The Blessedness of Mourning Well | Matthew 5:4

Song of Worship - More About Jesus

Prayer of Repentance

[Time of Silence]

Song of Worship - Jesus Loves Me

Devotional:

We live in a world that celebrates our urges. The greatest truth in our world is that our urges, our desires, our wants are who we are and we are to give into them freely and totally.

But here Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn..."

So what are they mourning? Well, two things:

1. They are mourning their unrepentant sin.

2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

2. They are mourning the sin of the world.

Chromatius,

"As with Jesus’ earlier teaching on the poor, here too he speaks of those who mourn. The blessed of whom he speaks are not those bereaving the death of a spouse or the loss of cherished servants. Rather, he is speaking of those blessed persons who … do not cease to mourn over the iniquity of the world or the offenses of sinners with a pious, duty-bound sentiment. To those who mourn righteously, therefore, they will receive, and not undeservedly, the consolation of eternal rejoicing promised by the Lord.

Tractate on Matthew 17.3.1–2."

"Those who mourn their own sins are indeed blessed, but blessed in a less wonderful way than those who mourn the sins of others. Those who mourn the sins of others are less likely to have sins of their own to mourn. These are the ones who should be called teachers. They are with the Lord on the mountain."

Manlio Simonetti, ed., Matthew 1–13, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 82.

But also of importance is to note the fact that those who mourn will be comforted.

John 16:19–22 ESV

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Jesus' promise is that our mourning is but for a season. That he will comfort those who in mourning their own sin and the sins of others repent and follow after God.