Salvation Summaries

In my last post, I reviewed Jesus’ first beatitude in Matthew 5:3 about poor in spirit. In this post, I will evaluate His second beatitude in Matthew 5:4 about those who mourn. My purpose is to determine if mourning relates to how a person is saved or how a saved person should live.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Mourn

We all know what it means to mourn when someone you cared about dies or receives grave news of a terminal illness. But is the type of mourning Jesus referred to in His beatitude? Let’s look at some definitions and Bible verses to find out.

Definitions

Strong’s Concordance defines mourn in Matthew 5:4, and most other New Testament verses, as lament. Lament means to grieve, express sorrow, or have deep regret.  This definition is similar to that found Webster’s 1828 dictionary, where mourn means to grieve or have sorrow, and may be expressed by weeping, sighs or inward silent grief.  Mourn in the Old Testament takes on a slightly different meaning.  In addition to grieve, it can include moan, mutter, have compassion on, or wander restlessly.  Thus, to summarize these definitions, mourn means to lament, grieve or express sorrow. 

Now, let’s skim through some Bible verses to see if we learn anything else about these terms.  

How Mourn,  Lament, Grieve and Sorrow are used in the Bible

• Mourn is similar to grieve. (Zech 12:10)

• Mourn is similar to lament. (Isaiah 19:8)

• Mourn, grieve, lament and sorrow are all similar (John 16:20).

• You may grieve when someone is afflicted. (Amos 6:6)

• The natural response to someone who mourns is to mourn with and comfort them. (Job 2:11)

• God comforts and consoles those who mourn. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

• In addition to mourning with and for others, you may grieve yourself when you suffer trials that test your faith. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

• David mourned over his sins. (Ps 38:1-18)

• Jesus grieved over the hardness (sinfulness) of others’ hearts. (Mark 3:4-6)

• Paul mourned over the sins of others and their failure to repent. (2 Cor 12:20-21)

So, what does Jesus mean when He says we are to Mourn?

There is one Bible verse I did not show above that I believe explains the meaning of Jesus’ comment about the blessing of those who mourn and the comfort they will receive.

The mourning Jesus mentions is not over another person’s ailing physical condition or death but rather your own sinfulness…a sinfulness you became aware of after you became poor in spirit.

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10  

The comfort He speaks of is the blessing of salvation one receives following genuine repentance.

Thus, after a person becomes poor in the spirit (realizes the extent of their sinfulness and their need for God’s help), they are to mourn (grieve, lament, express sorrow) over their sins to the point that they repent of them so that they can be saved.

In my next post I’ll evaluate Jesus’ third beatitude in Matthew 5:5 about the meek to determine what it might have to say about becoming saved or living as a Christian should.