What do you think of when you hear the word “mourning.” Most of the time, most of us think of death. Someone has lost a loved one or a close friend. So we can be baffled when we ready the second beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). What can make someone blessed, happy, or fortunate when we experience a tragic loss?The losing of a dear one is difficult and it hurts. But Jesus is not saying that we don’t experience grief. He is saying that the one who is mourning is blessed because they will be comforted.Jesus knew what it was like to lose a close friend; Jesus mourned the death of his friend Lazarus. In fact, in this event in John 11, we find the simple statement: “Jesus wept” (Jn. 11:35). This incident tells us a couple important things.First, Jesus cares about what happens to us and he showed his human emotion of sympathy. Jesus cared for this family. Some think that Jesus didn’t believe that the illness Lazarus had was deadly so he took his time to get there. But He knew what was going to happen, and he wanted to perform this miracle to show who he was and the power he had.Second, we see the faith that this family had. Martha believed Jesus is the Son of God. She believed Jesus could hear her brother of his illness, but she didn’t understand how powerful he was. Obviously, she had been listening to Jesus teach as she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection….”Now what Jesus was teaching here in the Sermon on the Mount was lived out here in John 11. They will be comforted. So Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. What Jesus wants us to know is that we may mourn death, but we should be comforted also rejoice in the everlasting life that comes for those who believe in Jesus. Martha knew this. The dead in Christ will rise to new life in the resurrection at the end.But mourning is not limited to death. We are to mourn for those who suffer in many other ways. Paul tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able ...
