Hunger in the New Testament

Figurative:

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed [above the cares of this life] are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”  See also Isaiah 55:1 – 2.

John 6:35 “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes into Me shall never thirst.”

Literal or nearly so:

Matthew 21:18 “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.”  See also Mark 11:12.

Matthew 4:2 and Luke 4:2 “In those days [of His temptation in the wilderness], He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.”

Matthew 12:1 “At that time, Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.”  See also verse 3, “what David did when he was hungry.”  See the parallels in Mark 2:25 and Luke 6:3.

Matthew 25:35 “I was hungry and you gave me food.”  Also verse 37, 42, and 44.

Luke 1:53 [Mary’s description of the Messiah] “He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich He has sent away empty.”

Luke 6:21 “Blessed [above the cares of life] are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.”  See Matthew 5:31 – 34.

Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.”  Jesus was telling the wealthy that their prosperity was soon to change.

Luke 15:17 [Parable of the Prodigal Son] “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”

Acts 10:10 “Then he [Peter] became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance.”

Romans 12:20 (quoted from Proverbs 25:21 – 22) “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head.”

1 Corinthians 4:11 “to the present hour we [Paul and company] both hunger and thirst…”

1 Corinthians 11:34 “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home.”  See also 11:21.

2 Corinthians 11:27 [Paul, recounting the difficulties he had while traveling to spread the gospel] “…in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst…”

Philippians 4:12 “I [Paul] know how to be abased and I know how to abound.  Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

Revelation 6:8 [Describing the four horses]] “and power was given them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”

Revelation 7:16 [Describing those standing before the throne of God, before the Lamb] “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore…”

Summary of the statements about physical hunger:

Taken out of context, many have preached that Christians will always have enough to eat.  Obviously, that was not true for Paul nor the uncountable multitude in Revelation 7.  Rather, the point about always having food and shelter (as in Matthew 5:31 – 34) refers to the eternal kingdom.  The deceased faithful will no longer hunger physically or spiritually.  For the faithful on earth, being hungry depends on economics, politics, and agriculture.