Let’s look at the fourth of Jesus’ “Blessed are…” statements.
He promised that the gospel message was good news for “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” and also that they “would be filled”.
What did he mean by this?
Those who hunger and thirst
It’s not immediately obvious what he meant here. Was he referring to people who hungered and thirsted for righteousness in their own thoughts and actions – that is, people who were aware of their own shortcomings and out of a love for God had a strong desire to do better?
Or was he referring to people who had a strong desire to be considered righteous in God’s sight – that is, to be ‘justified’, to be counted among those who would share in God’s promises to the righteous?
Or could he have meant those with a strong desire to see righteousness done in the wider world – that is, those concerned with seeking justice on a societal level and relief for those downtrodden or subject to oppression?
Unfortunately there is no strong consensus among commentators as to which of these Jesus was referring to.
Some say that within the gospel record of Matthew, the idea of “righteousness” usually refers to the personal righteousness of an individual. Others argue that the context of Jesus’ words in the previous verses – the poor in spirit, the mourning and the meek – suggest that justice and deliverance for such people was foremost in his mind.
The NIV Application Commentary (M J Wilkins) sums it up thus:
Persons who “hunger and thirst” are in dire need. They will perish if they are not filled. Such is the passion of those who desire righteousness. In the context of the preceding beatitudes, righteousness includes several facets. It includes “justice” for those who have been downtrodden or who have experienced injustice. It includes the idea of personal ethical righteousness for those who desire a life lived above the entanglements of sin. And … it includes the salvation-historical sense of God’s saving activity. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness desire to see justice executed on earth, they long to experience a deeper ethical righteousness in their own lives, and most of all they crave God’s promised salvation come to the earth
What is agreed upon, however, is that the righteousness being hungered and thirsted for is God’s righteousness – not our own.
There are two points that we can take from this.
Spiritual hunger and thirst
First, the hunger and thirst Jesus described was obviously not a literal one for physical food and drink. It was a hunger for spiritual sustenance – ultimately a desire to be filled with God himself.
Psalm 42:1-4 describes how this can feel:
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
So does Isaiah 55:1-3:
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
John Stott in ‘The Message of the Sermon on the Mount’ puts it this way:
The hungry and thirsty whom God satisfies are those who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’. Such spiritual hunger is a characteristic of all God’s people, whose supreme ambition is not material but spiritual. Christians are not like pagans, engrossed in the pursuit of possessions; what they have set themselves to ‘seek first’ is God’s kingdom and righteousness.
As Christians we should feel an intense hunger and thirst to be filled with the knowledge and the wisdom and the love of God. This should override any and all other desires we might have for the things of this life.
Jesus’ inclusion of this “Blessed” statement along with the preceding three suggests that those who are struggling or suffering in this life may be more likely to feel hunger and thirst for the things of God, while those of us who are well-off and comfortable may have our sense of spiritual need dulled or even numbed by pleasure and ease.
Righteousness is of God
Second, this is a righteousness that comes from God, not from us.
It is received, not achieved.
We’ll look at this in more detail next week, but there is always a temptation – and particularly in today’s world – to think that our righteousness will be sufficient. For example, some of the Pharisees thought they were righteous by keeping the law, while some people today think that we can achieve social justice or solve climate change through our own virtuous actions.
We must come before God and admit that we are empty and cannot fill ourselves by our strength.
On the other hand, you may find yourself in moments of self-doubt or self-condemnation after becoming particularly aware of your own failures to do what’s right or your own feelings of inadequacy to make a difference in the lives of others. If that happens, don’t despair and don’t give up. Instead, recognise that the true righteousness you seek can only ever come from God.
Not only must we come before God and admit that we are empty, but we must believe that is he both willing and able to fill us up.
Next week we’ll consider how this works out in our lives in more detail.
Nihilist to Christian 