Pointing to Jesus

Matthew 5:4–  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

We are continuing with the 2nd Beatitude from Matthew 5:1-12 from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus said that we are blessed when we mourn.  Blessed means happy or divinely or happily favored.

The word mourn means lament or deep grief. It is the strongest word used for mourning.  Spiritually, it is a mourning or a deep grief over the sinful state of ourselves, others, and society. It is the sorrow over our sin because of the realization that our sin grieves God and separates us from Him. It means we grieve over the sinful state of others who we want and pray to be set free from the enemy’s grip. It means we grieve over the spiritual and moral decline of society.

When we mourn over these things, it shows that we are aware of the spiritual condition of our own hearts and lives and also of those around us and society as a whole. Not only are we aware, but we are deeply grieved, just like Jesus is,  over sin or anything else that hinders relationship with God, and we pray for repentance. 

In scripture, We see Jesus grieving over Jerusalem, which was the capital of Israel, and the location of the temple where true worship should have been happening. Instead, Jerusalem was not worshipping God nor helping others.  Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds and His disciples, says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”  When Jesus was riding on a donkey through the city shortly before his death, Luke 19:41 says, “When Jesus approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it.”

When we mourn, the Bible says the reward is that we will be comforted. Comfort means to exhort, encourage, and strengthen. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” God is the One who comforts us. He will give us strength and encouragement.

May we grieve over the things that grieve God and then be comforted by Him.  A great passage to read is Psalm 51, written  by David. It was his plea to God for mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing. May this be our prayer as well.

Blessings,

Desiree