Blessed are Those Who Mourn – Beatitudes

2. Blessed are Those Who Mourn (vs. 4)
Or that constantly hate wrongs!
Even more so than the first, this beatitude seems an oxymoron –
a combination of two words with contradictory elements (jumbo shrimp, good grief, plastic
glasses, easy labor, fiber glass, final draft, fighting for peace, family vacation).
How can those who mourn be happy or blessed?
The Greek word translated “mourn” in this passage is the strongest possible word for mourning
in the Greek language.
It is the word used for mourning the death of a loved one (OT – Jacob mourning over Joseph).
While there are several possible applications implied in this beatitude (God is near and will
comfort those who grieve), most believe that this beatitude speaks of mourning our sin –
feeling grieved by our sins.
The first word spoken during Jesus’ earthly ministry recorded in the NT is “repent.”
You cannot repent for your sins if you are not grieved by or sorry for your sins.
This beatitude, then, is step two in coming to Christ.
Step one, give in the first beatitude, is to realize your desperate need for a Savior.
Step two, become so grieved and sorry for your sin that it leads you to repentance.
8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it–I see that
my letter hurt you, but only for a little while– 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were
made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God
intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that
leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Cor 7:8-10
But there is also another dimension.
The word “mourn” is in the imperfective aspect meaning that it is continual, habitual, repeated.
Application: Repentance must be a part of a healthy Christian life here on the earth.
Until we get to heaven (made perfect in Christ) we struggle with sin on a daily basis.
Mourning is a sign of repentance and a heart that loves the Lord (See Psalm 51).
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not
despise. Psalms 51:17 (NIV)
15 For this is what the high and lofty One says– he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I
live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the
spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)
The blessedness of those who mourn over sin is that they will be comforted by the grace and
forgiveness of God.
1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the
man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I
kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I
acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord”– and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalms 32:1-5
Jesus mandates that we never grow calloused or hard-hearted and insensitive toward sin
but rather we grieve over sin and its effects knowing that we will be comforted by the grace
and forgiveness of God.