40-18 Blessed Are the Mourners
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Matthew 5:4
Matthew 5:4
Scripture reading Ps 51;
It is a common misconception today that many of the early settlers to America (often referred to as Puritans) were a relentless killjoys who were “narrow-minded, prudish, bigoted, intolerable people with dreadful fashion sense” (Francis Bremer). This stereotype really began to take hold in the 1920s when HL Mencken (a witty journalist) defined Puritanism as “The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” That is how many people today view religion— “to be good at it means you have to be miserable.” In many places the world looks at the church and sees a bunch of people who are downcast, sullen, unhappy, glum, joyless people who wear this sorrow as a badge in order that people will think they are pious and devout. It is not all that different from the people Jesus describes in the SM as “the hypocrites” do things in order to be noticed by men. Whenever the church has a deficient understanding of sin and a shallow understanding of Xn joy, people will lead superficial Xn lives.
Are Xns called to be killjoys? We’re good at saying “NO.” Hollywood generally portrays the believer as one who lives in perpetual boredom and considers him to be lame (and we really shouldn’t care how Hollywood portrays us). The church/Xns should not be opposed to happiness, having fun, living in joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Because of God’s sovereign & providential plan the believer can enjoy the goodness of God that is showered upon him—enjoying the blessings and benefits of being reconciled with the Creator :
7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. 8 Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.
Enjoy your life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
There are so many reasons to manifest this deep, abiding thankfulness to God for his goodness…and we ought to show it. But that doesn’t mean we should (or have to) ignore or diminish the reality of sin around us and within us. This is what Jesus is teaching in the 2nd Beatitude in SM. As a summary to that I would say what we find is the truest, highest sense of Xn joy (and flesh it out in our lives) b/c we have the deepest understanding of the doctrine of sin—knowing its penalty, power and presence. That is truly the power of the gospel and if we’re to have the influence on the world around us that Christ intends—coming to terms with Matt 5:4 is crucial. What does Jesus mean?
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Before we get into the text—a very brief review of vs 3. Remember the SM is descriptive (before prescriptive). This is not a list of things you need to do in order to go to heaven. This is not a road map to salvation (how to be saved) but a description of those who are. Christ is teaching about the nature of His kingdom and revealing the characteristics of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven.
It is an explanation of what makes them “blessed.” That term sometimes means “happy” but Jesus is not explaining how to live a happy life. Happiness is a subjective feeling. Christ is much more concerned about what God thinks of the citizens of the kingdom—this is His declaration they are “blessed.” We studied how this refers to divine approval/acceptance and those who are recipients of divine favor are justified (regenerated thru HS—“born again”). That not only makes for the condition of “blessedness” but they who are approved of God are indeed the most happy of all people.
The 1st beatitude deals not with physical resources. “Poor in spirit” is a recognition of one’s spiritual bankruptcy and need for God’s grace. Everyone who has part in God’s kingdom has the humility to know their powerlessness, helplessness, uncleanness, unworthiness before God, and if they are to inherit eternal life they come before the holy God like the tax-collector:
13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
That’s poor in spirit. No one is in God’s kingdom who is not poor in spirit.
We come to the 2nd beatitude: vs 4. There are 2 things that help explain what Jesus is saying:
1. How the Approved Respond
1. How the Approved Respond
we’re looking at the phrase “those who mourn”
In the Gk it is 2 words lit “the ones who are mourning” (participle—vb and adj—in the present tense—on-going condition). This is how the approved (blessed) respond to what is around them and within them by mourning. There are at least 9 words (as many as 15) in the Gk language for sorrow (mourning, lamenting, grief, weep, etc.). The one chosen by Christ is the strongest, most severe, deepest heart-felt grief that human emotion can express. It is derived from the term “to suffer” and generally means to experience sadness as the result of some condition.
There are a few different ways this could be taken. It has been described as a passionate lament—esp over the death of a loved one.
