Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
King James Version (KJV)
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The fourth Beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount, standing at the center of the eight blessings. It marks a turn toward the active desires and virtues of the kingdom heart.
What Does Matthew 5:6 Mean?
Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness -- who long for what is right with the same intensity as a starving person craves food -- and promises they will be filled. Hunger and thirst are the most basic, urgent drives of the body. By using them, Jesus describes a desire for righteousness that is not casual or occasional but deep, consuming, and continual.
This longing reaches in two directions: a desire to be made right with God and to grow in personal holiness, and a yearning to see justice and rightness prevail in the world. Both are blessed. The promise attached is wonderfully complete: "they shall be filled." The very God to whom this hunger turns is the One who satisfies it. There is encouragement here for anyone who feels their spiritual appetite outpaces their attainment -- the longing itself is a mark of blessing, and the satisfaction is guaranteed. Notice that Jesus does not bless those who have already arrived, but those who keenly desire. The kingdom belongs to the hungry, not the complacent. This is a gentle rebuke to spiritual self-satisfaction and a tender promise to the seeking heart. Where the world feeds endless appetites that never satisfy, God meets the hunger for righteousness with full and lasting satisfaction.
In the Original Language
The Greek dikaiosyne, "righteousness," covers both being right with God and right conduct or justice. The verb chortazo, "filled," pictures being fully fed and satisfied.
Cross References
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”
- Psalm 42:1
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
- Isaiah 55:1
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”
- John 7:37
Application
Let your deepest craving be for what is right -- to be made right with God and to see His justice prevail -- and trust His promise to fully satisfy that hunger.