Please explain Matthew 5:4
Matthew, chapters 5-7, give us the complete Sermon on the Mount. While Mark and Luke give parts of it, it is only Matthew that gives us the Lord’s full discourse. The introduction to the Lord’s sermon is found in Matthew 5:1-2, “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying.” Verses 3-11 all begin with the same two words: “Blessed are…” The word ‘blessed’ literally means to ‘be happy’. In fact, Young’s Literal Translation uses the word ‘happy’ instead of ‘blessed’. We learn from this that the Lord is giving keys to happiness to those who know Him. It is vital that we realize that this Sermon on the Mount is not a Gospel message. This is not the Lord telling people how to be saved. It is Him speaking to “his disciples”, instructing them concerning our behavior in the world.
Verse 4 says, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” There are different reasons for mourning, or grieving, but the Lord promises us that if we mourn, we will be comforted. The comfort the Lord gives to those who mourn will make the experience worthwhile. We are made happy when we are comforted. The mourning spoken of here is that which is of a spiritual nature. If we buy a lottery ticket and mourn because we didn’t win, I don’t think the Lord is going to comfort us. If we steal from someone and mourn because we got caught, I don’t think the Lord is going to comfort us.
However, if we mourn the death of a dear one, if we mourn because we have committed sin, or if we mourn because we have let our relationship with the Lord grow cold, the Lord will comfort us. After all, our God is “the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Let’s look at just a few verses that speak of the Lord’s comfort to us when we mourn.
*John 16:20, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but YOUR SORROW SHALL BE TURNED INTO JOY.”
*Psalms 30:5, “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
*2 Corinthians 7:6, “Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us…”
*2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
It was prophetically said of the Lord Jesus in Isaiah 61:2 that He was sent “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to COMFORT ALL THAT MOURN.” When are those that mourn comforted? It may be that the Lord will give us comfort quickly after experiencing a time of mourning. It may be later that we experience His comfort. It may be after we die and are with the Lord that He will give us His comfort. Whenever it is, we can trust the Lord and patiently await that comfort that we KNOW will come to those who mourn. (264.4)