Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:4 ESV

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Some Christians seem to imagine that, especially if they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they must wear a perpetual grin and be continuously boisterous and bubbly. However, the Christian life, according to Jesus, is not all joy and laughter. The truth is that there are such things as Christian tears, and too few of us ever weep them. And, as the second Beatitude teaches, sorrow can be the source of blessing.”

— The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character (John Stott Bible Studies) by John Stott

Mourning Death

When you think of mourning, you probably picture a funeral.

When we think of comfort, we probably also think of helping the family and friends of the decreased

We probably picture lifting their sadness for just a moment

Often this beatitude is used to life peoples spirits in the midst of a time of morning

One of the things our culture does poorly is mourn.

To a degree, our desire to break away from tradition has hurt our ability to process major life events

We desire so greatly to hold to “Christianity isn’t religion” that we throw away some great traditions that help us grow in our faith

Mourning is one of those traditions of Judaism that should have carried forward.

Closing of eyes (Genesis 46:4 “4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” )

Embracing the body (Genesis 50:1 “1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him.” )

Tearing your clothing (Job 1:20 “20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.” )

Put on sackcloth (2 Samuel 3:31 “31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner.” And King David followed the bier.” )

Fasting (1 Samuel 31:13 “13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.” )

It was not just an involuntary outburst of feeling but rather a deliberate, established ritual

Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Mourning,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1500.

Mourning Sin

“It is plain from the context that those whom Jesus promised to comfort are not primarily those who mourn the loss of a loved one but those who mourn the loss of their innocence, their righteousness, their self-respect. It is not the sorrow of bereavement Christ refers to but the sorrow of repentance.”

— The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character (John Stott Bible Studies) by John Stott

We are to mourn our sin

Last week, when discussing being poor in spirit, we discussed repentance, this week mourning our sin takes it a step further.

“confession is one thing, contrition is another” - John Stott

James 4:8–10 “8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Not just our sin, but we ought to mourn others sin

1 Corinthians 5:1–2 “1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.”

2 Corinthians 7:10 “10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

At the individual level, this mourning is a personal grief over personal sin. This is the mourning experienced by a man who begins to recognize the blackness of his sin, the more he is exposed to the purity of God.

D. A. Carson

Mourn the Coming Judgement

Matthew 24:30 “30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

Revelation 18:7–8 “7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’ 8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.””

Revelation 18:9–10 “9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.””

We Will Be Comforted

When we mourn over our sin, it is an indication of our heart being changed

Spiritual mourning is necessary for salvation. No one is truly a Christian who has not mourned over his or her sins. You cannot be forgiven if you are not sorry for your sins.

R. Kent Hughes

Mourning over our sin isn’t be upset that we got caught

it isn’t fearing the coming judgement

mourning over our sin is to be broken hearted at the