughout our world. Hunger is a result of our broken and depraved world, and we need to support relief for those who are hungry by donating our time and resources, and we should always pray for them. But would you ever think of hunger as being commanded by Jesus? That’s right. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He tells His disciples, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). Of course, this is a different kind of hunger than the starving state of so many countries in our world. But I wouldn’t dismiss those images of the starving just yet. Because if you’ve ever seen someone who was truly starving, they have a single, all-consuming passion for food and water. Nothing else has the slightest attraction or appeal; nothing else can even get their attention. This is the spiritual hunger and thirst about which Jesus is talking about. Let’s look at this further:

The Text: Matt. 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

The Meaning of Spiritual Hunger

So far in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount there have been three Beatitudes that have lead up to this point. The first is the recognition of spiritual poverty apart from God (Matt. 5:3), the second is the necessary result of that recognition of lowliness: godly mourning (Matt. 5:4). And then is humility in the way we interact with others (Matt. 5:5). What then, is the meaning of hungering and thirsting for righteousness? What is Jesus telling us about spiritual hunger? Jesus is talking in a way that we can relate. “Hunger” and “thirst” represent the necessities of physical life. In the physical realm, we hunger because we lack nutrients and food that our bodies know they need to survive. Food contains the vitamins and minerals necessary for our survival and functioning. So our stomach aches with hunger pains to notify us that we need food. It’s a natural desire. We hunger because we desire; we desire because we lack; we lack because we have not that which we need. It works the same way with thirst. But does Jesus say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for food and water”? No, He says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” So Jesus’ analogy demonstrates that just as a hunger for food and water are necessary for physical life, so hungering for righteousness is necessary for true spiritual life. Without the righteousness of Christ, you cannot be saved (2 Cor. 5:21). John MacArthur writes, “This Beatitude speaks of strong desire, of driving pursuit, of a passionate force inside the soul.” (2) Similarly, “This hungering and thirsting after righteousness is not a passing feeling or desire—it means something that keeps on until it is satisfied.” (3) Unlike Israel’s love for God in Hosea that was just coming and going: “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away” (Hosea 6:4). What do morning clouds do? They go away. What happens to dew? It goes away. It doesn’t remain. Our hungering and thirsting for righteousness will not just come and go, and the way to true happiness, the way to being truly “blessed,” is the way of spiritual hunger and thirst.

The Object of Spiritual Hunger

Jesus says that we are to hunger and thirst “for righteousness,” and righteousness is twofold here. The goal of hungering and thirsting for righteousness is both hungering and thirsting for salvation, and for sanctification. For Salvation. First of all, without a hunger/desire for salvation, you cannot be saved. The Scriptures say, “No one understands; no one seeks for God” (Rom. 3:11). Without Christ, we are in a state of spiritual depravity and dead-ness (Eph. 2:1-3). And as sinners, we are naturally bent towards sin and evil. We will always choose evil over good; sin over obedience. It’s not that we are as sinful as we could be, but every faculty of our being is corrupted by sin. So when it comes to the choices we make, we are always going to choose evil. It’s not that sinful man doesn’t do some good, but even that good he does is with wrongful intentions. In any moment of decision, your greatest desire (in that moment) will determine the decision you make. Let’s imagine that you walk in to McDonald’s for lunch. You realize that you haven’t been eating very healthy lately, so when you look at the menu, you have a desire to get a salad. But you also notice how delicious looking that McDouble is. Your desire to eat that McDouble is now greater than your desire to eat salad, so you order a McDouble. Even if you choose not to eat at all, still your strongest desire in that given moment determines the choice you make (your desire to not eat at all is stronger than choosing a McDouble or a salad). Everything that sinful, unregenerate man does in his rebellion against God, is sin. “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Since we are so depraved, God in His grace must give us a spiritual appetite for Jesus Christ, the bread of life. No one has ever got up one morning out of bed and said, “Today, I think I am going to become a Christian!” Since man is prone to sin, God must give man spiritual hunger for the salvation that comes from the Lord. That hunger will lead to an acting on that hunger: repentance and faith, which is also by the grace of God. If you have a sincere desire to know God, you need to act on that desire; God gave it to you. For Sanctification. Not only should we hunger for salvation, but also sanctification. Sanctification is the process by which we become more and more like Jesus Christ. It’s the goal of our Christian lives. We should desire to know God more, to love God more, to be more for God. Peter writes, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity” (2 Peter 3:18). Similarly, Paul says “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph. 4:15). Do you hunger to be more for Christ? 

The Result of Spiritual Hunger

Jesus says that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness. . . shall be satisfied.” God will satisfy our hunger for Him. It is that very satisfaction from God that makes us want more. Think about your favorite food. Why is it your favorite food? Most likely you enjoy that food because of the satisfaction that it brings. You continue eating it because you delight in the satisfaction that it brings. Similarly, what Jesus is saying here is that the more you are satisfied by God the more you will want to be satisfied by God. John Piper has labored more than all to bring this truth out, and he is worth quoting at length:

“The more you know him, the more you want to know him. The more you feast on his fellowship, the hungrier you are for deeper, richer communion. Satisfaction at the deepest levels breeds a holy longing for the time when we will have the very power of God to love God. . . Yes, the more you know him and love him and trust him, the more you long to know him. . . The great old catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and answers, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Enjoying God is the way to glorify God, because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” (4)

Are we hungering and thirsting for God? Are we being satisfied by Him or by the temporary things of this “world [which] is passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17)? Let us cry out with David, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). Let us continue to be satisfied by God and the things of God and let us cease from dining at the table of the world where there are only worthless scraps.

