One of the constants in our home is Betty asking what I want for supper, to which I reply, “I don’t care.” While there are many foods that I like, there are few that I crave. To be honest, I’m usually not hungry for anything in particular when she asks. It may be an honest answer, but not a very helpful one.
Jesus also talked about being hungry for something in the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, CSB) Hunger and thirst are powerful needs that require continual refreshment.
Jesus is specific, though; this isn’t about just any old hunger and thirst. This is a hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness. That is a need we cannot fill or satisfy ourselves. The Bible says, “as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10, CSB) But what does the word righteousness mean? What are we to be hungering and thirsting for?
Let’s break the word down a bit. The “ness” part indicates a sense of being, condition, or quality. The “righteous” part of the word means to adhere to a standard. In the broad sense, being righteous could apply to many things. Righteous according to law, righteous according to custom, righteous according to a standard of conduct, etc. But Jesus meant something specific.
A few moments later, Jesus taught, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20, CSB) The scribes and Pharisees were master lawkeepers. They sought to keep the law of Moses down to the smallest part. Even tithing to God a tenth of their garden herbs such as mint, dill, and cummin (Matthew 23:23). Yet, they missed the righteousness Jesus said we are to hunger and thirst for.
The Gospel of Luke recounts a parable that illuminates Jesus’ thoughts. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”(Luke 18:10–14, CSB) The Pharisee sought righteousness based on his own actions; the tax collector received the righteousness of God.
So where does that leave us? The righteousness we hunger and thirst for is given to us by God through Jesus Christ. It is not our righteousness; it is Christ’s. While there is always a moment of decision where we accept Christ, we are to continually look to Christ’s righteousness and not our own. But righteousness doesn’t end there. We also hunger and thirst for our lives to reflect God’s righteousness in the things we do, say, and think.
You see, the Pharisees had it backward. They sought to live a life of righteousness to gain God’s acceptance. But following Jesus means we receive righteousness and seek to live it out. And that, my friends, is extremely filling and satisfying.
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