Blessed are those who mourn
The term "blessed" in this context refers to a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity, often associated with divine favor. Mourning here is not limited to personal grief but extends to a deep sorrow over sin and the brokenness of the world. This mourning is a recognition of the fallen state of humanity and the need for repentance. In biblical context, mourning is often associated with repentance and turning back to God, as seen in the Old Testament with figures like David (Psalm 51) and the nation of Israel (Joel 2:12-13). The cultural context of mourning in the Jewish tradition involved wearing sackcloth and ashes, fasting, and public lamentation, indicating a profound expression of sorrow.

for they will be comforted
The promise of comfort is a future assurance of God's intervention and consolation. This comfort is both immediate, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, and eschatological, pointing to the ultimate comfort in the Kingdom of Heaven. The comfort promised here is reminiscent of the prophetic words in Isaiah 61:1-3, which speak of the Messiah bringing comfort to those who mourn. This connection highlights Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy and the source of true comfort. The comfort is also linked to the resurrection hope, as seen in Revelation 21:4, where God will wipe away every tear, and mourning will cease. This phrase assures believers that their sorrow will be met with divine consolation and hope.

1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of the Beatitudes, delivering the Sermon on the Mount, which includes Matthew 5:4. Jesus is addressing His disciples and the crowd gathered to hear His teachings.

2. The Disciples
The primary audience of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, representing those who are committed to following Him and learning from His teachings.

3. The Crowd
A larger group of people from various regions who have gathered to hear Jesus' teachings, representing a diverse audience with different backgrounds and needs.

4. The Mount
The location where Jesus delivers the Sermon, traditionally identified as a hill near the Sea of Galilee, symbolizing a place of revelation and teaching.

5. The Kingdom of Heaven
The overarching theme of the Sermon on the Mount, representing the spiritual realm where God's will is perfectly fulfilled, and the ultimate comfort for those who mourn.Understanding Mourning
Mourning in this context refers to a deep sorrow over sin and the brokenness of the world. It is a recognition of our need for God's grace and redemption.

Promise of Comfort
The comfort promised by Jesus is both present and future. It includes the peace and presence of the Holy Spirit now and the ultimate comfort in eternity with God.

Spiritual Growth through Mourning
Mourning can lead to spiritual growth as it drives us to seek God more earnestly and depend on His strength and comfort.

Empathy and Ministry
As recipients of God's comfort, we are called to empathize with others in their mourning and be instruments of God's comfort to them.

Hope in Christ
Our mourning is not without hope. In Christ, we have the assurance of comfort and restoration, both now and in the life to come.(4) They that mourn.--The verb is commonly coupled with weeping (Mark 16:10; Luke 6:25; James 4:9; Revelation 18:15-19). Here, as before, there is an implied, though not an expressed, limitation. The "mourning" is not the sorrow of the world that worketh "death" (2Corinthians 7:10) for failure, suffering, and the consequences of sin, but the sorrow which flows out in the tears that cleanse, the mourning over sin itself and the stain which it has left upon the soul.

They shall be comforted.--The pronoun is emphatic. The promise implies the special comfort (including counsel) which the mourner needs; "comforted" he shall be with the sense of pardon and peace, of restored purity and freedom. We cannot separate the promise from the word which Christendom has chosen (we need not now discuss its accuracy) to express the work of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, still less from the yearning expectation that then prevailed among such of our Lord's hearers as were looking for the "consolation"--i.e., the "comfort"--of Israel (Luke 2:25). . . .

Verse 4. - In some, especially "Western" authorities, vers. 4, 5 are transposed (vide Westcott and Hort, 'Appendix'), possibly because the terms of ver. 5 seemed to be more closely parallel to ver. 3 (cf. Meyer, Weiss), and also those of ver. 4 fitted excellently with ver. 6. But far the greater balance of evidence is in favour of the usual order, which also, though not on the surface, is in the deepest connexion with the preceding and the following verses. They that mourn (cf. Isaiah 61:2). Our Lord does not define that which causes the mourning, but as the preceding and the following verses all refer to the religious or at least the ethical sphere, merely carnal and worldly mourning is excluded. The mourning referred to must, therefore, be produced by religious or moral causes. Mourners for the state of Israel, so far as they mourned not for its political but for its spiritual condition (cf. similar mourning in the Christian Church, 2 Corinthians 7:9, 10), would be included (cf. Weiss, 'Life,' 2:142); but our Lord's primary thought must have been of mourning over one's personal state, not exactly, perhaps, over one's sins, but over the realized poverty in spirit just spoken of (cf. Weiss-Meyer). As the deepest poverty lies in the sphere of the spirit, so the deepest mourning lies there also. All other mourning is but partial and slight compared with this (Proverbs 18:14). For they shall be comforted. When? On having the kingdom of heaven (ver. 3); i.e. during this life in measure (cf. Luke 2:25), but fully only hereafter. The mourning over one's personal poverty in spirit is removed in proportion as Christ is received and appropriated; but during this life such appropriation can be only partial.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Blessed [are]
Μακάριοι (Makarioi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3107: Happy, blessed, to be envied. A prolonged form of the poetical makar; supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off.

those who
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

mourn,
πενθοῦντες (penthountes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3996: To mourn, lament, feel guilt. From penthos; to grieve.

for
Ὅτι (Hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

they
αὐτοὶ (autoi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

will be comforted.
παρακληθήσονται (paraklēthēsontai)
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 3870: From para and kaleo; to call near, i.e. Invite, invoke.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn for they (Matt. Mat Mt)