Those Who Mourn - Matthew 5:4 - July 17, 2011
Series: Kingdom Life - A World Turned Upside Down #2 / Communion
Some 2000 years ago Jesus shook up the world in which He walked when He called those who would follow Him to a radical way of doing life. Now, He didn’t espouse violence. He wasn’t calling for an insurrection. That’s not the type of radical we’re talking about. But for those who would follow Him there was no middle ground; there was no easy path. To follow Him meant learning a new way of thinking, and doing, and living – a way that was contrary to everything to which they had become accustomed. To follow Jesus meant to have your world turned upside down.
I want you to understand, that it is no different for us, today. Those who would follow Christ are going to pay a price. It’s going to mean letting go of much of what we’re accustomed to. It’s going to mean a radical shift in the way we think, and do, and live. That’s why Scripture says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds – a change is taking place as the old ways of thinking, and doing, and living are replaced by that which is pleasing, and honoring to God. In the words of Romans 12, we become, “living sacrifices,” with our lives continually being given over to the glory of God.
Perhaps nowhere in Jesus’ words does that conflict between the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of this World, become so clear as it does in the Sermon on the Mount – as Jesus taught the people about life in the kingdom of Heaven. We started to look at His teaching a couple of weeks ago when began trying to understand the Beatitudes. And for those of us who weren’t able to be here at that time, the Beatitudes comprise a portion of Jesus’ teaching with each teaching beginning with the word, “blessed.”
We’re going to continue with that study this morning as we take a look at the second Beatitude. So let’s open our Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew, chapter 5, beginning in verse 1. This is what is written …
“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 will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:1–4, NIV)
That’s another teaching that’s difficult to wrap our heads around, isn’t it? How is it, that Jesus can say, “Profoundly happy,” (for that’s what that word, “blessed,” means), “profoundly happy are those who mourn?” Mourning is not something we are eager to do. When we think of mourning we think of pain and loss and suffering. While God may comfort us in our grief at losing a loved one, we don’t consider ourselves as being happy in our grief. Truth is when we mourn we are wounded and broken and hurting and torn up inside. So what’s Jesus really referring to here?
Well that word, “mourn” gives us a clue. It’s translated from the strongest term for “mourning” in the Greek language. It’s used to refer to deep seated grief in regards to our circumstances or condition. James writes, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. ” (James 4:8–9, NRSV) The word, that James uses for, ‘mourn,’ in these verses is the same word that’s used in Matthew 5.4 and it’s tied, not to the grief that comes of losing a loved one, instead it’s tied to the reality of our own sin. So when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” what we are really meant to hear Him saying is, “Profoundly happy are those who are filled with an overwhelming sorrow for their sin – those who mourn their sin; who are broken by it.”
And here we must distinguish between a worldly sorrow as we mourn, and a godly sorrow, for Scripture itself makes such a distinction. Paul, in his 2 letter to the Corinthians writes to them with these words saying, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. ” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV)
As a child I experienced worldly sorrow when I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar when I knew it oughtn’t to have been there. I may have been sorry, not because I believed it was wrong to take the cookie, but because I got caught doing it. I was sorry, for myself, because my actions led to consequences which I would have rather avoided but I didn’t really believe I had done anything wrong. Given another opportunity I would have tried to raid the cookie jar again. That’s worldly sorrow. Such sorrow, says Paul, produces death. We see that in the life of Judas, don’t we? He betrays Jesus, later he regrets it, feels sorry for it, but goes and takes his own life. His was not a sorrow that lead to repentance. It brought only death.
On the other hand, godly sorrow, produces a repentance which leads to salvation. Godly sorrow grieves because, in our sin, we understand that we have dragged God’s name through the mud. We have made of Him a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. We grieve because in our sin we have offended the God who gave His Son for us. Such godly sorrow wells up within us as we agree in our hearts that that which we have done – or not done but ought to have – is truly an offence before a Holy God. It’s seeing your sin as God sees it. Blessing – profound happiness – comes from such sorrow, for the sinner finds restoration and forgiveness.
An incident in the life of King David gives us a glimpse of what a godly sorrow looks like. Turn with me to Psalm 51. David wrote these words in the aftermath of his affair with Bathsheba. Now, there is no excuse for his adultery. But in these verses he’s not making excuses. He’s confessing his sin to a Holy God. Listen to what he says, verse 1, …
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. ” (Psalm 51:1–17, NIV)
That ‘broken spirit, that, ‘contrite heart,’ that’s what it means to mourn your sin; to be so thoroughly repulsed by it that you cease making excuses to justify it or minimize it. It’s to see your sin as God sees it and to want to be forever done with it. It’s the type of sorrow that leads to repentance for repentance isn’t simply feeling sorry for what you’ve done but feeling sorry enough that you turn away from it and turn to God. It’s a change of mind, a turning of direction because your sin has become repulsive to you for you have seen it as God sees it.
There are a lot of people, today, living with a worldly sorrow for the choices they have made in life. It is a sorrow which steals their peace, robs them of their joy, and which crushes them under a burden of despair. But they have not mourned their sin with a godly sorrow that has led to repentance.
