Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Repentance and Mourning
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Psalm 51:17
This verse echoes the beatitude in Matthew 5:4: "Blessed are those who mourn." It mentions one of the sacrifices that God accepts: the contrite spirit, the broken heart. What is mourned here is spiritual in nature, and the sorrow is likewise spiritual, a kind of contrition or remorse. Those who mourn like this are desperately sorry for their own sins and unworthiness. It is pointed directly at one's own heart, in which we see great sin, and because sin inhabits our heart, we know we are unworthy. People who have a contrite spirit feel grief for how much they have contributed personally to the world's evils. They have a sense, like David, of sin in themselves and how deeply rooted it is, and its continuing presence breaks them. Their sorrow goes beyond sad. It is an abiding sorrow that it is there, and they are upset, even angry, at themselves that it keeps coming out when they want to be rid of it and spiritually clean. But it keeps popping up because of their own weakness, bad habits, and rebellion. They want it out and work to get it out, yet it keeps showing up, like a fabric stain that just cannot be washed out. When we clean a stained piece of clothing, and it is wet and soapy, we think it looks good. We tell ourselves we finally managed to rub the stain out! Then we let it dry, and . . . it is there still. How frustrating! Yet, those who possess an internal disposition of brokenheartedness, of a contrite spirit, will be comforted through God's complete redemption.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Those Who Mourn
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Matthew 4:17
Why is this directive to repent His first public command? Because in the work His Father sent Jesus to do, He is focused on preparing a people for the Kingdom of God. That was His job. Along with coming to pay for our sins with His own blood, He was to raise up a church, a body of believers. They would not only spread the gospel but also develop spiritually, putting on the New Man, preparing for their roles under Christ in the age to come. The first thing those He is preparing must recognize is that they are full of sin and need to repent. To perform this cleansing properly, they must have the attitude of grieving the reality of so much sin dwelling in them. They must recognize and acknowledge that their job to rid themselves of it is beyond them; their sinfulness is impossible to overcome by themselves. Repenting is changing the mind (metanoia). Converts must arrive at the point where they are not careless about sin. They have to change their minds to the point that they are broken up, grieved, over their sinfulness. This is the attitude of mourning Jesus encourages in the Beatitude (Matthew 5:4). Before God's calling, we were not all that careful about sin. It did not make an impression on us as it does once God opens our eyes to the fact that we have so much of it and need to get rid of it post-haste. So, it becomes a matter of great grief to us that it exists in us in such extreme quantities and takes such a long time and so much effort to remove. Thus, the believer's first step along the road to the Kingdom of God is to repent of his or her sins with the aid of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Those Who Mourn
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Matthew 5:4
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out before us the foundational attitudes and conduct He commands and looks for in His disciples. He says in Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Human nature hates mourning. If given any choice at all, we shrink from mourning as rapidly as we can. Yet, Jesus says that those of His disciples who mourn are blessed! This begs the question, "If they are blessed, why do they mourn?" Surely, this is an anomaly that the unconverted find hard to believe. One thing is certain: Jesus does not speak here of every kind of mourning. Scripture shows us three kinds of mourning. Millions, indeed billions, mourn over dashed hopes like financial reverses, failure to land a job, rejection by a highly respected person, or the loss of a loved one. Many of these people may actually be under God's condemnation without any promise that they will be comforted. In addition, there is sinful mourning—like the hopeless sorrow of Judas Iscariot—that is disconsolate and inordinate, that refuses to be comforted. Finally, there is godly sorrow, a spiritual mourning authored by God, which is the subject of Matthew 5:4. This mourning begins and then proceeds from a genuine conversion upon repentance after God calls us. It is the beginning of a real sense of sin and its disastrously evil effects. Many thousands confess that they are sinners, but how many have never mourned over this fact? How many of us have mourned like the woman of Luke 7:37-38, who washed Jesus' feet with her tears? The publican in Luke 18:13 smote upon his breast, crying out, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" He did this because he felt the plague of his own evil heart. On that great day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given and Peter preached a truly inspiring sermon, Acts 2:37 tells us that the people were "cut to the heart" and said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" This mourning springs from a sense of sin combined with a tender conscience and a heart broken over the cost to receive forgiveness. This mourning springs from the agonizing realization that my sins nailed Jesus to the stake. Zechariah 12:10 prophesies, "Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." By no means is this mourning confined to our initial contrition. It should be a present and continuous experience as we grow in understanding that we can say with Paul, "Oh wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7:24). He was undoubtedly at times acutely aware of the swellings of his pride, the coldness of his love, or the lack of fruit. In the same way, we, too, groan at times within ourselves as the sharpness of our memories chasten us as we meditate on the course of our lives. As we approach Passover, now is a time for deep introspection. We must do this, beginning with a profound appreciation for the sacrifice of our Savior, so that we may receive God's gracious promise to be comforted.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Man of Sorrows
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