Blessed Are They That Mourn

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matt 5:4)(KJV)

Happy are the ones who weep. How does that sound? To the modern mind it seems somewhat morbid, does it not? Today we want to laugh. To cry is thought to be unmanly. To be seen with tears in our eyes is an embarrassment to be brushed off with statements such as: “My allergies are bothering me”, or “This cold is getting the best of me”, etc. Recently I even heard from a minister who was asked to make people laugh while taking part in a funeral service! In the midst of all this the voice of the scripture speaks saying, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Eccl 3:1,4) (KJV) Weeping is not wrong. Neither is it inappropriate. Weeping is a necessary and beneficial part of life when exercised correctly, and the weeping ones are the happy ones.

Weeping, Blessedness, And The Kingdom

But what does Jesus mean by saying that the ones who weep are the happy ones? The people to whom Jesus spoke were well aware that He was uttering Scriptural truths. The Word of God in the Old Testament bears witness to the fact that those who mourn shall be made joyful in the coming Kingdom of God. Isaiah prophesied of Christ saying, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” (Isa 61:1-3) (KJV) Jesus is saying that the mourners are happy because they have the assurance of being given joy by the Messiah. The Kingdom also belongs to them. They are assured of Heaven. In fact, Isaiah speaks the word of God saying, “thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isa 57:15) (KJV) Those who are crushed and humbled in spirit are revived and dwell in the presence of the eternal, holy One. These are the mourners, as we shall later see. The Jews knew this was true. Jesus was simply reminding them of a Kingdom promise as He sought to teach them concerning the righteousness of the Kingdom. Jesus also gave the promise of laughter to those who weep: “ Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.” (Luke 6:21) (KJV) These are simply repeating the Old Testament promises that the Kingdom of God will be a joyful place that is given to those who mourn/weep in this life.

What Is This Mourning?

The words of Jesus pertain to a particular sort of mourning. There is much weeping in the world today. Wicked people weep, murderers weep, televangelists weep, etc. Jesus speaks of a weeping that is a righteous sort of mourning. This is godly sorrow. “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (2 Cor 7:9-10) (KJV) When we see our sin as God sees our sin we will sorrow after a godly sort. This is called godly sorrow. When we see how heinous the nature of our rebellion against the authority of the King of Kings, we will weep over it. In so doing, we will also repent (change our minds and hearts about) of our sins. This results in our receiving salvation from the Lord. This is why those who weep shall rejoice. This is why those who mourn are happy. We must go through mourning to get to true happiness. This is not saying that one must have a certain level of emotional upset, or cry a certain amount of hours, days, weeks, etc. It is saying that one must have true sorrow for their sins and repent of them. Those who do so are promised the joy of eternal salvation.

This mourning is also to be characteristic of the Christian throughout his life. We all fail God. We all need to repent, and are called to repent. Mourning is the order for the day many times. In fact, this was the case at Corinth. They had sinned. Paul wrote them a letter about their sin. They wept over their sin and repented. Thus they gained peace of mind and joy. We are called to repent even today. “ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:8-10) (KJV) When the child of God sins there is no doubt that God will reprove him of it in due time. When faced with our sin we are called to weep over it. Jesus’ promise is that we will rejoice that we wept. Let us consider the joy the Corinthians had after they wept over their sin. The blessed promise is that those who weep will rejoice. There is a blessedness in knowing one’s sins are forgiven. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” (Ps 32:1-2) (KJV)

A Call to Weeping

We spend much time today seeking to laugh. Much is spent on entertainment and comedy. Amusement (which is literally something done without thinking) occupies a large portion of many people’s budgets. The pursuit of happiness is a fierce chase for many. Yet, Solomon said, “Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.” (Prov 14:13) (KJV) In the midst of it all, Jesus is calling us to examine ourselves. He commands us to let His Spirit search our hearts and show us where we are wrong. Then we are commanded to grieve and repent of our sins that we might experience true happiness which is found only in Christ and in His Kingdom. How fitting indeed it is that the Saviour spoke of this as following poverty in spirit. The one who realizes his emptiness before God will recognize his lack of holiness and weep for his sins. This person is on the pathway to peace, comfort, and holy joy.

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