Matthew 5:6

Commentary on Matthew 5:6 (NKJV)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.”

1. Context in the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 opens the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus sets out eight beatitudes describing the character of citizens in God’s Kingdom. These are not mere moral ideals but declarations of God’s blessing on those whose lives are shaped by dependence on Him. Verse 6 sits at the heart of the Beatitudes, linking an inner passion for God’s reign with an assured divine response.

2. “Hunger and thirst” – an idiom of intense desire

• In Hebrew and Greek idiom, to “hunger and thirst” expresses an all-consuming yearning, analogous to physical starvation and dehydration. It depicts spiritual appetite at its most desperate and sincere.
• Jesus deliberately chooses this language to show that longing for God’s righteousness must be vital, urgent and persistent—greater even than natural needs.

3. Defining “righteousness”

• Positional (imputed) righteousness: At conversion, Christ’s perfect obedience is credited to believers by faith alone, declaring them “righteous” before God (Rom 3:22; 2 Cor 5:21).
• Practical (sanctification) righteousness: The Spirit actively shapes Christ-likeness in us—our thoughts, words and deeds increasingly reflect God’s character (Phil 2:12–13).
• The beatitude embraces both: we long for our legal standing in Christ and for moral conformity to His will. This hunger is “God-given, and will never go unsatisfied” because it arises from “the work of His own hands”.

4. The promise: “they shall be filled”

• Present fulfilment: The Spirit satisfies our souls now with His peace, joy, wisdom and power for holy living (Gal 5:22–23; Eph 3:16–19).
• Eschatological consummation: One day in the new creation, all who have truly longed for righteousness will behold Christ’s perfect reign, and “everlasting righteousness” will spring forth across the nations (Isa 61:11; Dan 9:24; Rev 21:3–4).

5. Theological implications for modern Christian living

1. Spiritual disciplines
   – Regular Bible meditation, prayer and worship fuel our hunger, cultivating desperate dependence rather than casual religion.
2. Holistic justice
   – As we crave God’s righteousness, we become agents of His justice—feeding the hungry, siding with the oppressed and speaking truth to power (Mic 6:8; James 1:27).
3. Perseverance in trials
   – Genuine spiritual appetite endures hardship. When circumstances starve us, our longing for Christ grows more vivid, and He sustains us by His grace (Heb 12:1–2).
4. Corporate dimension
   – The Church together hungers for purity, unity and mission. We spur one another on to love and good deeds as we anticipate full satisfaction in Christ (Heb 10:24–25).

Teaching of Matthew 5:6: Jesus promises that those who earnestly yearn for both the gospel’s righteousness and the holiness it produces will be both spiritually sustained now and fully satisfied in the age to come.