“Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.“
Matthew 5:4
Holy Bible Holman Christian Standard Bible, Black/Burgundy, Leathertouch, Personal Size Bible. Holman Bible Pub, 2014.
When pain and sorrow take hold of the Jesus-follower’s spirit, you can be sure God is close at hand. Mourning is the second beautiful attitude. Again, it is an attitude that the world and all its standards would scoff at. Mourning is not favored on Wall Street. There is no way to sell mourning on Madison Avenue. Broadway does not stage musicals about singing dancing mourners. Not even Disney will risk making a film that solely relies on mourning to carry the plot. However, when it comes to making disciples, Jesus says this is a second tier issue.
In A Popular Survey of the New Testament, Christian theologian and philosopher Norman L. Geisler defines Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as “the manifesto of his kingdom” (50). A manifesto as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.” I find Geisler’s comparison unique and accurate. The beatitudes, as they are found in the Sermon on the Mount, are, for the contemporary student of the Word, a systemic chain of views regarding the life of the Jesus-follower. The manifesto of the kingdom is one composed of attitudes that, once developed, bloom into a beautiful and rich character.
“This does not mean grieving from the loss of a loved one. God does comfort those who are mourning, but that is not the context of this passage. Look at the progression. Blessed are those who see their need so greatly that they mourn… What does it take to enter the kingdom? It takes the Spirit-wrought conviction that you regret your sin so deeply that you are ready, without reservation, to turn gladly from an independent life.“
(Elliff, p. 248-249)
Spann, Kent, and David Wheeler, editors. Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook. Vol. 1, Thomas Nelson, 2011.
Founder and Senior Teaching Pastor of the Summit Church in Little Rock AR, Bill Elliff defines mourning as “Spirit-wrought conviction.” This conviction is a deep regret for sin. An angst of loathing for past certainties proven to be falsities is the sense evoked in this simple word mourning. This is complete and utter brokenness over one’s proud heart and selfish actions. Jesus came to call people out of dim spirits. He offers comfort and consolation to those in mourning.
Isaiah prophesied of such an end to mourning when He spoke about the Messiah’s Jubilee. In Jewish culture it was common to dress in sackcloth and smear ashes on one’s forehead to physically allegorize and express one’s inner state of mourning. In chapter 61 of the book bearing his name, Isaiah proclaims joy to those in mourning. In the time of the Messiah’s coming they would wear a crown instead of ashes and splendid clothes instead of the garb of despair.
“Spiritual poverty leads to repentance. And when we repent, we hurt over the pain that our sin has caused God, others and self. But once we confess our sin, God is quick to forgive; he turns sadness to joy… If we repent of our sin, then God is quick to forgive. Therefore, mourning is turned to laughter.“
(Kinnard, p. 67)
Kinnard, G. Steve. The Gospel of Matthew – The Crowning of the King. Illumination Publishers International, 2004.
How do we embrace the Messiah’s joy? Repentance is the only posture fit to accept the Messiah’s joy. The Greek word “metanoeō” means to change one’s mind. We must turn from our sin, and turn to God. We must face the God who reaches out to embrace us. Our mourning will be turned to laughter as we cling to the arms of God. There is new life, new relationship and new joy in the arms of the Jesus, the Son of God the Father.
This is not a new concept. This is consistent with God’s nature as it is revealed in the Old and New Testament (2 Ch. 7:13-14). In a post-resurrection world, we are blessed to have the witness of the Scriptures and the account of Jesus’ life therein. Because of the person of Jesus, we are enabled to stand totally justified, freed and forgiven under the flow of His atoning blood. This blood flows deep and wide so that all those who will believe in it for salvation might be plunged beneath its surface and rise, having been immersed in grace from heaven above. God hears the cries of the repentant heart and will answer with life full and free.
“Those who feel sorrowful because of their own sins and failure and because of the world’s evil which leads to so much suffering will someday know God’s comfort. The reasons for mourning will be gone when God’s rule over all things is complete.“
(Crissey, p. 31)
Crissey, Clair M. Layman’s Bible Book Commentary: Matthew. Broadman Press, 1981.
There is also a broader form of mourning. This is the groaning of the spirit over the brokenness of this fallen world. This is angst over sin that C. H. Dodd and George Eldon Ladd termed “the already but not yet” of creation’s renewal. Humanity is to be the first-fruits of the resurrection. Jesus-followers have been regenerated, yet the world is still broken. How must we deal with sin in the world? We must mourn it. We must cry out to God on behalf of the whole broken world.
This mourning is the occupation of the global assembly of God’s called-out people. No one person besides Jesus has been asked to abide the brokenness of all creation. Together as Jesus’ body, his Church collectively bears the sorrow of the world’s sinfulness. We must learn to grieve sin together. We must empathize with others, and we must not ignore the pain of sin and wickedness. This is a reality that must be acknowledged, but not accepted (Ps. 141:4). We know that God is accompanying right alongside us as we walk through the darkness, guiding us and comforting us in His Holy Spirit and the Truth of Scripture (Ps. 23:4).
“Through all life deliverance goes on, the deliverance from sin, the deliverance from wrath. The Christian salvation, then, according to the teaching of this emphatic phrase, is a process begun at conversion, carried on progressively through the life, and reaching its climax in another state… No man becomes a devil all at once, and no man becomes an angel all at once. Trust yourself to Christ and He will lift you to Himself; turn your back upon Him, as some of you are doing, and you will settle down, down, down in the muck and the mire of your own sensuality and selfishness, until at last the foul ooze spreads over your head, and you are lost in the bog forever.“
(Maclaren, pp.49-50)
Wiersbe, Warren W. Classic Sermons on the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, 1998.
The famed British “prince of expository preachers”, Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) inspires with his statement above. We are continually being delivered from our sinfulness. Until we die we are continually being brought into the perfect will of God. We must mourn every sin. We must grieve every missed mark. We must carry our burdens to the arms of Jesus. Time and time again Jesus will deal with our fallen hearts, our human natures. Because of His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead we can be assured of our preservation in His arms.
American Methodist minister, Edward McKendree Bounds (1835-1913) wrote extensively on man’s communication in relationship with God. In a compilation of of meditative works entitled Prayer is the Answer: Classic Writings on Prayer, Bounds describes the intimacy of the connection between humans and their heavenly Father. “Prayer” says Bounds “is the lifting up of the heart to God” (76). To pray we must elevate our hearts to God so that we relinquish control of our situation, and give God all authority over our innermost self. Bounds encourages open communion with God.
Are you open to God? Can He lead you wherever He would like? Swing wide the gate of your heart. Raise your mourning spirit. Extend your arms to embrace His everlasting hug. God wants to make you wholly His. He wants to comfort you and lead you by the hand. Follow God. Cry out to Him! Weep aloud to Him! His peace is yours if you will but receive it. Take the peace that God gives through His Son, Jesus.
“Remember, God is as Great as He is Good!”
Noah R. Hunt
POIEMA: Created for Truth 