In His Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus said, ”Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). As human beings, it is natural to be hungry and thirsty for physical food and drink. God created us this way. We also develop a “hunger and thirst” for various things that are neither food nor drink.
In this context, Jesus is speaking about “spiritual hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Righteousness is one of God’s great attributes. Righteousness has to do with God’s holiness and character. In David’s Psalm of praise to God, he said “The LORD is righteous in all his ways” (Psalm 145:17).
The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel according to Romans 1:16,17. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Note that ”the righteousness of God is revealed” meaning ‘a righteousness of which God is the source.’ Also, the righteousness of God is both a divine attribute and a divine provision in saving sinners.
The child of God constantly needs a filling of Godly righteousness which is most essential for resisting the demands of the flesh. The yearning for righteousness by the Christian means there will be “no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14). Little wonder the apostle Paul could explain why he was not ashamed of the gospel, and what it meant to him as quoted earlier. This indeed should be our daily testimony to the world.
In his insightful commentary on righteousness, William MacDonald writes, “First, it is used to describe that characteristic of God by which He always does what is right, just, proper, and consistent with all His other attributes. When we say that God is righteous, we mean that there is no wrong, dishonesty, or unfairness in Him. Secondly, the righteousness of God can refer to His method of justifying ungodly sinners. He can do this and still be righteous because Jesus as the sinless Substitute has satisfied all the claims of divine justice” (Believer’s Bible Commentary p. 1677).
While King David was in the wilderness of Judah (1 Samuel 23:14). he developed a thirsting for God. He prayed, “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 . . . My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:1,5). What confidence David had in his God whom he could depend on without reservation. Hunger and thirst for righteousness is a sure sign that christians are truly born again. The unsaved will never have this type of experience. Their hunger and thirst are for the things of this world that can never bring spiritual satisfaction.
“Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy.” Writes Matthew Henry. “Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires for spiritual blessings must be earnest.” (Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible).
It is very interesting to note what Paul personally admits about the righteousness from God. He wanted to “be found in [Christ], not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death” (Philippians 3:9,10). Obviously, Paul already knew Christ as his Savior as he continued to labor for the sake of the gospel. This brings out his ongoing hunger and thirst for the risen, living, glorified Jesus Christ and His righteousness.
So then, we can conclude that the person who hungers and thirsts after righteousness will be filled and blessed. It should be noted that this fourth Beatitude, like the other seven, applies to born-again believers only. Every Beatitude shows what true followers of Jesus Christ ought to be in daily living. Hunger and thirst for righteousness indicate a strong desire for the living God who alone can satisfy this need. “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25). Christian character is not produced by self-effort but only by the Holy Spirit of God.