Reading the Sermon on the Mount With John StottSample

Those Who Mourn

To draw attention to its startling paradox, the second beatitude could be translated “Happy are the unhappy!” How can a person feel blessed of God when their days are marked by sorrow and mourning?

It seems clear from the first beatitude that those who are promised comfort here are not primarily those who are mourning over the loss of a loved one. Jesus instead is talking to those who mourn the loss of their innocence and their righteousness. Jesus is not speaking of the sorrow of bereavement but the sorrow of repentance.

This is the second stage of spiritual blessing. It is one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it; it is another to grieve and mourn over it. Confession is one thing; contrition is another.

Jesus wept over the sins of others, over the devastation of coming judgment and over a city full of people who would not receive him. How often have we wept over the evil in the world and the approaching judgment on those who refuse God’s grace?

But it’s not only the sins of others that should move us to tears. We have our own sins to weep over as well. How much sorrow and grief do we experience over our own failures? We evangelical Christians, by making much of grace, sometimes have made light of sin. There is not enough sorrow for sin among us. We don’t sense the burden of godly grief nearly enough.

Jesus’ promise is that those who mourn over their own sinfulness will be comforted by the only comfort that can relieve their distress—God’s free forgiveness. The greatest of all comfort is the cleansing pronounced over every sinner who comes to God in humble confession. Isaiah declared that one of the marks of the Messiah would be his willingness to “bind up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1)—and Jesus abundantly pours the healing oil of his grace into our wounded, scarred lives.

We look forward to the day when God will wipe every tear from our eyes and his comfort will be complete. But, until then, we still mourn over the havoc of suffering and death that sin spreads over our world.

From Reading the Sermon on the Mount with John Stott by John Stott with Douglas Connelly.