Happy Are The Sad - Matthew 5:4 Series

Matthew 5:1-12 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Introduction

When the Messiah arrived and began to gather the subjects of His eternal kingdom it was very much like the way David’s kingdom started out. Remember how he got his people at the beginning in the cave of Adullam?

1 Samuel 22:2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader.

David’s glorious reign began not in a palace but in a hole in the ground and his “kingdom” was made up of misfits, drop-outs, odd-balls, outcasts, has-beens – people in debt, in trouble, in crisis; down-and-outers, and losers. The only thing they had in common is they did not want to be part of that other kingdom. They would rather be in a hole in the ground with David than remain in that other kingdom. And it is very much the same for the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.

It is the people at the bottom who are admitted into the kingdom, and so Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount by saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs alone is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed Are the Mourners

The second beatitude is similar.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Questions

Once again Jesus leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Blessed are those who mourn about what? All mourners? Everyone who has ever been sad goes to heaven? What kind of mourning is this talking about?

And why are they blessed? And what kind of comfort is He talking about? And when will the comfort come – in this life or the next? And how is the promise of future comfort supposed to encourage me if I am mourning now? Why is that blessedness? Wouldn’t it be more blessed not to be mourning in the first place? Isn’t this like saying, “Blessed are those who are in pain, because in the future they will feel better”? Wouldn’t it be more blessed to just not be in pain in the first place? And how does this beatitude square with the countless places in Scripture that speak about our joy?

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Be joyful always

Even in the beatitudes – in verse 12 Jesus says, Rejoice and be glad. So which is it? Are we supposed to be mourning or are we supposed to be rejoicing?

Who are the Mourners? The Repentant

So let’s begin by figuring out what kind of mourning Jesus has in mind. Who, exactly are these blessed mourners? It is fairly obvious that Jesus does not mean everyone who has ever been sad. The construction here is the same as in verse 3, so that it has the meaning, “Blessed are the mourners for they and they alone will be comforted.” Clearly Jesus is not saying, “Blessed is absolutely everyone because they and they alone will be comforted – no one else.” So just from the way Jesus says it you can tell He is referring to a specific kind of mourner. And if you want to know what Jesus has in mind the answer is in the Old Testament background.