Laughter because it is inevitable

LAUGHTER BECAUSE IT IS INEVITABLE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 6:21 21Blessed are you who hunger now, for
you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep
now, for you will laugh.
We will focus on the second sentence only for this study, for we are
looking at the promise of ultimate laughter. It is surprising that few
consider the promise of inevitable laughter, and focus only on the
present weeping. We see this in the messages shared in the BIBLEHUB
RESOURCE.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
The blessedness of tears and mourning
C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.
It sounds a paradox l We are wont to regard mourning and tears as evil
things that come of sorrow and suffering. But here we are told of a
mourning that, coming from some hidden source, flows on until it pours
itself into the ocean of everlasting consolation. What can it mean?
Certainly not that God really likes us to be always sad. The world of
seen things around us, so bright, so beautiful, tells a very different tale.
And yet methinks it tells us, too, that tears and blessings have to do with
one another. Nature has its storms and rain; it has the bleak winds of
spring, the thunder-clouds of summer, the falling leaves of autumn, the
cold, dark days of winter, and we know now that this sad side of things
is not the evidence of the existence of angry deities who dwell in the
unseen, but that under the overruling hand of a wise and loving God

there is in these things a blessing brought to us, and to the world in
which we live. Ah, yes, it is true. Continual laughter is not profitable.
There are times when laughter is unseasonable. Even the world
pronounces those happy who can weep. Too much ease, and pleasure,
and happiness, as the world counts happiness, wean the spirit away
from Him in whom alone true blessedness can be found. There is need of
sorrow to bring us back to Him (Psalm 119:67). God chastens to bless.
His punishments are always corrective, never vindictive. Test by this
touchstone all that men say of God's dealings with mankind. Ay, answer
with it the troubled promptings of your own conscience in the hour of
trial and mourning.
(C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.)
The seriousness of the kingdom
J. Thomson, D. D.
This is expressed in the same proverbial form as the two preceding
beatitudes; and in proverbs, it is to be observed, that one example is
selected to represent a class, or one feature to suggest a whole character.
Thus, as weeping is generally accompanied with a serious frame of
mind, or is the external symptom of sorrow, so it was probably
employed to represent such a state (see Ecclesiastes 7:2, 3). Never did
any teacher present religion to the world with an aspect so forbidding as
it is done by our Saviour in this passage. The Jews expected that the
reign of the Messiah would be distinguished by wealth, grandeur, and
joy. Our Saviour, therefore, took an early opportunity of undeceiving
them, by showing them that those who possessed few or none of the
good things of this world were much better fitted to be subjects in that
kingdom, and even to exercise authority, than those who were favoured
in a high degree with opulence and plenty.
(J. Thomson, D. D.)

The blessing to Christian weepers
James Foote, M. A.
It is obvious that this blessing cannot apply to every kind of weeping;
for there are tears shed for reasons altogether earthly, and there is a
sorrow of the world that worketh death. But on all who weep as the
disciples of Christ, or for the sake of Christ, or because of any
penitential or truly Christian feeling, on all such this blessing rests. All
such "shall laugh," that is, shall greatly rejoice.
(James Foote, M. A.)
The true joy of Christianity
H. R. Haweis, M. A.
He bade them even rejoice; not merely be resigned, but jubilant, and
here He struck that keynote of resounding triumph and exhilaration
which remains to this day the most original and characteristic sign of
the Christian life. Inextinguishable joy in the dungeon — at the stake —
amidst ruin and physical pain and loss; that is Christianity. The Stoic
bears; the Epicurean submits; the Christian alone exults — "sorrowful,
and yet always rejoicing."
(H. R. Haweis, M. A.)
Spiritual mourning
For the first, I may expound the point and the text both under one. You
see the proposition what it is, every good mourner is in a happy
condition. Here let us consider a little the terms to explicate them. Who
is the party in speech? "Blessed is the mourner," saith Christ, in
Matthew; "Blessed," saith He, in Luke 6:21, "are the weepers." Both
these, mourning and weeping, are fruits of the same tree and root. There
is a carnal mourning, when a man mourns for the presence of goodness,

