By Luke Sills
In Matthew 5, we find one of the most profound sections of Scripture — the Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus begins with what we call the Beatitudes, a series of statements describing those whom God calls “blessed.”
In the first sermon/article I talked about, we explored Matthew 5:3:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We learned that those who are “poor in spirit” recognize they have nothing in themselves to offer God and are utterly dependent on His grace. That humility opens the door to God’s kingdom.
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He moves from the mind to the heart, from recognition to response. This week, we arrive at Matthew 5:4:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
At first glance, this feels like a paradox — how can mourning lead to comfort? How can grief be the pathway to blessing? But as we will see, Jesus is speaking about a very specific kind of mourning: sorrow over sin.
Understanding “Blessed”
Before we unpack what it means to mourn, we need to recall what Jesus means by “blessed.” This is not mere happiness, dependent on fleeting emotions or circumstances. In the biblical sense, “blessed” speaks of deep, abiding joy that flows from God’s approval. It’s the “applause of heaven,” the smile of God over His people.
To be blessed is to stand in God’s favor, to be approved by Him — and there is no greater blessing than that.
Mourning Over Sin
The mourning Jesus speaks of is not about personal misfortune or daily frustrations. It is a deep grief over the reality and consequences of sin — first in our own hearts, then in the world around us.
This kind of mourning is the natural response to being “poor in spirit.” When we see ourselves rightly before God, we feel the weight of our sin and its offense against Him.
The apostle Paul describes the pervasive damage of sin in Romans 3:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God… all have turned aside… no one does good, not even one.”
Sin corrupts our thoughts, our words, and our actions. It destroys relationships with God, with others, and even with ourselves. But the tragedy is that, apart from Christ, we are often numb to it — like a corpse unable to feel the crushing weight it bears.
The Christian’s Mourning
True spiritual mourning is not joyless misery. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, the mourner Jesus describes is “serious, but not solemn; sober-minded, but not bad-tempered.” This person sees sin for what it is, yet also knows the “joy unspeakable” that comes from God’s grace.
The Christian’s joy is a holy joy — not shallow or superficial, but rooted in the hope of redemption. Like Jesus, we can both weep over sin and rejoice in the salvation God has promised.
This means:
- We mourn over our own sin. Not with vague guilt, but with genuine repentance. Like David in Psalm 51, we come before God saying, “Against You, You only, have I sinned… Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
- We mourn over the sins of the world. We see the brokenness around us and grieve, not with condemnation, but with compassion — longing for others to know the same forgiveness we’ve received.
Mourning and Salvation
Spiritual mourning is not optional; it is essential to salvation. You cannot receive forgiveness if you feel no sorrow for the sin you are asking God to forgive. The most dangerous spiritual condition is not a heart burdened with guilt, but a heart incapable of grief over sin.
As one writer put it, “The saddest thing in life is not a sorrowing heart, but a heart that is incapable of grief over sin, for it is without grace.”
Comfort for Those Who Mourn
Here is the paradox: when we truly mourn over our sin, God meets us with comfort — the comfort of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restored fellowship.
This comfort is:
- Immediate — the moment we repent, we are met by God’s mercy.
- Personal — given by the Holy Spirit, our Comforter.
- Lasting — rooted in Christ’s finished work on the cross.
Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, when we turn back to the Father, we find Him running toward us with open arms, ready to clothe us in His righteousness and welcome us home.
The Call to Mourn
If you are a believer, the call is clear: do not become numb to sin. Let God’s Word expose your heart, and let His Spirit lead you to repentance. Only then will you know the blessing of His comfort.
If you are not a believer, hear this invitation: Jesus Christ came, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again so that He could forgive your sin and comfort your soul. Turn to Him, confess your sin, and receive the joy that only comes from His salvation.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Let us be a people who take sin seriously, but who also rejoice deeply in the grace of God — mourning so that we may be comforted.