How often do we read a passage from Scripture and think that it sounds so opposite from what we would expect? Such seems to be the case with Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. How could it be that being in mourning could be a blessed thing?
Most often, the immediate answer lies with an understanding that we are not God. The greatest our knowledge and wisdom can reach pales in comparison to that of God Almighty. In 1 Corinthians 3:19, we read, For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. We repeatedly see in the Bible that man’s arrogance leads to misunderstanding, because we think we know when, in fact, our understanding is still so limited. When God’s Word tells us something that doesn’t seem right, there are two possibilities – we haven’t studied enough to comprehend the Scripture fully, or we neglect to acknowledge (or remember) that God knows so much more than we do. Hopefully, we tend toward the former rather than the latter; I worry about being arrogant when it comes to faith and spirituality.
When Scripture tells us that those who mourn are blessed, if it seems strange, we need to study to reconcile our thinking to God’s truth. In our Matthew 5 passage, the word translated as “mourn” is the strongest Greek word for mourning. The word is associated with the most overwhelming sadness, often over matters of loss or personal condition. I believe it is the latter use that Jesus intended when he spoke the Beatitudes.
In verse 3, we examined how “poor in spirit” was a reference to our spiritual condition without God and Christ – destitute and without hope. We have also talked about how reading through the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) is a sort of progression of the Christian life (beginning, growth, maturing and trials). With these realizations, it is natural to see Jesus move from discussing the poor in spirit (those who see their absolute need for God) to those who are mournful over the sinful condition of their lives. Many faithful Christians can describe the moment when they realized their need for Christ’s salvation (poor in spirit) and, with equal force, discuss the gut-wrenching sorrow (mourning) over the sinful life they have led.
When 2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us we cannot truly repent without godly sorrow, it is natural to see the progress from understanding our state to mourning over our condition. As He lists the other Beatitudes, Jesus tells how this process is good. He teaches us that, although painful, the mourning is good and necessary, and it is not the end of the cycle. As we often say, read to see the entire context, not just the single verse. But even this single verse is a powerful teaching: those who mourn over their condition in a way that leads them to Christ will be spiritually blessed.