and for the absence of sin, because he is restrained, and cannot be so
bad as he would be. There is a natural mourning, when a man mourns
upon natural motives, when natural losses and crosses are upon him.
There is a spiritual mourning, when a man mourns in a spiritual
manner, for spiritual things, upon spiritual motives, as afterwards we
shall show; when he mourns, because good things that are spiritually
good are so far from him, and spiritual ills are so near to him. This is the
mourner that Christ here speaks of, and this is the mourning that hath
the blessing. Other mourning may occasion this through God's blessing,
and may give some overture to this mourning, but the blessing belongs
to the spiritual mourner and the spiritual mourning. "Blessed are the
mourners, for they shall be comforted." This reason will not hold in all
kind of mourning and all kind of comfort. It is no good argument to say,
Blessed is the man that is in pain, for he shall be refreshed and relieved;
blessed is the man that is hungry, for he shall be fed and have his wants
supplied. But yet this argument holds good, "Blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted"; namely, with God's comforts, with
the comforts of the Spirit, with the comforts of the Word, the comforts
of heaven. The comforts of God are beyond all the miseries and sorrows
that a man can endure in this life; and though he do mourn and weep
for them, yet notwithstanding, the comforts, the wages, will so far
exceed all his sorrows that he is happy in this. He cannot buy spiritual
comforts too dear, he cannot have them upon hard terms possibly. Yea,
further, spiritual mourning carries comfort with it, besides the harvest
of comfort that abides the mourner afterwards. There are first-fruits of
comfort here to be reaped, so it is that the more a man mourns
spiritually, the more he rejoiceth; the more his sorrow is, the more his
comfort is.
1. He that mourns spiritually hath a good judgment, and therefore is
happy. Spiritual affection it argues a spiritual judgment and
understanding. For the affections work according as they receive
information. A creature that is led by fancy hath brutish affections; a
man that is guided with matter of reason hath rational affections, as we
term them; but a man that hath his mind enlightened and sanctified

hath holy affections.
2. It argues a good heart too.(1) A tender and soft heart. For a stone
cannot mourn, only the fleshy heart it is that can bleed.(2) As his heart
is tender, so also it is sound. It is a healthful soul and a healthful temper,
as I may speak, that he hath. For mourning proceeds out of love and
hatred; out of agreement, if it be a spiritual mourning, with that which
is good, and out of a contrariety and opposition between us and that
which is bad. And this is a right constitution and temper of soul, that
makes a man happy.
3. As he is happy in the cause, so he will be happy in the effect, too, of
his godly mourning. For godly sorrow and mourning brings forth
blessed fruits and effects; the apostle in 2 Corinthians 7:10, seq.,
delivers divers of them, as there you see.(1) This is one thing in spiritual
mourning; it secures and excludes a man from carnal and hellish
mourning; yea, this orders him and saves him harmless from all other
griefs. The more a man can mourn for his sins, the less he will mourn
for other matters. So that this mourning prevents a great deal of
unprofitable mourning. When a man bleeds unseasonably and
unsatiably, the way to divert it is to open a vein and to let him blood
elsewhere, and so you save the man. If he weep in a holy and spiritual
manner, he shall be secured and preserved from poisonful and hurtful
tears.(2) This is another happy effect of godly mourning, that spiritual
and godly mourning alway doth a man good and never any hurt.
Worldly sorrow, saith the apostle, causeth death. The more a man dies
this way, the more he lives; the more he weeps, the more he laughs; and
the more he can weep over Jesus Christ, the more lightsome and
gladsome his heart is, and the more comfortably he spends his time.(3)
This spiritual and godly sorrow and mourning is a sorrow never to be
repented of, as the apostle there implies. All other sorrow a man must
unsorrow again.(4) Spiritual mourning works repentance, saith the
apostle: that is to say, it works reformation and amendment; it sets a
man further from his sin, and brings him nearer to God, and nearer to
goodness.

4. He is happy in regard of the event and issue of his mourning, because
all shall end well with him, and all his tears shall one day be wiped
away, and joy and gladness shall come in place; yea, he is happy in this,
that spiritual mourning it is always accompanied with joy: that is a
happy estate that tends to happiness.Use
1. If it be a happy man that mourns aright, we have reason, first, to
bewail our unhappiness; unhappy time and unhappy men may we well
say, touching ourselves, that vary so much from the mind and
prescription of our blessed Saviour. "Blessed," saith our Saviour Christ,
"are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." "Woe to you," saith
He, "that now laugh." We, on the other side, say, Woe to them that here
mourn; happy are they that can here laugh and be merry. And as we
vary in our judgment from our Saviour, so much more we vary in our
practice from His direction and counsel. God saith, "Humble yourselves
that you may be exalted." We on the other side say, Exalt ourselves, and
we shall not be humbled. God saith, Throw down yourselves; we say,
Secure ourselves. God saith, Afflict yourselves, and then you shall have
comfort. The Lord saith, Let your laughter be turned into mourning,
that so you may laugh. We on the other say, Let our mourning be turned
into laughter, that so we may not mourn. And therefore when any grief,
natural or spiritual, begins to breed or to grow on us, presently we
betake ourselves to company, to sports and exercises, that may drown
the noise of conscience, that may put out of our minds motives to
spiritual grief and sorrow, and that may provoke us to carnal, or at the
best to natural mirth and rejoicing. We think many times carnal sorrow,
which in truth is but poison, will do us good, a great deal of ease; and
when men have crossed us, and disappointed us, or dealt unkindly with
us, we think we will go and weep it out; and when we have cried and
blubbered a while, we think that we give ease to our souls, and content
to our hearts. But when we come to spiritual mourning, which only is
comfortable mourning, we think that undoes us. Many a man thinks he
forfeits all his joy, all his peace, all his liberty, all his happiness, and he
shall never see a merry day again in this world if he gives way to
mourning for sin, to sound repentance, to works of humiliation, and