OT Examples:
Abraham
2 Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Jacob when thought Joseph had died
34 So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
Israel upon Moses’ death
8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
2 “Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
The Lord Jesus wept b/c of the great anguish:
35 Jesus wept.
Mourning is often demonstrated by weeping, wailing, sitting (in ashes), tearing clothes and wearing sackcloth. The death of loved ones brings sadness and sorrow (even when they are believers). Even the disappointments in life can bring us to the point of sorrow, grief and agony—and these things are necessary in our lives. William Barclay mentions an old Arab proverb— “all sunshine makes a desert.” This emphasizes that while sunshine (representing positivity or ease) is desirable, a lack of adversity or challenge—the things that cause sorrow and grief (represented by the absence of rain) can hinder growth and development. It is times of great sorrow that will lead to times of comfort. But Jesus is not saying that His kingdom is made up of those who have sorrow over issues of life (true of both believers and unbelievers).
Another way we could take this verse is the mourning that happens over the evil in this world. This would relate to what we might call our social conscience. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of Shaftesbury (England) was one of the most effective social and industrial reformers in 19th-century. His career began very simply. The story is told of when he was a boy at Harrow, he was going along the street one day, and he met the funeral of a very poor person. The coffin was a shoddy, ill-made box. It was on a hand-barrow. The barrow was being pushed by a quartette of men who were drunk; and as they pushed the barrow along, they were singing risque songs, and telling lewd stories among themselves. As they pushed the barrow up the hill the box, which was the coffin, fell off the barrow and burst open. Bi-standers thought the whole business a good joke while some turned away in fastidious disgust but the young boy saw it and said to himself "When I grow up, I'm going to give my life to see that things like that don't happen." So he dedicated his life to caring for others. He saw an evil/injustice in the world.
He was deeply touched by the evil in this world. The church should be known for caring about the evil in the world in which we live. But too often, we tend to shy away from social reforms—partly b/c many have associated salvation with such things—feeding the poor, giving clothes to the needy, caring for the oppressed (things that James tells us are the fruit—good works of faith). But b/c some say this is what saves you, the church has been so careful to walk away from issues of social justice that we’ve lost too much of the godly response to the sin and evil in our world.
Jesus tells us:
30 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Seeing the destructiveness and horror of man’s sin in the world should bring us to tears and we ought to do all we can to temper its effects upon those around us. It seems like this is getting a bit closer to what Jesus is saying.
The other way to take this (and I think it is the ultimate meaning of Jesus here) is that the response of those who are approved of God is mourning/sorrow over personal sin. As I’ve mentioned, these beatitudes build on each other. Poor in spirit refers to the recognition of your spiritual bankruptcy. It is the only way to come to Christ—coming empty-handed with nothing to offer God and needing to rely completely on His grace. Knowing your spiritual poverty will lead to mourning, sorrow (godly sorrow) over your own personal sins. This condition leads to the response of those who are approved—they mourn and their mourning is great b/c their sins are great.
Paul writes about this sorrow in his letter to the Corinthian church. Earlier, Paul had to confront the congregation b/c they weren’t dealing with sin in their midst and personally. That led Paul to write the “severe letter”
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
But then he learned that the Corinthians had repented at Paul’s rebuke.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend
8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Paul’s concern was for the purity of the church and that believers would themselves live pure lives. Sin had to be dealt with and so b/c of his rebuke, the Corinthians responded with a repentance “without regret.” That is how God’s people respond to their sinful condition—with sorrow and repentance. This is the mourning Jesus is referring to—caused by the awareness of your great sinfulness.
This is how David responded to his own personal sin—
4 For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.
(adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah). Ps 51 (scripture reading) See the godly sorrow in David’s heart b/c he sees his sin for what it is—uncleanness (2), pressing on his conscience (3), atrocity and wickedness commited against God (4), has corrupted his entire nature (5), brings deep shame and guilt (9). What God wants is not to perform some ritual (16-17) but the brokenness, the contrition that comes when you see your sin as God sees it—you come to the point of mourning, deep-seated sorrow.
This was Paul’s response to his struggle against personal sin.
Rom 7:14-24;
The measure of maturity/ Xn growth is not that you get to the point in your life where you stop sinning, but the measure of maturity is whether you have a growing awareness of just how sinful you are. The more you are confronted by the life of JC and His holiness and you see your life in the light of His…you will realize your uncleanness and like Peter cry out…Luke 5:8 “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!””
