Thoughts on the Beatitudes, Part 2

Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (KJV)

The concept of hunger and thirst conveys the idea of an overwhelming longing or strong desire.  Those who are conscious of their own spiritual emptiness long both to experience true goodness and to be filled with it, and Jesus promises that their longing will find fulfillment.  Yet He calls their present state blessed as well, for awareness of a deep need is itself a sign of health; to be unaware of a desperate need is a perilous condition indeed.

The Greek word here translated “shall be satisfied” is literally rendered, “shall be filled.”  According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, the idea is that of an animal being fed with grass and hay until it is fat; the Louw and Nida Greek-English Lexicon gives a similar meaning, with the added implication of complete contentment with what has been provided.  Thus, the satisfaction here promised is not just that of having enough; it is that of being full to complete satiety, so that no more could possibly be wanted.  Further, this satisfaction is provided to those who hunger and thirst for it without their active agency, for the verb form is in the future passive tense.  All that is necessary to receive the righteousness of God is to have a genuine desire for it, and God will provide it.

The concept of righteousness contains the ideas of integrity, virtue, purity of life, and correctness in feeling, thinking, and acting, but it is still more than these.  Ultimately, it is the state of being completely acceptable to God, with a life wholly aligned with His holiness.  It is that state with which God promises to satisfy His people, and from that state that all right actions and uprightness of life flow, for the natural response of the redeemed man who knows himself accepted by God should be to walk in a manner fitting to that acceptance.

Matthew 5:7
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (KJV)

According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the Greek word translated “mercy” in this verse carries the meaning of taking pity on the needs or afflictions of another, including the use of one’s own resources to meet perceived need.  Thus, mercy in the sense that Jesus used it is more than refraining from vengeance or mitigating a legal penalty; it is feeling the pain and needs of others and actively seeking to meet the needs or relieve the suffering of those who cannot help themselves.  Those who consistently display this quality in their lives reflect the nature and character of God, showing forth a saving faith that is itself of the mercy of God and will receive further mercy from God.

Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (KJV)

A heart purified by faith in the sacrifice of the Redeemer is the necessary condition for being able to see God, or even to desire to do so.  Although all men will in a sense see God sooner or later, only those whose inward lives have been made holy can see Him in the manner which this verse intimates: as a King with whom they stand in favor.  In Eastern cultures, to be given an audience with a king and to be permitted to see his face was a token of the royal pleasure with a subject.  The Jewish audience that Jesus was addressing doubtless caught the allusion immediately, for in the Mosaic economy, the true King of Israel was God Himself.

Purity of heart is necessary not only to receive God’s favor but to be able to see it truly.  Those men who come before God as Judge will see Him, but not in the same manner as the redeemed.  C. S. Lewis spoke of absolute goodness being not welcome but terrifying to those who have not been brought into alignment with it, and the only quality of goodness that a man still in his sins can see truly is that it condemns him.  He is completely incapable of receiving anything else from it and so is blind to all but the aspect of judgment.