Was Jesus a Sad Individual?
(A Message to the Members of the Body of Christ)
(Preached Wednesday Evening, July 22, 2020)
Introduction
- “This is another strange blessing [another strange beatitude], and fitly follows the [previous one, which was, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”]. The poor are accustomed to mourn, [and] the graciously poor mourn graciously. We are apt to think, ‘Blessed are the merry’; but Christ, who was himself a great mourner; says, ‘Blessed are the mourners.” (Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary On The Whole Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, 2009, Vol. 5, p. 40.)
I mean, really… what are you supposed to do, how are you supposed to feel, how are you supposed to react to the fact that almost everyone around you [really… virtually everyone] is going to be tormented in Hell and then forever, eternally screaming, in the lake of fire and brimstone, which was originally prepared for the Devil and his [unholy] angels but… will now soon also forever be where these people, all around you, friends, loved ones and everyone will dwell forever… and where you will also be, if you have never heeded the warning preached to you this past Sunday:
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation.” (Hebrews 2:3)
So yes, brother Henry is right that “Christ, … was himself a great mourner”; and in being so, was able to get the job done of blessing as many, of helping as many, of saving as many as possible around him from both the temporal and eternal consequences of sin!
How about you? How is your way working out for you? His life was (and is) dynamic! Peter’s life was dynamic! Paul’s life was dynamic! Our Lord, these men, and more “turned the world upside down!” What… are… you… doing? How… is… your… way… working?
Tonight, we will let one sentence spoken from the lips of God change your life forever, unless… you go the “broad” way, do what is expected – and resist.
Tonight, we will seek to examine this statement, and to let it examine… us.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
And in allowing our Lord’s statement to change us, we must look at three things.
I. Like Jesus, you must mourn at the effect of sin!
Here is a little tiny story of how our Lord Jesus mourned at the effect of sin. Listen, as the story picks up here:
“The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying,
“She goeth unto the grave [of her brother Lazarus] to weep there.’
“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him,
“Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said,
“Where have ye laid him?’’
“They said unto him,
“Lord, come and see.’
“Jesus wept. Then said the Jews,
“Behold how he loved him!’
“And some of them said,
“Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?’
“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.” (John 11:31-38)
Yes, Jesus mourned at the effect of sin.
A. Mourn like the Son of Man!
Yes, notice exactly how he mourned; and how you should mourn.
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him? [He moved forward to take action: he took interest and acted upon the concern that he allowed himself to naturally have.] They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. … Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.” (John 11:33-35,38)
B. Do not mourn like the sons of men!
“And some of them [the critics, the complainers, the self-appointed-judges-of-everyone’s-actions-but-their-own] said, ‘Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” (John 11:37)
- “Those that mourn … shall be comforted. The depth of the promise of these statements is almost inexhaustible [and include the fact that] those who mourn for the human anguish of the lost shall be comforted by the compassion of God.” (Falwell, Jerry et al. [the faculty at Liberty University]. Liberty Bible Commentary. 3rd ed., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983, p. 1884.)
C. Mourn like Jesus and be comforted!
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
- “The Beatitudes (Blessed means “happy”) describe the inner qualities of a follower of Christ and promise him blessings in the future. They contrast sharply with the characteristics of the Pharisees, who were proud, thinking they had already attained righteousness.” (Ryrie)
II. Like Jesus, you must mourn over the result of sin!
And now for our second story, our second look through a little window into a little part of our Lord’s life during his earthly ministry, when he in mortal flesh walked among us. We go to see the Son of God, walking dwon the Mount of Olives from where he is able to look down and out across the city of Jerusalem. Here is what happened there:
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying,
“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.’
“And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them,
“It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.’
“And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.” (Luke 19:41-48)
A. Mourn like the Son of God!
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)
- “Let us observe, who it is that is here speaking, that we may take heed how we hear. It is the Lord of heaven and earth, the creator of all; who, as such, has a right to dispose of all his creatures; the Lord our Governor, whose kingdom is from everlasting, and ruleth over all; the great Lawgiver, who can well enforce all his laws, being “able to save and to destroy,” yea, to punish with “everlasting destruction from his presence and from the glory of his power.” It is the eternal Wisdom of the Father, who knoweth whereof we are made, and understands our inmost frame; who knows how we stand related to God, to one another, to very creature which God hath made, and, consequently, how to adapt every law he prescribes, to all the circumstances wherein he hath placed us. It is He who is “loving unto every man, whose mercy is over all his work’” the God of love, who, having emptied himself of his eternal glory, is come forth from his Father to declare his will to the children of men, and then goeth again to the Father; who is sent of God “to open the eyes of the blind, and to give light to them that sit in darkness.” (Wesley, John. The Works Of John Wesley. Hendrickson, 1984, Vol. 5, pp. 247-248.)
