This is the fourth beatitude that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus uses words rooted in the physical world to describe a spiritual need in all of our souls. Just as our bodies need food and water for sustenance and growth, so our souls need righteousness, and without it, we will perish. “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven,” Jesus said elsewhere.

Notice that Jesus does not say, “Blessed are the righteous,” as if righteousness was something already attained, but he says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” indicating those who realize they are constantly and desperately in need of it. The blessed are not those who have arrived, but those who continue, whatever the cost, to yearn for righteousness.

But Jesus declares that those who long for the righteousness of God, and seek for it despite their flaws, shall indeed be satisfied. The deep longings of their soul will be gratified by the One who put those yearnings there. This beatitude makes it plain that those who desire righteousness as their all-consuming hunger and thirst shall be deeply and completely filled—satisfied—by God Himself.

Tom Day

We have a High Priest that knows exactly what we are going through. Who is this High Priest that can sympathize with us? Hebrews 4:14 tells us that it’s Jesus. Jesus is our High Priest. He was in every way tempted just as we are. And yet, without sin. He lived in very much the same way we do and still was sinless. Jesus can understand what we are going through and what we are tempted with.

It always amazes me when we have trouble in our lives but we don’t come to the Lord because we find our problems might not concern the Lord. Or maybe we feel God is too far away and won’t understand what we need. But He does. God is a Holy God and still needs to be viewed as Holy, but for the believer, we can come boldly to the throne of grace and obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. When we need it most, we receive mercy and grace. Jesus gets us, we now have the great opportunity to come to Him in our time of need.

Jesus gets me!

Joshua Navarro