After a discussion with someone who will remain anonymous, I feel the need to explain a bit further why I understand the second beatitude to refer to mourning of sin and not simply mourning from the hardships of life. The very first point you must understand is that I believe Matthew 1:21 is foundational to understanding Matthew’s gospel. It says, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” It is here we must remember not to get off track with the purpose of the gospel which is not primarily to give us earthly comforts, but rather spiritual comforts.
The second reason I believe Jesus is referring to mourning our sins is due to the point of the first beatitude, blessed are the poor in spirit. I believe the mourning Jesus is referring to is primarily a spiritual mourning. Now this text ends with “for they shall be comforted.” This portion of the beatitude draws us back to Isaiah 40:1-2 that says, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem , and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.” Yes this text refers to comfort from the physical hardships of life, but the reason for those hardships for Israel was due to their sin! So while comfort will come, it will only come to those who come face to face with the reality of their sin and then mourn!
One last thing. I mistakenly had a reference to Romans 14:26, but there is no verse 26. It should have been verse 23, which ends by saying, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
Have a great week.
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