The truth is that the world as a whole rejoices in sin. It revels in it. The world says, “Blessed are those who can laugh their way through life; who feel no guilt for their wrongs, who feel no shame for the things of darkness they have brought to life. Blessed are those who answer to no-one but themselves!” Scripture says that we live among a people who “call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! ” (Isaiah 5:20, NRSV) And it’s so true – that’s exactly what we do when we revel in our sin – we exchange the goodness of God for the lies of this world! Some of the old time preachers used to say, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay. And it is going to cost you more than you want to pay." Those words are still true today. (Melvin Newland – How Can You Rejoice When You’re Sad? – www.sermoncentral.com) And yet we as a people, continue to run after sin.
But those who are poor in spirit will be brought to their knees as they see themselves as they really are before a Holy God, and in seeing themselves in such a way, they will mourn their sin, and they will cry out to God and they will find comfort. In the book of Isaiah we read that the Spirit of God would be upon Jesus, for God had sent Him to, bind up the brokenhearted, [and] to comfort all who mourn; … to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning. ” (Isaiah 61:1–3, NRSV)
The good news that Jesus brings is tied to the truth that in Him our mourning turns to gladness, our despair to comfort. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus cries out, “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. ” (Luke 6:25, NRSV) The world laughs in its sin, but one day we will be called to account before a Holy and righteous and just God who will say, “I sent My Son, you had My Word, you knew My heart – and you despised it all!” In that day, the laughter will turn to mourning and the joy to weeping. Friends, far better for us to be broken, and humbled by, and convicted of, our sin today, that we might fall upon our knees and cry out to God for mercy. That we might know the comfort of the Son as the stains of sin are washed away, the guilt removed, the stench of death replaced by the fragrance of new life! To receive forgiveness and to be raised up in Christ!
And please understand, when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” He’s not talking about a one time thing. “Mourn” is in such a tense that it denotes an on-going continuous action with no end in sight. Which means that the godly sorrow that brings repentance, is an on-going reality for the believer whenever we step off the straight and narrow path. When we do so, we find ourselves being convicted by the Spirit of God, we are broken by the reality of our sin, grieved to the point of mourning, moved to repentance and lifted up by grace. In the process we are continually reminded of our need for a Saviour and of our complete dependence upon God for the things of true life.
Think of those verses from Acts 2 that ___________________ read for us earlier in our service. Peter had been preaching the truth about Jesus to the very people who had clamoured for Him to be crucified. Scripture tells us that “the truth sets us free.” These people heard the truth, we’re told that they were, “cut to the heart,” that is, they mourned their sin, and asked, “what should we do?” (Acts 2:37) And Peter’s response was this, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.” (Acts 2:38)
Now when we mourn our sin we understand the need for repentance. We’ll be willing to turn from our sin, to make right what we can, to make restitution where we cannot, but what do we make of the command to be “baptized?” In North America we’ve made the mistake of thinking baptism is optional. We put it off for months, or years, sometimes even for decades. Truth is, it is our first step of obedience in this radical new life we are called to. If we can’t take that first step, how do we take the second? Scripture says that baptism is the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand. (1 Peter 3:21–22, NIV) If we refuse to enter the waters of baptism what does it say about our commitment to this God who has loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son that those who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life? (John 3:16)
Folks, baptism was, and is, the first step in a life that is being transformed. About 3000 people responded to Peter’s preaching that day. The Bible says that every single one of them was baptized! And after that it says that they went on to devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. (Acts 2:42) These aren’t the things they did before. Life didn’t stay the same for them. There was a radical transformation being brought about in their lives.
Baptism was a living picture of dying to the old way of doing life and entering into the new. The teaching, the fellowship, and the prayer that they devoted themselves to are fairly self-explanatory. But I want to talk for a moment about the breaking of the bread. It’s most likely talking about their observance of the Lord’s Supper. Where baptism is a picture of the transformation of the believer’s state from death to life, the elements of the Lord’s Supper remind us of what makes that new life that we enter into, possible. The juice in the cups reminds us of the blood of Christ that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. The bread pictures His body that was given over to death that we might have life. And Paul proclaims that as we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper we proclaim His death, His resurrection and His coming again. Each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper it is a proclamation of the Gospel, not just in word, but in symbols, in pictures.
We are going to share in the bread and the cup today as brothers and sisters in the Lord. As we do so I invite you to consider what you’ve heard this morning. Let us mourn our sin, repent of it and confess it to God that times of refreshing might come upon us and our souls may rejoice in the salvation we have in Jesus Christ! And consider too, your response, to the word of God. The command is to be baptized and whether you have been a believer for years, or whether you are brand new to the faith, it would be our privilege to be witness to your baptism if you have never taken that step before. We will be at DBC for three weeks in August. We will plan to do baptisms on the 14th, and if necessary, on the 21st. If you would be interested in being baptized, or have questions about it, please contact myself, or one of our elders, before then.
And now if the servers will come forward, let us share in the bread and the cup together …
[Servers come forward / pray / bread and then cup / video while being served].
Let us rejoice as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup for we have life and hope and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Pray / Benediction.
