“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn,
This mourning has to do with mourning over sin and not over a loss of a person or object. This is mourning over loss of fellowship with the Lord. The word for “mourn” is the strongest word in the Greek for mourning. It is the word used for mourning for the dead.
Mourning here is not self-pity. We do not use pity for self as the instrument of forgiveness. Our forgiveness comes from the One who died on the cross for our sins. That is why there is blessedness in conviction over sin.
“Blessed” emphasizes God’s part in forgiveness. Our comfort does not rest in who we are or even in the act of mourning but in God’s provision. God provides for us in grace. God frees us from the penalty of sin through the death of Christ on the cross. There remains no barrier between God and man. God forgives us because of who Jesus is and what He did on the cross. He does not forgive us because of the sincerity or intensity of our mourning.
for they shall be comforted.
The comfort here has to do with forgiveness. God directly comforts His people by forgiving their sin.
In the immediate context, all mourning will cease when the King sets up His kingdom because He will pardon the sins of Israel.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Is 40:1-2
PRINCIPLE:
Those who mourn sense their personal bankruptcy and utilize God’s forgiveness.
APPLICATION:
Spiritual poverty comes from conviction of personal sin. Those who seek close fellowship with the Lord mourn over their sin by seeing sin the way God sees it. They sense their spiritual poverty and unworthiness before God. Note how David viewed his adultery with Bathsheba.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Ps 51:17
God blesses us because we have His forgiveness by the death of Christ for our sins.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace… Eph 1:7
I love your explanation of Matthew 5:4! It resonates in my heart with what the Holy Spirit has been telling me, I am so tired of people explaining Scripture with a "Greeting Card" mentality! I had just read one of these articles that used this scripture to relate how sad they were because of the death of their dog!
I have been meditating on Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I have also been thinking about the scripture in Isaiah where God says, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Speak comfortably means speak kindly…. you are already forgiven! You are forgiven! You are forgiven! So you choose! I set before you life and death… choose life!
Aren't you thankful that He fulfilled the Law and now we can live in victory because of Grace! We can see sin the way God sees it: AS IF WE HAVE NEVER SINNED! Now that's something to shout about!
i didnt understand it very much but i think in the spirit that thats whats it means..
Indeed been remorseful about your sin and genuinely repenting invokes the mercy of God on us. It is only in this that we receive comfort in our spirit.
This is such a revelation to me !!…i am studying Beautitudes…what a blessing
I do not agree!!! Mourning means loss of a dear close one. — not your seeing your sin and repenting. Mourning in the English dictionary says nothing about recognizing your sin and being sorry. I have acknowledged my sin to the Lord and He has forgiven me at the cross — not over and over again. Yes, the blessings of being a child of God are wonderful. The blessings a Believer receives when mourning a husband, wife or close one are marvelous. In over 50 Bible translations, only 1 (AMP) interprets this verse as related to sin. I am sorry — I have experienced both of the above and there is no comparison. With sin you create the situation and go to God for salvation. With mourning, you did not create the situation and God acts for you bringing wonderful blessings, peace and joy — may take years, but God is good, all the time.
Jan, your interpretation may be right; that is, your thoughts are a possible interpretation. However, “mourn” in the NT is used both ways: for those who sorrow over a personal loss and for grief over sin. Note these verses on the latter meaning: 1 Cor 5:2; 2 Co 12:21. The reason I chose the latter option was the context of Mt 5 dealing with spiritual issues. You are right in that the believer has been once for all positionally forgiven his or her sin. However, the believer may not be experientially forgiven and must confess their sin (1 Jn 1:9). See my study on 1 John 1:9.
Many of the responders are conflicted. But we have to remember that the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and allowing Him to speak through the teachers of the Word is commendable. I hope many will open their minds to interpretation and not condemnation