Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
This passage comes at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. And the first twelve verses act as an introduction to themes he’ll expand on later in his message. Commonly referred to as the ‘Beatitudes,’ these verses are essentially a political manifesto for the Kingdom of God.
As any commentator will tell you, throughout the Beatitudes, Jesus uses common examples to explain uncommon principles. And in Matthew 5:6 it's not hard to see how effective this tactic becomes as everyone can relate to the idea of being hungry or thirsty. Every time I wake up to the glorious sound of my coffee machine or notice the smell of bacon, I experience these desires firsthand. In fact, there are severe consequences should I ignore these urges as I find myself becoming “hangry” to the point that even Bruce Banner would blanch at my hunger-fueled-fury.
But Jesus isn’t talking about wanting a piece of bacon, or a cup of coffee, is he? He said to be hungry and thirsty for “righteousness.” That word “righteousness” isn’t the kind of righteousness we receive from Jesus when we get saved; what is often referred to in theological circles as ‘imputed righteousness’ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:7-9). Instead, as Benno Przybylski’s demonstrated in his book Righteousness In Matthew and His World of Thought the kind of righteousness Jesus was referring to is better understood as justice[1], or what D.A. Carson called “practical righteousness.”[2]
Practical righteousness is a value maintained in our private life as well as a virtue defended in our public life. It will do the right thing for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do. This means it takes responsibility for both communal and personal actions. And unlike imputed righteousness, which primarily deals with our spiritual condition before God, practical righteousness primarily deals with our conduct before God and men.
We know that Jesus is referring to practical rather than imputed righteousness because every time Jesus used the word in Matthew, he was speaking about correcting some injustice (cf. Mat. 1:19; 3:15; 5:20, 45; 6:1, 33).[3] What’s more, every time the Greek word Matthew uses here for righteousness is used in the Greek translation of the OT, it is translated as either “deliverance,” “salvation,” or “victory;” concepts which specifically refer to God making right a wrong.[4] So, whenever we read ‘righteousness’ in Matthew’s account, we must think of it as an impartial judicial decree in which rightness is upheld and wrongness is upended. In this way, practical righteousness could also be considered “functional godliness” or even “social justice.”[5]
Now, while I know “social justice” is fraught with a wide array of implications, if looked at in the best possible light, the connection between it and Mat 5:6 is undeniable. Social justice tries to uproot inequality and address past injustices at the cultural level. In this very narrow definition, a believer would be hard-pressed to explain why they wouldn’t be involved in such a venture. After all, Jesus himself came to right many wrongs in this world. And throughout the Gospels, we see him meeting both practical and spiritual needs, as well as calling out the injustices and hypocrisy of his day. So much so that his enemies had him crucified for it.
But the term “social justice,” as it is used today, is only half of what the Scriptures advocate for when they talk about righteousness (cf. Isa. 1:16-20). It often elevates the wrong of a community but fails to address personal responsibility. Sadly, social justice has become more of a bludgeon wielded by human depravity to amass more power than a beacon built on Godly morality to defend the weak. If what passes for social justice today were rooted in the Scriptures, it would encourage us to take responsibility not only for our communities but also for our specific role in that community. It is not one or the other, but both. We must not only “visit orphans and widows,” but we must also “keep oneself unspotted from the world” (Ja. 1:21-27). Our actions are, first and foremost, our responsibility. Just because we are dealt a shorthand in this life does not give us a free pass to break the law. And contrary to what so many seem to believe, a bad situation does not excuse us from making good decisions. Anarchy, violence, and destruction in the streets ought to distress the believer just as much as the injustices which prompted those kinds of responses.
Conversely, the failure of social justice does not give the disciple cause for inaction. Too many Christians use this excuse to quiet their conscience. But it is nothing more than a deflection tactic that helps them avoid confronting the ugliness within their own neighborhoods and, quite possibly, their own hearts. When we see those less fortunate than ourselves, we have a responsibility—a divine directive—to act and speak up on their behalf. It’s not enough to virtue signal about injustice. We must also peacefully oppose them and try to make right any wrongs we see. After all, we’ll be held directly responsible for whether or not our faith impacted the community around us (cf. Mat. 25:31-46). Loving God with all heart, mind, and strength, as well as loving our neighbor as if they were our very own flesh, ensures that when that final accounting does come, we can stand with our heads held high (cf. Mr. 12:28-34). We must be shepherds who are not satisfied with the majority but who actively seek out the minority (cf. Lu. 15:3-7).
This means if we ever see an authority use undue force, we should be among the first to call foul. If we notice that the family unit is deteriorating at an alarming rate, we should be like first responders providing much-needed aid. If we come to realize that an entire people group within our borders is seemingly trapped within a system that actively works against them, we ought to be the first to offer them a way out. And if we witness a brash prejudice working against our religious freedom, we should not remain silent while we still have the right to speak up. This is not because we want to be on the right side of history but because we are eager to live up to the requirements that God has set. This is not because we want to support our political camp, but because our allegiance is to Christ alone.
When Jesus talks about hungering and thirsting for righteousness, he’s talking about an insatiable desire for an upright lifestyle both from within and without. He was speaking about individuals who yearn for righteousness in their personal lives and who strive to bring about that same righteousness in the world around them. Mr. Rogers, America’s grandpa, famously said, “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” Those who are famished for rightness in this world—those who want a social justice that’s guided by the Word—are not only blessed by God but are the heroes Mr. Rogers was referring to. And though it might sound a little cheesy to say, this 34-year old adult still wants to be a hero.
[1] Przybyliski, Benno, Righteousness In Matthew and His World of Thought, Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, (Cambridge University Press; Cambridge, 1980), p. 97-98.
[2] Carson, D.A., Matthew, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew and Mark, Volume 9, Revised Edition, General Editors Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, (Grand Rapids; Zondervan Academic, 2010), p. 164.
[3] Turner, David L., Matthew, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids; Baker Academic, 2008), p. 151.
[4] France, R.T., The Gospel of Matthew, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 2007), p. 167.
[5] Morris, Leon, The Gospel According to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1992), p 99.
Thank you
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