Matthew 5:4 says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The question that is immediately raised in our minds and hearts is, “How can a person be blessed if they are mourning?” Only the people of God understand the answer to the paradox in question here.
No one ever spoke like Jesus. Blessedness coming out of mourning seems totally opposed to both the world’s logic and our own rationality. Throughout the ages, men who are the most “happy” have been the ones with the most success, but Jesus makes an outrageous statement that those who are “blessed” are the ones who “mourn.”
Some people say, “Well, Jesus must mean that when you cry, you feel a lot better.” But, that’s not at all what Jesus is talking about here. In the context of this passage, Jesus isn’t referring to all types of mourning. Jesus is specifically targeting one type of mourning: a mourning over sin that comes from being “poor in spirit.” Verse 3 and 4 should be seen as a complimentary pair.
The mourning and comfort that Jesus is speaking about refers to spiritual realities. This passage is referring to a type of mourning that realizes God’s holiness and considers our depravity in comparison to God.
It is a mourning that feels the full weight of our desperate life without Jesus. It realizes the huge gap that has developed between us and God because of our many imperfections.
In some cases, it is mourning over morality, itself, because of moralism’s false claim to make us right with God apart from Jesus. It is sorrow over our past and present rebellion and hostility towards God. The comfort Jesus promises here results from a godly sorrow over sin.
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