Those Who Mourn Series

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

IN MEMORIAM

Every year, media outlets and award ceremonies take moments to remember people who have passed away over the course of the year. Depending on which memoriam you are watching, you will see different names and different numbers of people mentioned. Most all of which are names that are recognizable to those in attendance. Here are a few names of people who have passed away this year (2022), in memoriam:

Louie Anderson, Comedian Gallagher, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin Conroy, Madeleine Albright, Ray Liotta,

Jerry Lee Lewis, Nichelle Nichols, Tony Dow, James Caan, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Russell, Olivia Newton-John, Coolio, Loretta Lynn, Angela Lansbury, Kirstie Alley, Bob Saget, Sidney Poitier

Notice that most of these people have achieved a level of fame. These are typical of the names we see on these kinds of lists. Why? Because they are memorable to a majority of the people who hear these lists. More people are mourning the loss of these men and women in their contribution to the respective areas of impact. They have made an impact to many people—whether good or bad; positive or negative.

Today, we are heading into the next beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount. This next beatitude has to do with mourning those we have lost.

Let’s read our beatitude this morning. MATTHEW 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Mourning. Hearing this makes us immediately think of death. When someone we love dies, we are comforted by God. I believe we do experience this. Especially believers because of the hope we have in eternal life—life beyond the grave. That one day we will rise to new life in Jesus again.

I believe we do receive some kind of consolation from other believers in time of loss and pain. That is one of the great encouragements of having a church family to surround us in our greatest time of need. But this is just one aspect of what I believe Jesus is telling people when he speaks this beatitude in his Sermon.

MOURNING DEATH

First, the death of our loved ones is difficult. Losing someone who we are close to and in some ways have spent our lives with hurts. I have empathy for people in these times of hurt. Most of us have lost family members in our lifetimes that we were close to. Husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, best friends.

To ignore this part of Jesus’ beatitude would be to ignore a big part of what he was teaching that day. When Jesus says that those who mourn are blessed, it is because you have known what it means to have the love of a close family member. Jesus knew what that was like. Jesus has mourned death.

JOHN 11

The death of Lazarus was a significant part of Jesus’ life. So much that it is included in the 11th chapter of the book of John…a large chapter! Let’s read through part of this chapter and talk about this.

As an introduction to this story, what we know is Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus was ill and had died. He was already dead for four days—time enough that his body would smell from decomposing but also time enough that to raise up alive again would be miraculous. We pick up our story in verse 17:

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”