The Testing of Spiritual Hunger

1. Dissatisfaction with Self

If you are satisfied with yourself, you will not be spiritually hungry. Again, this can be worked out in two ways: with regards to salvation, and with regards to sanctification. In salvation, the man who is satisfied with himself, and his own righteousness will not see the need for God’s. The great Puritan Thomas Watson wrote, “He has most need of righteousness that least wants it.” But the hungering sinner will be dissatisfied with himself and will seek after God.

But in regards to our sanctification, and our lives as Christians—if you are hungering for God, you will always want more. No matter how many Bible studies you go through—no matter how many fine sermons you hear—no matter how many chapters of the Bible you read daily—no matter how many times you serve in the local church—no matter how often you pray . . . You will always want more and more of God and continue to cry out with Paul, “O wretched man that I am” (Rom. 7:24). It’s not that God wont’ satisfy your longing for Him, but you will always be dissatisfied with yourself in the sense that God is the only One you recognize to satisfy you—and you will always want more of Him.

Are you dissatisfied with yourself? Are you wanting more of God? Sounds like to me you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

2. Freedom from Dependence on External Things for Satisfaction

Think about this: A hungry man cannot be satisfied by an arrangement of lovely flowers, by great riches, beautiful music, or pleasant conversation. Anyone hungry must have what they truly need to be satisfied. We understand that—but we are fooled by sin’s deception to think that we need more and more of it to be satisfied, when it is not sin that we need—but God and His righteousness. If you’re not free from depending on other things for satisfaction, you might want to let a little of His grace in and change a few things in your heart.

3. Craving for the Word of God

The Word of God is the most basic spiritual food God provides His children. The more you hunger for God, the more you will want to devour Scripture. Do you have a craving for the Word of God? If you’re hungering and thirsting for righteousness—you will for the Word.

4. Pleasantness of the Things of God

Do you find pleasantness in the things of God—or do they turn you away? What about when He disciplines you? Does that bring satisfaction—well it should; it’s assurance that you belong to Him.

5. Making No Conditions

When our spiritual hunger and thirst for righteousness is genuine and sincere—we will make no conditions on finding it—in whatever ways God chooses to dispose it to us. If His righteousness is in the Word of God—we will go to find it there, without making excuses. We will make no excuses or conditions for fulfilling our hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Conclusion

In 1908-09, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three of his friends attempted to travel to the South Pole. They set off with four houses to help carry the load. Within weeks, the horses died, their food had ran out, so they tried to get back to base. Altogether, miraculously, they traveled for 127 days total. Sir Ernest recorded this story in a book called The Heart of the Antarctic, and in it he talks about how much time was spent talking about food—elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, plentiful menus. As they staggered along, suffering from hunger, not knowing whether they would survive, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating.

Well, Sir Shackleton made it back—and as you could imagine, ate like never before. We can understand his obsession with food, when he didn’t have any. Are you like that with spiritual hunger? Is God all you can think about because you are so hungry for Him? Jesus tells us here about a hunger more important than hungering for food—let’s feast on God and His righteousness like we’ve never had it before—and God will keep satisfying us.

Are you hungering for God?

1. World Food Programme, Hunger: Hunger Statistics (www.wfp.org/hunger/stats).
2. John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7/ John MacArthur . (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1985), 177.
3. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, Kindle Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: InterVarsity Press, 1959-60; Reprinted 2000), Kindle Locations 1119-1128.
4. John Piper, Five Points (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2013), 7-8.
Bible Questions

You’ve Got Questions: What Does “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit” Mean (Matt. 5:3)?

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You’ve Got Questions: What Does “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit” Mean (Matt. 5:3)?

Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The word “poor” here is from a Greek verb ptochos meaning “to shrink, cower, or cringe,” as beggars often did in that day. Classical Greek used the word to refer to a person reduced to total destitution, who crouched in a corner begging. As he held our one hand for alms he often hid his face with the other hand, because he was ashamed of being recognized. The term did not mean simply poor, but begging poor. Jesus is speaking here of spiritual poverty. To be poor in spirit is to recognize one’s spiritual poverty apart from God.

The Scriptures have much to say about our spiritual poorness apart from God. Just to name a few, Romans says that we are haters of God (Rom. 1:30), not seeking Him or doing any good (Rom. 3:11). The prophet Ezekiel says that the “soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:20, KJV). If that’s the case (Rom. 6:23), then who has sinned? “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Ephesians probably describes our depravity with the most vivid picture: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Further, Paul describes there that we walked with the world, followed Satan, and were “sons of disobedience” (2:2); that we lived in the passions of our sinful flesh, and were “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (2:3). Similarly in Colossians, we were “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). This is only a brief examination of our spiritual poverty apart from God, and being “poor in spirit” is to see oneself as one really is: lost, hopeless, helpless. Apart from Jesus Christ, every person is spiritually destitute, no matter what his education, wealth, social status, accomplishments, or spiritual knowledge.

That is the point of the first Beatitude. The poor in spirit are those who recognize their spiritual poverty and their complete dependence on God. They perceive that there are no saving resources in themselves and that they can only beg for mercy and grace. They know they have no spiritual merit, and they know they can earn no spiritual reward.

Similarly, Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-gather to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). Jesus says that “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:10-13). The Pharisee was listing his spiritual accomplishments, and considered himself to be self-righteous, while the tax-collector would not even lift his eyes to heaven! The Pharisee was proud in spirit; the tax-collector was poor in spirit.

Who are you like most in this story? The proud, self-reliant Pharisee or the humble tax-collector?

For further reading, please consult Sermon on the Mount: The Poor in Spirit