Blessedness is related to happiness, and the Sermon on the Mount then begins with a “how to list” of achieving this state of happiness.
I’ve come to the conclusion that our modern understanding is a complex integration of 2 schools of thought. 1. Our ingrained sinful nature, IE original sin and the deplorable nature of all Mankind…2. Our modern desire to achieve happiness and contentment.

So we tend to read the Beattitudes as “you want to achieve happiness, then this is how”…and I don’t think Matthew attempt to share the message that was so revolutionary at the launch of Jesus’ public ministry would have been this. I don’t think that Matthew 4:25 concerning the variety of people present and following Jesus would have been doing that because of that kind of message. Jesus was up to something else.

“Blessedness” is not so much about finding happiness, as it is a reference to the abiding presence of God. God’s presence is with those who are “poor in spirit”. God’s presence is with those who are ‘in mourning”…and so on.

I’m becoming more convinced that this passage, in particular this section on “mourning” is about God’s presence coming to us, no matter what our circumstance or situation, even in the complexity and confusion and sadness of death, God’s abiding love and presence comes to us in that moment. He doesn’t run from the confusion that arises in death, God’s presence embraces us in that moment, and gives us comfort. In that moment of depression and aloneness and emptiness after someone we love has been taken from us by the harsh realities of our finite humanity…when all of the questions about life and purpose and meaning and futility and frustration start to creep in, God’s abiding love doesn’t leave us…He comes alongside us, (parakleo) He comforts us.

My 2 cents. enjoy.

It’s awesome to know that God is always aware of this and will help us get through it.

Great one, thanks!

I agree with your findings and yes there is much more and yes we do not think we have figured it all out. We know that The Holy Spitit will guide us into all truth. This has been one verse that God has highlited during my time of study as well so praise God.

Yours in Christ,
Dean

If God took 2,000 years to write the bible, and he’s sovereign, I’m sure we can trust in his timing to make sure we understand WHAT we are teaching to others before witnessing. I’m talking about a short period that might be a few weeks time or something.

But basically if we can trust God for our eternal security and salvation, we can surely trust a few weeks time to truly understand what we are going to share with others. Otherwise we might be making false converts. Besides that small critique, great article !!!!

Good question to ask, man. If God hasn’t yet given you the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues yet, then I would encourage you to ask Him to give you that gift. The Bible says that we are permitted to ask God for anything. Jesus says:

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

So, in other words - If you want to go deeper and grow spiritually, the Lord will most certainly grant your desires. Let me be the first to encourage you to ask God for more of Him! He hears your prayers and He will answer. God Bless, bro.

There are a lot of thoughts too numerous for this space but one is Jerusalem, Our Jerusalem first. Doing basically the same thing we would do over there here at home.

“More!”

When I picture the word Islam, Muslim, or Moslem, the word picture that comes to my mind is Men on their knees, faces to the floor praying.

Now, Jesus repeated the OT saying, “My house shall be a house of prayer for the nations.”
But when I picture the word Christian or Church, I visualize everything but people praying.

Agreed Brendan…I believe experience is very valuable to our spiritual growth and health, but if you have an experience that downright contradicts the Bible, then it’s time to re-evaluate the experience and find an explanation.

Whenever I find the perfect Church it isn’t perfect anymore because I’m there.

The letters to the Churches are filled with ‘One anothers’ ‘Each others’ and so on.

However, I would say that we don’t get rid of the experience outright; rather, we need to make sure that experience lines up with the Word.

We live in a time where experience counts more than God’s revealed truth. For example, I’ve had friends who tell me how a mother or relative who had died vistited them later on.

My Bible teaches that it is appointed unto men once to die, ONCE to die and after that judgement. Jesus gave a parable or story of a man in hell wanting to come back and warn his people but could not.

What do we do when experience contradicts the Word of God? I say get rid of the experience or take a Tums.

Excellent entry

I’ll simply reiterate that my only concern was that you were limiting the context of the Scripture and what it was speaking to (repentance only), but thank you for helping alleviate that concern. I embrace your take to also think of it beyond the usual “comfort” or “mourning” themes and put it also in terms of repentance; it’s likely a paradigm shift for many believers, but a good one.

First off, don’t think I’m indoctrinating my own thoughts on the masses. I’m just trying to find understanding in the message of Christ and pass it on to others. I have no problem with my line of thinking, because it makes sense to me. I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with it. Adam Clarke has the same understanding of this Beatitude, if you care to look up his commentary of the Bible.
My lines of thinking have helped me in my walk with Christ. I’m naturally inquisitive and always looking for new perspectives and understandings.

Looking at my quote, it is not my intention to say that God doesn’t comfort those that mourn the dead, but even Jesus says ‘let the dead bury their dead’ - Matt 8:22…He’s not concerned with the natural dead as much as those that are dead to the spirit.

I call attention to the similarities between ‘mourn’ and ‘repentance’ because of the obvious similarities in their definitions.
I see your problem with scriptural references to such a thing being thought, but Jesus calls all to repentance (Mat 4:17, Mark 6:12, Luk 13:3, 17:3). Can repentance be thought of as mourning over our past sins, but then turning away from them? Yes. Grieving over past sins but going towards God? Yes.
2 Cor 7:9 - “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.”

We are supposed to have a turning of heart, contrition, and remorse for our actions against God. And that’s good for repentance to work inside us. That’s why I see the mourning in this Beatitude as being derived from sorrow for repentance, and that is why Jesus says they will be comforted. Jesus cares about sorrow over what we’ve done against Him, more than any sorrow for those things that pass away or are lost and are not carried with us to Heaven. (Mat 6:19)