“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will have their fill.”

(Matthew 5:6)

The wording here is perhaps a little different from what you are used to hearing. Most commonly, our translations speak of hungering and thirsting for righteousness and in that having our hunger and thirst satisfied. Nevertheless, the Greek word that Jesus uses here is δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosune) and is most naturally understood with a just or equitable ruling in the context of a legal hearing. To be fair, though, is that not what righteousness is all about? I fear that we have entered into a world of such subjectivity that we often think of that which is “righteous” as that which best accords with our ends. Yet, an individual standard never was nor ever can be a standard by which righteousness is measured. It must be measured by the standard of something that is absolute…namely, it must be measured by God’s Law. Thus, we are brought back into a legal context where “justice” is a better translation than “righteousness.”

A second reason for translating this as “justice” over “righteousness” is when it comes to common usage in the English language. Commonly, righteousness is understood in the context of personal behavior. Justice, though, is commonly understood in a more social context. Righteousness is something that shapes the individual, and justice is something that shapes the community. Conceptially they go hand in hand, but in terms of practical application, the words point our minds toward different connotations. Jesus’ choice of terms at the end of this verse, χορτάζω (chortadzo) can mean to have one’s individual hunger or thirst slaked, but in Christian teaching, it also refers to satisfying the demands of the Law, something that is accomplished by Christ on behalf of true believers.

And so, in the context of the church, it paints a picture of a body of believers that yearns for God’s justice to be done. Notice just how many psalms contain an imprecation that cries out for God’s justice to be worked in the lives of His enemies! For the believer, we know that Jesus satisfied the demands of the Law on our behalf; nevertheless, we still practice discipline in the life of the church to chastise sin and to conform our lives to that of Christ. When it comes to the unbelievers, the church prays either for their conversion or destruction to the glory of Christ Jesus. In both cases, the church will be satisfied and be made full.