The Great Sermon we generally refer to as “The Sermon on the Mount” begins with what is known as the beatitudes.  Here is the fourth one that Jesus gave.

Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Most of us cannot relate to the kind of hunger that Jesus is speaking about because we have never been that hungry. The word hunger here is the same Greek word used to describe how Jesus felt after he had fasted for forty days.  Jesus knew what it meant to experience true hunger.  While most of us have never reached that degree of hunger, we can still understand what Jesus is saying here.  Those who truly crave the righteousness of God will be rewarded with satisfaction.

Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?  Do you care about being righteous and living righteously, just not all that much, or do you have a strong passion for it?  Do you have an insatiable appetite for the righteousness of God, or can you take it or leave it?  Jesus says that those who will be blessed in the kingdom of God are those who are starving for righteousness.  But, what is righteousness?

The word righteousness is used in two ways in the New Testament.  Sometimes it refers to the justification that is imputed to man by faith when he obeys the gospel of Christ (Romans 3:21-24).  Then, at other times it refers to doing God’s will (1 John 2:29).  We should have a great desire for both of these.

We Should Hunger for Justification

To hunger and thirst after righteousness means having a great desire to be right with God and free from the sin that separates us from Him. The one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness is the one who wants to be justified more than anything else because he understands the true value of the soul.  To him, pleasing God is more important than popularity with man (Galatians 1:10), earthly riches (1 Timothy 6:10), or enjoying all the comforts of life.  He seeks that which is above because that is where his heart is (Colossians 3:1-3).

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who have experienced a mental transformation.  This is a transformation that affects, not only his practical conduct but also his intellectual conceptions.  He is translated from earth to heaven in his thinking.  His true aspirations are no longer temporal but are eternal.  He is now looking at the ultimate outcome of life, not just the present outcome.  He is now thinking long-term, not short-term.  He is thinking about how to maintain a right relationship with God rather than focusing on how he can fulfill the transitory pleasures of the flesh.  Those who thirst for rightness with God understand the significance of the statement Jesus made in Luke 12:15:  “… for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

We Should Hunger after Doing Right

The one who hungers after righteousness is the one who enjoys doing right.  This is a good thing too since it is not enough to believe in Jesus.  If we want to go to heaven, we must be doers.  Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  This is the consistent teaching of the Word of God (John 13:12-17; 4:31-34; James 4:17-18).

So, do your best to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Crave it, both the receiving and the doing of it, and Jesus said you will be satisfied.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.