I think that is what Paul meant when he says:
4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
Mourning, grieving over personal sin is the biblical, godly, fitting response of those whom God has approved—flows straight out of “poor in spirit.” Now this is what happened at your conversion. You were led by HS who revealed to you your hopelessness and sinfulness. And seeing your condition and your need for a Savior you were brought to the point of repentance and putting trust in LJC—He saved you. But mourning doesn’t really end at conversion. You keep on repenting, confessing your sin b/c you continue to sin. Like Paul you cry out (mourning) “O wretched man that I am…” and in the next breath you can say:
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Why? B/c He is the perfect provision for dealing with your sin. That’s what we find in the next point:
2. What the Approved Receive
2. What the Approved Receive
Here is the great paradox of this beatitude— (and some have given this title “happy are the unhappy” “happy are the sad”): the ones who are mourning (present tense) are those who are comforted. Be careful not to interpret the future tense (shall be) to mean that comforted is something that happens at some point in the distant future. It is used only as the sequence of mourning and comfort. The comfort follows mourning. The sense of Christ’s words is this: “Blessed are the mourners, for they will be immediately comforted, and they will continue to be so.”
The word for comfort—you may be familiar with it: parakaleo lit “to call to one’s side” and takes on several meanings… to appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage, comfort, to cheer. This is the same term Jesus uses for the HS:
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
Jesus Himself is also called a “paraklete”
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
The mourners (emphatic—they alone) are the ones who will be comforted. In the OT God promised this comfort to His people:
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
Remember, Jesus applies this to Himself at the beginning of His ministry—the comfort of God is fulfilled in and thru the person of Jesus Christ. There are actually 3 senses in which the believer is comforted with regards to sin.
1. Comfort in deliverance from the penalty of sin
1. Comfort in deliverance from the penalty of sin
The one who mourns has come to the place where he sees that his sin is a great offense to the Most Holy God. Your sin is offensive to God b/c it is an attack on His person/character. bible says:
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
23 For the wages of sin is death,
In God’s plan of redemption, He provides for necessary atonement of sin in the death of JC thru which His wrath is transferred from the sinner to the Son. This selfless act of JC would be…
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
The only comfort that can relieve your distress in light of the penalty of sin is the forgiveness of God. That is the comfort that belongs to the approved—b/c they mourn over the condition of their souls, they have received God’s forgiving grace.
2. Comfort in deliverance from the power of sin
2. Comfort in deliverance from the power of sin
Every Xn continues to sin after new birth.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
But where there is still sin in your life, you do not have to be defeated by it. The power of sin is broken in the death of Christ and your regeneration.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Then Paul addresses the very sins (desires of the flesh)—whose power is broken and no longer has the influence in your life it once had:
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The comfort of God is the promise that by His Spirit you have power over sin—that you don’t have to obey your former master—which was sin/unrighteousness.
3. Comfort in deliverance from the presence of sin
3. Comfort in deliverance from the presence of sin
One day, Christ will remove all traces of sin, its effects, its scars from your life—forever. Like David said “my sin is ever before me…” but then, when JC takes us to Himself, all of that is gone. Imagine life without pride, selfishness, hatred, immorality, sickness and death. God’s comfort will be its fullest in that day. It is then:
17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Now, there are some things you can do to cultivate a growing awareness to/sensitivity of your personal sin: If you want to be who mourns:
Study God’s Word—we can say that but for most people it is helpful to know what to study. Where do you begin? I would begin by studying the doctrine of sin. What does the Bible say about sin? How does it define sin? Where did sin come from? What are its consequences, personally and in your relationships? The Bible answers these questions. Then move on to study the holiness of God. That’s when you’ll come to a point:
3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.
1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
Pray—ask God to remove everything that would hinder an awareness of your sin. Ask Him for the brokenness that leads to mourning.
There is a wonderful little book called “The Valley of Vision” which highlights the devotion and prayers of the Puritans. If they were thought to be sad people—it is b/c they had profound sensitivity to their sin and mourned appropriately to it. And their comfort was great. I’ve included one such prayer in your notes…make that your prayer.
Take time to grieve over your sin
136 My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your law.
4 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. 5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Having a godly sorrow over will open the door to God’s comforting forgiveness which will produce peace and joy in your life. That’s what the world needs to see in the church today—a rich joy that flows out of a fitting response to our sinfulness.