examination of his own heart and ways.Use
2. Well, in the next place, we have another use, to take Christ's direction
for comfort. Who would, who can be without it? Life is death without
comfort. Every man's aim is to lead a comfortable life. Mark the way
that Christ chalks out: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be
comforted."
1. We must first show you how spiritual mourning differs, and is
discerned from other mourning.
2. How it is gotten.
3. How it is exercised.
1. For the first of this: Spiritual mourning is known by the objects. Such
as the object is, such is the faculty. Spiritual mourning hath spiritual
objects, either materially or formally, as they speak in schools. This
spiritual mourning is busied about spiritual goods and spiritual ills. We
will instance in this first. For, first, if a man would know whether his
sorrow be spiritual sorrow or no, let him see how he mourns for the
absence of spiritual good things, how he mourns for the absence of God,
the chief good. That is spiritual sorrow, when a man mourns because he
hath lost God in his graces, in his communion, and in his comforts. Now,
in the next place, how shall a man do to get this spiritual mourning?
First, He must labour to have a heart capable of grief and sorrow that is
spiritual, a tender and soft heart. He must see that he have a disposition
to holy mourning, able and inclinable so to do, when just opportunity
and occasion is offered. Now how shall a man get this tender heart?
Why surely he must go to God in His means and ordinances, who hath
promised, as you heard, in the covenant, to take "the stone out of our
hearts, and to give us soft and fleshy hearts."
1. Consider of a method that he must use; and then —
2. Of motives to stir him up thereunto.
1. For method.(1) He must have respect to the time, that he do not let his

heart lie fallow too long. Jeremiah 4:3, it is said, "Plough up your fallow
ground." Ground, if it lie long unploughed, will require much pains to
rear it and fetch it up, but if it be oft done, it will be the easier. To this
end a man should every day be exercised in the duty of a godly
mourning, every night reckon for the passage of that day, and say with
thyself, What sin have I committed? What have I done?(2) For the time,
a man must be sure to take God's time. When God calls on him, when
God gives them the heart, and is ready to close and to join with him,
then take the advantage, set upon godly mourning. So when the nature
of grief is stirred by the occasion of the Word, then take the advantage
of this, seize upon this for the king's use; set upon sorrow whilst it is
there, turn it into the right stream, into the right channel; turn it for sin,
weep for sin, and not for outward losses and crosses. Thus much for the
time.
2. There is another thing to be done for the order, and that is this, that a
man must be sure to give over carnal mirth and carnal mourning, if he
will mourn spiritually. His carnal laughter must be turned into
mourning, as James speaks (James 4:9); and his carnal mirth must be
turned into spiritual mourning, too, or else he will never come to
spiritual mourning. The motives are many. He that will mourn must
look to these. Now, in particular, consider these motives.
1. It is needful for us to mourn.
2. It is seasonable for us to mourn.
3. It is profitable. And —
4. It is comfortable.
1. It is needful to mourn in a spiritual manner. Whosoever hath sin must
mourn.
2. As it is needful, so also it is very Seasonable. The very time tends that
way, as it were; the season is the time of weeping; the Church of God
weeps abroad. For sin is now grown to a fulness, to a ripeness.

