Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
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Simplicity in Message - college Scott - dust off feet
Context: Sermon on mount - many people - don’t know the number. One guess was as high as 120,000. Others content it was more likely 20,000-30,000. Truth is we don’t know…but there was likely a large mix of people.
The point of the sermon: the kingdom of heaven has come
“you have heard that it was said, but I tell you” - it would have been meant to be memorized....that is why it seems a bit poetic - hence the conciseness of it…simplicity
The beatitudes are a list of blessings. There are 8-9 depending on who you listen to or read. We are doing 8. Beatitude comes from the latin word “beatus” which means “blessed or blessing.”
The beatitudes are meant to be read as a whole...
Now, to be honest, before this week I wasn’t a believer in the connectedness of them. I thought they could be isolated and stand alone, but after reading several commentaries and listening to a short podcast Julia had me listen to, I am convinced they go together.
So, let’s dive into today’s blessing:
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
What mourning is being talked about here?
Loss of a dog, close relative, not Dr. Pepper at Walmart?
The Greek word here is typically mourning of a loss of a close relative or in relation to sin....
After looking at several commentaries, I am convinced Jesus is leaning on the idea of a mourning in relation to sin....although, it could be taken in a broader sense...
And, if we connect these together, it make more since in this way..
Last week we talked about the poor in spirit being those who come before God with nothing to offer spiritually. They are spiritually bankrupt...
Based on this understanding, mourning in relation to sin makes sense.
So, let’s dive into scriptural basis for mourning in relation to sin...
Let’s start in
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
So, to set the framework for mourning…we begin with Jesus talking about mourning for the bridegroom…When He is with them they don’t mourn, but soon he will be gone, and they will mourn..
we see this in Mark 16 after Jesus died and resurrected.
The two Mary’s went to anoint the body and it was gone, they speak with the man in white...
Then Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene…Pick up in verse 10
10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.
So, there is a mourning that literally took place after Jesus left His disciples.
I think we can take this also in a metaphorical sense that without Jesus there is a mourning that takes place
There is a longing for us to know Him....
And, when we understand the need for Him and that we can’t be with Him because of our sin, we feel empty and broken…which leads to mourning...
So, there is this generic mourning for those who are not with Jesus..
There is also a more specific mourning in relation to sin...
There is a situation in Corinth that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 5 with a man who is being sexually immoral with his mom. Not good!
And here is what Paul says:
2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?
So, Paul is addressing how this is brokenness and they should be mourning and grieved by the sin of this person…apparently, they were not addressing it...
This act of sin should move them to grieving. Sin should move us to mourning as well...
Paul talks about how he is grieved because of sin in:
21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
When we truly understand the weight of our sin, it should move us to mourning…and lead us to a place of repentance.
James talks about this further:
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
So, what I think Jesus is touching on here is two-fold, and possibly more...
First is that those who participate in this kingdom that has come mourn over their sin.
Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended.
Matthew (A. The Heart of a Kingdom Citizen (5:1–12)) Stuart Webber
The penitent person who recognizes the weight of his or her sin and spiritual bankruptcy can only respond with sorrow. This has nothing to do with “feeling badly” over some unhappy event. This refers to the condition of the human heart. Only when we are truly sorrowful for our spiritual bankruptcy can the grace of God be introduced into the picture.
Matthew (2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)) Blomberg
Mourning includes grief caused by both personal sin and loss and social evil and oppression.
Sin should lead us to mourning!
So, we repent of it and turn to the one who can forgive us!
We take our brokenness and turn the one who can make us whole
The guilt we face is removed...
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!
13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So, I think we get the picture…turn from your sin!
Pray for God to reveal it to you....
Mourn over your brokenness...
And turn to God!
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
So, I think what Jesus is getting at is our state before we come to him…broken and sinful
And, secondly, when those that are a part of this kingdom mourn, they will be comforted..Matthew Henry continues....
Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.
This is the hope....
When we come to Him, we are comforted!
A part of being a part of His kingdom is He wipes our tears...
He never leaves us or forsakes us!
He guides us...
He comforts us!
Worship Team
So, this morning, I have a couple of challenges
Where are you at with sin? Do you need to repent?
If you have never turned to Him before, now is a good time.
It’s simple: believe in Him, confess and turn from you sin, and accept His free gift of salvation, and freedom!
2. If you are hurting this morning, come to him...
Cast your worries on him…he cares for you!