Matthew 5:4 Mourners Are Comforted

Matthew 5:4 (KJV)  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

The blessings pronounced by Christ upon mourners are that they shall be comforted. The mourners in humility confess their sins before God and Jesus pronounced their forgiveness and thus their comfort.

To comfort is to relieve one’s sorrow and distress, to encourage, cheer up. And this word literally means “to call alongside”. It speaks of God’s comfort upon comes to us in Christ as we come in penitent prayer. The prayer is accepted by God through Christ and the result is the Holy Spirit ministering to the forlorn soul a spiritual strength and vitality that is not known until before.

The verb “comfort” is in the passive, the subject is being comforted and in the future tense. There is a cause-effect being highlighted here in the text.

Israel was re-established in their homeland after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Those were years of soul searching and reflection in an idolatrous land. The people gathered together to hear the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. The people mourned and wept as they heard the words of the law. The people grieved and sorrowed for their sins as they reflected on the disparity in their own lives in the light of the clear teaching of God’s Word which was expounded to them. It convicted their hearts and caused them to be drawn closer to God to rebuild their spiritual lives. It resulted in true revival! The law of God was given to Israel so that they may know how to live as witnesses to the living and true God. It was for their blessings. Amen.