B. Do not mourn like a child of the Devil!
“And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests [the big preachers of his day] and the scribes [the big evangelical writers, TV, radio, and internet stars] and and the chief of the people [comedians, talk show hosts, newscasters, and those who like to post up online via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and any other newly popularized outlet for the Devil himself to spew forth his lies to the masses and his subtle and out and out commands to have the godly who mourn like Jesus ruined] sought to destroy him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.” Luke 19:47-48)
- “Everyone flies from sorrow, and seeks after joy, and yet true joy must necessarily be the fruit of sorrow. The whole need not (do not feel the need of) the physician, but they that are sick do; i.e. they who are sensible of their disease.” (Clarke, Adam. “Matthew 5:4.” Essay. In Clark’s Commentary: the Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, the Text Carefully Printed from the Most Correct Copies of the Present Authorized Translation, Including the Marginal Readings and Parallel Texts ; with a Commentary and Critical Notes Designed as a Help to a Better Understanding of the Sacred Writings 3, 1st ed., 3:65–66. Nashville: Abingdon, 1824.)
C. Mourn like Jesus and be comforted!
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
- “Those who mourn. This speaks of mourning over sin, the godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation without regret (2 Co 7:10). The ‘comfort’ is the comfort of forgiveness and salvation.” (cf. Isa 40:1,2: ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.’). (MacArthur, John. Macarthur Study Bible. 5th ed., Thomas Nelson, 2013, p. 1381.)
III. Like Jesus, you must mourn under the weight of sin!
And now, do you have time to hear one last very very short tale, taken from towards the end of the life of our Lord, here on Earth? Here on the night, in fact just some minutes before – he would be betrayed and savagely taken away to experience the greatest torture and suffering in the history of mankind! Here! Here he is, in the Garden of Gethsemane, with the weight of every wicked horrifying deed, every sin to ever have been done, or to be done, by the twisting twisted descendants, sons and daughters) of Adam (and even by Adam himself).
Here is part of what happened as the weight of all of our sins, of all of your sins, everyone, was placed upon and into the being of the divinely clean soul of Jesus: our Lord, our God, our Savior!
“And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them,
“Pray that ye enter not into temptation.’
“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying,
“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.’
“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them,
“Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-46)
A. Mourn like the Savior of the World!
“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:41-44)
- “Blessed are they that mourn.’ That is, those who, feeling their spiritual poverty, mourn after God, lamenting the iniquity that separated them from the fountain of blessedness.” (Clarke)
B. Do not mourn like salt that lost its savour!
“And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:45-46)
- “There is a sinful mourning, which is an enemy to blessedness – the sorrow of the world; despairing melancholy upon a spiritual account; and disconsolate [adjective: without consolation or comfort] grief upon a temporal account.” (Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary On The Whole Bible. Hendrickson Publishers, 2009, Vol. 5, p. 40.)
C. Mourn like Jesus and be comforted!
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
- “Only such persons as are deeply convinced of the sinfulness of sin, feel the plague of their own heart, and turn with disgust from all worldly consolations, because of their insufficiency to render them happy, [only such persons] have God’s promise of solid comfort. They SHALL BE comforted says Christ. He will call them to himself, and speak the words of pardon, peace and life eternal, to their hearts.” (Henry.)
Conclusion
“He [Jesus] is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)
- “He is despised and rejected of men!
- “He is … a man of sorrows!”
- “He is … acquainted with grief!”
- “He is…”, and i will be like Him! I will be like my Savior! I will be like my Lord! I am privileged! He has given me; he has granted me; he has bid me to be like Him! He has it written there for me to “follow his steps!”
- “The Sermon on the Mount does not present the way of salvation but the way of righteous living for those who are in God’s family, contrasting the new Way with the “old one” of the scribes and the Pharisees.” (Ryrie, Charles Caldwell. Ryrie Study Bible. 3rd ed., Moody Publishers, 2012, p. 1181.)
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)
OUTLINE:
Was Jesus a Sad Individual?
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
I. Like Jesus, you must mourn at the effect of sin!
II. Like Jesus, you must mourn over the result of sin!
III. Like Jesus, you must mourn under the weight of sin!
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21)
WORSHIP: