Righteousness
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matt. 5:6) I have been working my way through the Beatitudes of late. In this fourth Beatitude Jesus draws us into the major theme of what it means to be human. In his treatise of the Beatitude, Darrell Johnson makes sure that we are hearing Jesus clearly. "Jesus is not saying , Blessed are those who feel righteous. Jesus is not here saying, Blessed are those who are on their way to being righteous. Jesus is not saying Blessed are those who are declared righteous. Jesus is here saying, Blessed are those who, although knowingly unrighteous, are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. They and they alone, shall be filled." My propensity is just the opposite—I desire those things that temporarily satisfy my thirst and hunger, and for the most part, they are the materialistic commodities of this world. So what does righteousness mean? Old Testament scholar Gerhard von Rad helps us to un