3. As it is seasonable, so it is profitable: for godly mourning it never
hurts, it always helps. Carnal sorrow leaves a man worse than it finds
him. It makes him more sick and weak than it finds him. Spiritual
sorrow leaves him better.
4. It is very comfortable. It doth wondrously refresh a man. We pass,
therefore, from the doctrine here delivered, "Blessed are the mourners,"
and come to the reason of it, "for they shall be comforted." Let us join
these together, and see how they do depend.The point will be thus much
—
1. That spiritual mourning it ends in spiritual mirth. He that can mourn
spiritually and holily, he shall undoubtedly and certainly be comforted.
Holy tears, they are the seeds of holy joy. For the clearing of it further,
let us know that we have good security for it,
1. The promise of God: and then —
2. The experience of God's people. The best proofs that may be.First, the
Lord undertakes in His promise two things touching our comforts.
1. That all our godly sorrow shall end in true comfort. The next is —
2. That all our godly mournings are attended and accompanied with
comfort for the present.
1. For the first of these, you know the promise, sorrow and weeping
shall fly away, and joy and gladness shall come in place (Isaiah 35., last
verse), which place will refer you to many more. God hath made a
succession of these things, as of day and night. His children's day begins
in the night and in darkness, and ends in the day. God hath promised it
shall be so; God hath appointed Christ, and fitted Him, and enabled
Him to this word, that so it may be. God will take off the garment of
mourning, and put on the garment of gladness in due time.
2. To this promise of God let us add the experience of God's people.If all
this suffice not, let us consider of these reasons, and then we shall see
that it is but reason that we should do so.

1. The first reason is drawn from the nature of sorrow and mourning.
Sorrow is a kind of an imperfect thing, as it were. It is not made for
itself, but for a higher and for a further end, to do service to something
else, as it fares with all those that we call the declining affections. Hatred
is servant to love; fear doth service to confidence; so likewise doth
sorrow to joy. For God hath not appointed sorrow for sorrow's sake, but
to make way for joy and true comfort. The physician doth not make a
man sick for sickness' sake, but for health's sake. But now the joy of a
Christian man, a spiritual joy, it is a safe joy. It hurts no man, but doth
a man good; it settles a man's mind, it strengthens his thoughts, it
perfects his wits and understanding. It makes him to have a sound
judgment; it makes for the health of his body; it makes for the
preservation of his life; it doth a man good every way. There is no
provocation in it, there is no danger in it. Thirdly, as a Christian's joy is
best in that respect, that it is the safest, so in this, that it is the surest joy.
For this joy is an everlasting joy. The righteous, then, hath the start of
the wicked for matter of comfort and joy. He hath a more solid, a more
safe and sure joy, a more sweet joy, a more reasonable joy a great deal
than the other hath. As he is beyond him in his joy, so, in the next place,
he is beyond him in his sorrow too. Our life must have comfort and
sorrow. It is compounded of sweet and sour. As the year is compounded
of winter and summer, and the day of day and night, so every man's life
is made up of these two. He hath some fair and some foul days, some joy
and some sorrow. Now, as the righteous is beyond the wicked in his joy
and comfort, so is he beyond him in his sorrow. First, his sorrow is far
better; it is a more gainful, a more comfortable sorrow than others' is.
They are beyond the sorrows of the wicked in all the causes and in all
the circumstances of them.(1) The sorrow of the righteous proceeds
from a better spring and fountain than the sorrow of the wicked. The
sorrow of the godly comes from a sound mind, from a pure heart, from
an inside that is purified from hypocrisy, from self-love, from private
respects. Whereas, on the other side, the sorrow of the wicked comes
from distemper of brain, from an utter mistake. Again, his sorrow
comes from distemper of heart, from pride, from passion, from
cursedness of heart and spirit, that he cannot stoop.(2) The sorrow of

the righteous, as it hath a better spring, so it is busied and taken up
about better objects, about better matters. A wicked man howls and
cries, and takes on many times for a trifle, for a bauble; yea, many
times, because he is disappointed and crossed in his lusts, in his base
sins. The child of God finds himself somewhat else to do than to weep
and to cry, and take on for trifles and vanities. He looks up to God, and
is sorry he hath displeased Him.(3) The sorrow of the righteous is better
than sorrow of the wicked in regard of the manner of their mourning.
For the mourning of the righteous is a composed kind of sorrow. He
mourns in silence; he weeps to the Lord; he carries it with judgment
and discretion. His sorrow is a moderated sorrow; he holds it within
banks and bounds. Whereas the sorrow of the wicked is a tempestuous,
a boisterous, a furious kind of mourning and lamenting. He knows no
mean. It is without hope.(4) Last of all, they differ much in the end and
upshot of their mourning. Godly sorrow, it doth a man good. It humbles
him, as we said. It drives him from all purpose, from all practice of sin;
it makes him resolute against sin. This sorrow of the wicked, it hath not
so good an issue. There is great difference when a woman breeds a
disease and when she breeds a child. Well, then, to shut up this first
reason, for information — upon which we have stood the longer,
because carnal judgment will not credit this point — it is clear, the
righteous man in prosperity is better than the wicked, and in adversity
better. Whence he hath occasion to rejoice. A surgeon doth not lance and
sear men because he would put them to pain, but because he would give
them ease. The Lord of heaven delights not in wounding and grieving of
His children; but therefore He calls them to sorrow, that so they might
come to comfort.
2. The second reason may be drawn from the nature of this spiritual
comfort and joy that we speak of. For spiritual joy is very strong: "The
joy of the Lord is your strength " (Nehemiah 8:10). A strong thing is
spiritual joy, and therefore it will overmatch, and overcome, and drink
up, as it were, all our sorrows and fears in due time, as the sun
overcomes the darkness of the night, and the fogginess of the mist in the
morning.

