Blessed Are Those Who Mourn – EP38
Matthew 5
"Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.'"
"What are we mourning for? That is the real question"Hello, and welcome back to the One Thing podcast. Today, I'm inviting you to read with me from the book of Matthew, chapter five. This is known as the Sermon on the Mount, the first chunk of verses here. I encourage you— we're gonna read one verse today, but I'm encouraging you to read the entire chapter if you can. It’s just such a blessing. We know that all of Jesus' words are life; all of his words are such a blessing, but the Sermon on the Mount is an incredible place to begin. So, I'm reading verse four, and verse four is very simple.
It says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,” and this truly gives a description of the life of a true Christian.
Now, what does mourn mean? Does it mean that Christians are going about mourning all day long, that we’re a sad people that are always crying and in tears? No, that's not necessarily what it means, but it says, “blessed are those who mourn...”
What are we mourning for? That’s the real question.
For the life of a Christian, you see, we are brought into the Lord Jesus by the fact that God has opened our eyes. He opens our eyes to see the injustices done against Him, to see that man has completely sinned against the Lord, that we have chosen our own way.
"He opens our eyes to see the injustices done against Him..."Today, many people, even so called Christians, go about without recognizing the will of God for their lives, without ever recognizing that it is God that has given us everything, and He is worthy of our full devotion and nothing less. He is worthy of excellence and everything above. But, how many, including maybe ourselves today, have never stopped to recognize God for the true gift that He’s given us? His Son. How many of us have stopped to literally mourn for maybe the sins that we've done against Him, for the simple ways that we have chosen against Him? We can go on, and on, and on.
But, if we read this full verse as well, “blessed are those who mourn,” who come to God in repentance for their sins, recognizing our wickedness against Him, for they will be comforted. Praise God for the comfort that He gives us. Yes, we may mourn over our darkness toward the Lord, we may mourn for the things that we've done against a holy God, but in that mourning, hallelujah! The mourning shall be turned to dancing. Our hearts will leap as He reveals the Son, as Jesus comes and the one who comforts, the one who cleanses us from our sin and brings restoration back to God. Hallelujah!
"Be comforted today, and may we continue to pursue the Almighty God."
The book of Ecclesiastes even says, furthermore, that I'd rather sit in the house of mourning than at the table of fools. It simply means I’d rather walk in humility before the Lord. I’d rather recognize God as the holy God, as the one who rules and reigns over all — and may I mourn and repent and turn — than to live with the rest of the world in foolishness, to go on and on as though things are okay without ever recognizing the holiness and the goodness of God. For they will be comforted.
I pray that you would find comfort in the name of the Lord Jesus today. I pray that as you turn to God, as I turn to God, as we as one join together in seeking the King, that we will find comfort— a comfort that cannot be robbed, a comfort that goes on and on, a peace that comes only through the blood and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be comforted today, and may we continue to pursue the Almighty God.