Happy are the Unhappy
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”
The second beatitude almost sounds like “Happy are the unhappy.” At first, it seems paradoxical. It doesn’t make sense. But if we understand the context, we soon realize it makes good sense. As the first beatitude (“poverty of spirit”) was not something financial, but spiritual, so the second is something essentially spiritual. Here Jesus is not primarily talking about those who mourn the loss of a loved one, but those who mourn over sin. It’s about the sorrow of repentance. If we turn to the parallel passage in Luke 6, the context becomes even clearer. There Jesus says,
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh…
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.”
Negative, before positive. That is God’s economy. We have to be poor in spirit (empty ourselves) before we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must go down into the valley of grief before we can climb the heights of spiritual glory. We must become tired and weary of living without Christ before we can seek and find His fellowship. We must come to the end of “self” before we can really begin to live. John Stott rightly said, “It is only against the dark background of sin and judgment that the gospel shines forth.” Many people want a sense of joy and acceptance, but they don’t want to hear about the seriousness of their sin. They try not to face the true reality, ignoring it and just being happy. “Let us eat, drink, and be merry” is their motto. They are the ones who laugh now. But Jesus says that only when we grieve and mourn over sin first, then there will be a true joy of salvation.
My Sin
Christians are those who mourn –
those who mourn over their own sin. The
Apostle Paul grieves and mourns over his sinful nature. In Romans 7 he says,
“What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… For I know that good
itself does not dwell in me, that is in
my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry
it out… For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at
work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of
the law of sin at work within me. What a
wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from the body of this death?” David
Brainerd, sensitive and Christ-like 18th century missionary to the
Native Americans, wrote in his journal on October 18th, 1740 this
way: ‘In my morning devotions my soul was exceedingly melted, and bitterly mourned over my exceeding
sinfulness and vileness.’
Once my mentor pastor shared with me the following story. He was falsely accused by one of the church members who had spread malicious gossip. His reputation was greatly damaged. The pastor was too angry to even breathe. He went to the church’s prayer room. There he wept and prayed. But he was still simmering with resentment. He still wanted to fight back and get even. About an hour later, he became calm. Then all of sudden, he burst into tears. They were tears of the Holy Spirit, who helped the pastor feel the heart of Jesus. Jesus was mourning over the man who gossiped – his brokenness. Jesus was mourning over the pastor who wanted to revenge – his sinful nature. After this, the pastor prayed, “Lord Jesus, I have been crucified with you. No longer I live, but You live in me.” That was the moment when he came to the end of “me,” then there was peace.
A good doctor asks good questions to accurately diagnose a problem. This past week I was suffering from toothache. After three days, finally I called Dr. Woods’ office, and thankfully I was able to see him the next day. He asked me some good questions, then he found out it was my sinus issue that caused tooth pain. In the same way, the Holy Spirit, the physician of the soul, asks good questions to diagnose the state of our soul. He is a true comforter, not a superficial one, saying, “Everything will be ok. Hang in there.” Instead, before comforting us, the Holy Spirit first invites us to examine ourselves and helps us to be more sensitive to our sin and sinful nature. “What is it in me that makes me behave like that? Why should I be irritable and impatient? Why should I be bad tempered? Why am I not able to control myself? Why do I harbor that unkind, unloving and jealous thought? What is it in me?” If we answer honestly and thoroughly to those questions, we cannot but mourn and weep over our sinful nature.
The Sin of Others
Christians are those who mourn over their sin. Christians are those who also mourn because of the sins of others. They are concerned about the state of society, and the state of the world. They feel its brokenness, its pain, its unhealthy and unhappy condition, so they mourn because of it. Ezra heard the news that the people of Israel were conformed to the world around them, following their detestable practices. When Ezra heard this, he tore his garment, praying, confessing, weeping all day long. Nehemiah did the same. When he heard the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the people there were in great trouble, he sat down and wept. For several days he mourned and fasted and prayed before God. He prayed like this: “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses” (Neh 1:6-7). Instead of blaming others, Nehemiah included himself and his family as a part of the problem. He considered the sin of others his own sin and mourned over it.
Jesus is our perfect example to follow. Isaiah describes the Messiah Christ as “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isa 53:3). Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Why did he weep because he would raise Lazarus shortly? Jesus wept because of the very nature of sin – how it entered into the world, how it brought terrible results – suffering, pain, and death – to us. It grieved him and he wept because of it. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Why? Jesus wept because of sin – rejecting him, resisting him, turning to their own way. He wept because of it. Christians, followers of Christ, also mourn because of the sins of others, as well as their own sins.
Comfort
“Blessed are those who mourn,” our
Lord Jesus promises, “for they will be comforted.” What kind of comfort will Christians receive? They will have the
same comfort that Jesus received from the Father – the comfort of the blessed hope and joy that comes from above. “For
the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb 12:2). There
is no such true comfort in this world. But if we are Christian, we do know –
the joy of sins forgiven and the freedom, the joy of reconciliation with God,
others, and ourselves, the joy of knowing that we are his beloved, the joy that
is set before us. That is our comfort.
Some of you may have heard a story
about an old missionary couple who had been working in Africa for years, and
they were returning to New York City to retire. They had no pension; their
health was broken; they were old now and afraid. They discovered they were
booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from
one of his big-game hunting expeditions. When the ship docked in New York, a
band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other officials were
there, and everyone made much over him, but no one noticed this missionary
couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side. That
night, the missionary’s spirit broke. He said to his wife, “I can’t take this;
God is not treating us fairly.” His wife replied, “Why don’t you go into the
bedroom and tell that to the Lord?” He examined his soul – his bitter and
envious thoughts. He wept and mourned because of the brokenness of the world as
well as his own brokenness. He poured out his heart to the Lord and said,
“Lord, I can’t take this. You are not treating us fairly. The President
received this tremendous homecoming, but no one met us as we returned home.”
But when he finished it, God simply said to him, “My son, you’re not home yet!”
The comfort of the blessed hope from above!
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