3. A third reason may be drawn from the cause of our spiritual
mourning and spiritual joy; for these are fruits that grow both from the
same root. Spiritual joy and spiritual mourning, they come from the
same fountain, from the same Spirit. The same Spirit, it causeth us to
weep over Him whom we have pierced, and it causeth us also to rejoice
in the Lord whom we have pierced: "The fruit of the Spirit is joy," saith
the apostle (Galatians 5:22). The same Spirit manageth and guideth
both the one and the other. Carnal passions and affections they oppose
one another, they fight one with another, because they are carried on
headlong, without any guide or order at all. But spiritual affections they
are subordinate and subservient one to another; the one labours to
further and to advance another. Thus the more a man joys, the more he
grieves; and the more he grieves, the more he joys. Joy melts the heart,
and gives it a kindly thaw; grief, on the other side, it easeth the heart,
and makes it cheerful and light-some.
4. Lastly, a reason may be drawn from the effects of godly mourning. If
they be considered, it will be cleared, that he that mourns spiritually
shall end in comfort at the last; for this spiritual mourning, what will it
do? First, it takes off the power and strength of corruption. It weakens
sin, it pricks the bladder of pride, and lets out our corruption. Spiritual
mourning it takes down a man, it humbles him; and an humble heart is
always a cheerful heart, so far as it is humbled. Spiritual mourning,
again, makes way for prayer. For spiritual mourning sends a man to
God. It causeth him to utter himself in petition, in confession, and
complaints to his Father; to pour out himself to the bosom of his God in
speeches, in sighs, and tears, in lamenting one way or other. All this
tends to comfort. The more a man prays, the more he hath comfort.
"Pray," saith Christ, "that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). Now, the
more a man mourns spiritually, the more he prays; and therefore the
more he is filled with true joy. Again, this spiritual mourning, it is a
wondrous help of faith. It is a hopeful mourning; it helps a man's faith
in the promises touching remission of sins. Now, the more a man's faith
and hope is furthered, the more his joy is furthered. Still, the apostle
speaks that they should rejoice in believing. Now, the more he mourns,

the more reason he hath to believe that that furthers his faith; and
therefore it advanceth his joy and comfort. This point, then, being thus
cleared, let us a little make some use of it to ourselves. The use is
threefold.
1. Here is one use of information touching others. Who is the happiest
man in the world? And for the deciding of this question we must not go
with it to Solon, to Plato, or to the philosophers, but come to a judge, the
Lord Jesus. And what saith He to the point? Blessed and happy, saith
He, are they that mourn. His reason is, " for they shall be comforted."
So that here, then, is the trial of a man's state that is blessed. So that
that man, then, that hath the best sorrow and the best joy, that man,
then, is the happiest man. Now the Christian man is this man.(1) In
many respects, this joy is a more solid joy than the joy of the wicked.
The wicked man rejoiceth in face, but not in heart. This joy is rather in
show than in substance. His joy is not rooted in himself.
3. wicked man hath no matter of comfort within himself, but his
comforts they hang upon outward things. His comfort sometimes lies in
the bottom of a pot; sometimes it lies in the bottom of a dish; sometimes
in the heels of a horse; sometimes in the wings of a bird; sometimes in
some base lust, or in some such filthy sin. Here lies the comfort of a
wicked man; but now the comfort of the godly is not so. The joy of the
righteous, it is a massy and a substantial joy. His afflictions indeed are
light and momentary, but then his joy is everlasting, as I shall show
anon. It is a joy that hath substance in it. The joy of the wicked, at the
best, it is but a little glazed, it is but gilt over, but it is naught within; but
the joy of the righteous it is a golden joy, it is beaten gold, it is massy
and substantial and precious. As we said before, the root of his joy he
hath it in himself, he hath matter of comfort in himself. There is faith
and grace, there is truth. Nay, it is not rooted in himself only, but the
root of it is in heaven, in his Head, in Christ.(2) The joy of the righteous,
as it is a more solid, so it is a more safe joy than the joy of the wicked. A
carnal joy is many times prejudicial to a man in his safety, therefore we
may safely conclude the godliest man is the happiest man.

