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The beatitudes are not simple little sayings that can be taken lightly. They deserve study even though they contain simple words and phrases. Allow me to demonstrate this with today’s focus text.

Here is the actual quote: “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5.4). The word mourn is not a difficult word; it simply means to lament or be sorrowful over the loss of something or someone of great value. Typically it is associated with death and the feelings of loss that follow it. Did Jesus mean that everyone who mourns will be comforted? Did He mean that a total end would come to mourning - no exceptions? Or, did He intend for us to understand that only some who mourn would be comforted some of the time? That, I believe, is exactly what He meant and the entire Sermon on the Mount helps to pinpoint just who the people are who will be comforted and under what conditions their comfort will come.

I do know that Jesus has the ability to end all pain and suffering if He willed such to be the case. However, He does not and will not end all pain and suffering. Therefore, I conclude that it is not His will to do so. This simple syllogism shows that the promise to comfort those who mourn is not a universal promise. The rich man who found himself in torments certainly was not comforted even though he begged Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue. Jesus Himself mourned at the graveside of Lazarus due to the hardened hearts of those who stood by (John 11.35). Paul wrote to the believers at Thessalonica in order to give then the ability to mourn to a lesser degree than non-believers over the loss of their loved ones (see 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18). Even this inspired knowledge could not remove their mourning altogether, rather it only lessened it.

Continue to reason with me. “So He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.’ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ (Luke 4.16-21).

This, I think, is Jesus’ own commentary on the Beatitudes. Notice that in this passage He speaks of the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. His mission was to these groups. Yet He did not literally relieve all poverty, heal all broken hearts, liberate all captives, give sight to all the blind, or break the bonds of all the oppressed. Though He literally did some of these things to some people, His mission was broader than that. His mission was to relieve the spiritual oppression that sin brings, to heal the spiritual eyesight of those who cannot discern sin due to the prolonged practice of it, to heal penitent hearts that are broken due to their own sinful ways, etc., etc.

Jesus DID NOT come to relieve all suffering; if He did He was a failure. He did not come to remove all sorrow from the human heart. Rather, He came to allow those who are truly sorry for their sins to find relief from the mournful feelings that accompany such guilt. He came so that you and I could find comfort in the midst of a world which offers no real remedy for sin! Praise his name for that gift!

Questions:

1. How do we know that Jesus did not come to stop/prevent all mourning?

2. Zacchaeus mourned his sins (see Luke 19.1-8). How was he comforted?

3. Did Jesus give all humanity the ability to find relief from the guilt of sin? If yes, have all men availed themselves of that gift? If not, why not? (Hint: Do all men mourn their sinful ways?)

4. What part does the Gospel (Good News) have to do with comforting those who mourn?

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

The Curse is Gone