2. Now the next use is to the godly. First, a word of exhortation, and
then a word of consolation. Stop up, my brethren, all the passages, dam
them up if you can, that make way for worldly sorrow and for carnal
grief, for this will come but too fast upon you; but, on the other side,
pluck up the floodgates, and open all the passages, and give all the way
to spiritual mourning and to godly tears.(1) Labour to mourn after
spiritual things and spiritual persons.(2) Again, Is it so, that the Lord
withdraws Himself in His ordinances, that we hear not the voice of His
word, that we see not-our signs? "There is not a prophet among us to
tell us how long" (Psalm 74:9); let us then set ourselves to mourn, as the
Church in that psalm. "Lord, we see not our signs."(3) Is it so, again,
that in our mourning, we see the Church of God, those sorrowful-
spirited men, that they are distressed and afflicted? Let us weep for
these too.(4) Is it so, that the Church of God is foiled at any time by the
adversaries? Let us take on, as Joshua did, "rend your garments, and
cast down ourselves before the Lord, and say, What shall we say, when
Israel shall turn their backs and fly before their enemies?" (Joshua 7:8).
(5) In short, is the Church of God in heaviness and lamentation? Oh,
but how shall I know that my mourning is spiritual mourning? I suspect
it much this way. And why? First of all, my sorrow begins in the flesh; I
never mourned, I never went to God in prayer and fasting, or any
exercise of religion, till God tamed me and took me down with crosses
and afflictions; then when He laid load on me, I went to it, and not
before. Well, my brethren, thus it may be: thy sorrow may begin in the
flesh; but, if it end in the Spirit, all is well. Ay, but, will some say, my
sorrow is more for outward things than for spiritual matters. ( grieve
when I am sick, but it is for pain more than for sin. I mourn when I am
poor, but it is because I am poor in purse, because I am poor in state,
rather than in regard of my spiritual wants; and so for other matters
too. My brethren, this is easily granted. There is no floor here but there
is chaff as well as wheat with it. There is no precious mine here so rich
but there is some dross as well as good gold, as well as good metal. So it
is with a Christian. There is a mixture of flesh and spirit. And if it be so,
it is spiritual sorrow, that thou canst shed some tears, vent some sighs
and groans to God in spiritual respects, for spiritual losses, for spiritual

evils. Here is matter of comfort, there is so much spiritual comfort, so
much spiritual joy belongs to thee. But how shall I know that my
mourning is spiritual mourning, when I cannot mourn for sin? I have
abundance of tears for losses, and for crosses, and unkindnesses; but I
am dry, and barren, and tearless, when it comes to matter of sin and
offence, and trespass against God. Is this well, that a man should have
tears at command for outward losses and crosses, and not shed a tear in
prayer, and in repentance for sin? No, my brethren, it is not well; but
how shall we do to amend this? Surely, even go to God and confess how
it is; complain of thyself, and desire Him to amend it; and, if we
condemn ourselves, God is ready to receive us. Ay, but the children of
God are more plentiful in tears for sin than for outward things. Ay, in
what sense? Not in regard of the bulk, but in regard of the worth, in
regard of the value of their tears. One tear spent for sin is worth rivers
of tears for outward matters. Further, it will be said, How shall I know
my sorrow to be spiritual sorrow? I answer in a word —
1. Look to the object, that it be universal, So in spiritual things: he that
is spiritually sorry he mourns for the want of goodness wheresoever he
seeth it, be it in himself or in other men, nay, be it in his enemies.
2. Our sorrow will be spiritual and holy if it be accompanied with
prayer; for holy mourning makes way for prayer.
3. Again, it is spiritual sorrow, when it is accompanied with
thankfulness. A carnal man, when he is pinched and twinged, and knows
not which way to turn himself, he will be glad to cry, when he sees there
is no other refuge in the world, but either he must cry or sink. But a
man that is a spiritual mourner, he will be thankful as well as prayerful.
(R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Godly mourners shall be comforted
J. Burroughs.

1. There is a foolish mourning, in which men and women are not blessed
— that is, they mourn they know not for what.
2. A natural mourning; when there is a mourning merely because nature
is pinched, and some evil hath befallen it, and you go no further. This
hath not a blessedness in it.
3. A worldly mourning; worldly sorrow causes death; to mourn for the
loss of worldly things as the great and the chief loss of all. This is not
blessed, it causeth death; and —
4. An envious mourning; when men mourn and are grieved for the good
of others. Surely this is not blessed, but cursed.
5. And there is, further, a devilish mourning; when men and women
mourn that they cannot have opportunity to satisfy their lusts.
6. And lastly, there is a hellish, desperate mourning; when men and
women mourn in despair. This is hellish, and not blessed. These
mourners are not blessed. And then all those that mourn in a gracious
way. You will say, When doth one mourn in a gracious way and
manner? Now, the ground of the blessedness ariseth, first, from the
mourning itself; secondly, from the promise.Surely it is a blessed thing
to be such a mourner.
1. Because that the lower our hearts are in our subjection to God in this
mournful condition, the higher are our respects to God that brings us
into this condition.
2. A mourning condition, when it is ordered by grace, it is a means of
much good in the soul; it is that that takes away the rankness in the
hearts of men. As weeds grow very rank in summer time, now in the
winter the frost nips the weeds and keeps them under; but if it be a long
frost it kills them.
3. It is that that delivers from many temptations. You think that jollity
and bravery is the only happy life, but know there are a great many
more temptations in that life than in a mournful condition.

4. They are blessed that are in a mournful condition, because God hath
chosen for them that mourning condition in the most seasonable time.
You know when a man is sick, then bitter things are more seasonable
than sweet. Now we are all sickly poor creatures, and it is a great mercy
of God in this time of our lives to choose for us a mournful condition —
bitter things rather than sweet and luscious things.
5. And then especially here in this text, because they shall be comforted;
it is but to make the comforts sweeter unto thee when they do come. You
know that when a man would build a structure, a stately building, the
stones that he intends principally to build withal are hacked and hewn,
that so they may be comely and fit for his building; but as for other
stones, they are not regarded as those that are thus polished which he
intends to lay.So it is an argument that the Lord hath great things for
thee, great comforts for thee; He is now preparing thee in this thy
mournful condition for great comforts.
1. They shall be comforted. When? Why, they shall be comforted when
the wicked shall be sorrowful (Isaiah 65:13).
2. And then, you shall be comforted; there is a time when the Lord will
communicate unto you the choicest of His mercies. Now the Lord
communicates Himself, but in a very small and little way in comparison
to what He doth intend. And this comfort that the mourners shall have,
shall be, first, a pure comfort. We have something that is sweet, but
there is a great deal of mixture with our sweet. And then they are
spiritual comforts. Their comforts shall come more firstly in their souls,
and so they shall have comfort to their bodies by way of the eradiation,
as I may so say, of the comfort that they shall have to their souls.
3. Divine comforts they are that they shall have — that is, all comfort is
from God one wet or other, but from God more immediately. Here we
have our comforts at second or third or fourth hand, but now there shall
be comfort that shall be from God more immediately. And such
comforts as are from the very nature of God Himself — that is, such
comfort as God is comforted in, such joy as God joys in, and God joys

with them in 2:4. It is a full comfort, "Ask and you shall have, that your
joy may be full."
5. And then it shall be a strong comfort (Hebrews 6:18).
6. An eternal consolation; so yon have it in 2 Thessalonians 2:16; in 2
Timothy 2:11. As we read concerning Egypt, as there were more
venomous creatures there than in other countries, so there was in no
country more antidotes to cure them than in theirs. So, though religion
may bring sorrow and trouble, yet there is nothing brings more cure
and more help.
(J. Burroughs.)
The folly of men rebuked who are all for mirth
J. Burroughs.
1. If thy mourning be gracious, thy very tears and sorrows is a great
deal better than the wine of the men of the world; thy tears are more
sweet and pleasing to God than the mirth of wicked men can be to them.
2. Consider this for thy comfort, it may be, if thou hadst not been a-
mourning thou wouldst have been a-sinning, thou wouldst have been a-
doing that whereby thou wouldst have darkened the glory of God.
3. Consider that all thy sorrows are measured out by God, who is thy
Father; thou dost not lie at the dispose of wicked men to mourn how
much they will, or when they will, but thou art at the dispose of God,
who is thy Father.
4. Consider for thy comfort that Christ was a man of sorrows, and in
thy sorrowing thou art but conformable unto Him; and why shouldst
thou think that to be a burden wherein thou art made like to Jesus
Christ?
5. Let this be for thy comfort, to consider thou hast an interest in Him
that is the God of all consolation; the darkness of thy condition cannot

hinder thine interest in God. And then consider that God suffers more
by thy sins than thou canst suffer from God's hand in thy afflictions.
The darkening of His glory in the least degree is a greater evil than any
affliction that thou canst endure; and this should support thy spirit, to
consider that God suffers more; and therefore thou shouldst not be
unwilling to suffer something, seeing God suffers more than thou canst.
6. If thou wouldst be comforted, consider this: the way that God takes to
comfort His saints, though thou hast it not in sense, thou mayest have it
in faith; and therefore exercise faith, and fetch it in that way. Set faith
on work in the promise, and let that bring out the comfort of the
promise. Sense is not the way by which God comforts His people, and if
we look for comfort in a sensual way we mistake ourselves; therefore let
us labour to fetch in comfort from the exercise of faith. And indeed we
should more prize those comforts that come from the exercise of our
graces than from any sensible apprehensions.
7. Consider, though it be long before comfort come, yet this is no strange
thing that thou art kept without comfort for a while.
8. Consider, that this is the time of mourning, and we know things are
seasonable and best in their time. This is a Christian's seed-time. In the
world we must have trouble, and through many tribulations we must
enter into heaven. We know the husbandman; he is contented to endure
storms and hardships in seedtime, with this consideration — the harvest
is a-coming. So, though thou now sowest in tears, there is a time of
reaping in joy.How we may so order our mourning that it may comfort
us. Now for this I would entreat you to take notice of these rules.
1. In your mourning be sure that you keep good thoughts of God.
Whatsoever your troubles be, let them not raise tumults and hard
thoughts of God.
2. Be sure to take notice of all the mercy thou hast from God in the
afflictions thou art in. Let not any affliction drown the mercy thou hast.
It is very sad many times to see how one or two afflictions hinders the
sight of many mercies that the saints do enjoy. A little thing will hinder

the sight of the eye; a penny laid upon the eye will keep it from
beholding the sun or the element above; so a little affliction, it darkens
and hinders the soul from seeing a multitude of mercies; every little
trouble darkens God's mercies.
3. Take heed of a sullen, dogged disposition, either towards God or man
in thy sorrows. It is very usual for men in a troubled condition, when
they are in sorrow, to add frowardness to mourning; but we should
labour to take heed of this as a great evil. Labour for a quiet and meek
spirit.
4. Take heed of determining against a comfortable condition in sorrow,
that it will never come. Say not that comfort will never come, because
thou hast it not for the present.
(J. Burroughs.)
How mourners should order their mourning
J. Burroughs.
Now, then, such as mourn thus for sin are blessed; for —
1. By this they do much honour God. The sovereignty of God is
honoured, and the holiness of God is honoured, and the justice of God is
honoured.
2. It is a blessed thing to mourn for sin, because it is an evangelical
grace.
3. Surely they are in a blessed condition, for it appears that they come
now to have a right judgment. Their judgment is enlightened to
understand what is truly good and truly evil, and to have a right temper
of spirit.
4. This mourning for sin, it helps against all other mourning, it helps
against other sorrows.

5. It is a means to prevent eternal sorrows. Certainly God will have
every soul to know what sin means at one time or other.
6. It is that that fits for the grace of God. There is none that taste the
sweetness of the grace of God in Christ more than those that are
mourners for sin. Now one drop of mercy, how sweet is it; now it is
worth more than ten thousand thousand worlds!
7. There is one more, and that is, they are blessed; why? because there
are many promises that are made to those that mourn. That is certain
— either a man's sin will make an end of his mourning, or a man's
mourning will make an end of his sin, one of the two. If so be a man goes
on in sin, he will leave off mourning, but if he doth not leave off
mourning, he will leave off sinning; for certainly mourning for sin hath
a special efficacy in it, it helps against the sin that thou dost mourn for.
This bitter aloes that now thou hast is a special means for the helping
against those crawling worms that are in thy soul. Hence, in the first
place, the use might be very large, what shall become of those that
rejoice in sin? And then surely mourning for sin is not melancholy; for
one to mourn and be troubled for their sin is not to grow heavy and
melancholy. It is the work of the Spirit of God that lays that weight of
sin now upon the soul, because the Lord intends that this soul shall be
blessed to all eternity. And do not think it a foolish thing for people to be
troubled for their sin.
(J. Burroughs.)
END BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
THERE ARE MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT THE
BLESSEDNESS OF SORROW.
i] These words are not some broad general encouragement assuring us
that in time we’ll get over our tears. Jesus is not saying, “Keep going.
Time is a great healer. It will soon pass. You are weeping now but soon

you will be laughing.”
ii] The beatitude does not mean that it is blessed to be perpetually in a
state of melancholy, to be morose, and downhearted, and depressed. It is
not referring to being full of self-pity, sniffling and despondent. That is
not what the Lord Jesus was talking about. It is not cheerlessness.
Blessedness is not being boring, dull, and morbid men and women. I
needn’t linger on this point; every preacher under heaven seems to
think that seriousness is the worst of sins. How worship has been
dumbed down through this scare. Choruses mock Christians who have
faces like coffee pots. Preachers tell the story about a little girl who
pointed at a horse and said to her mother, “He must be a Christian.
Look at his long face.” Ha ha . . . O.K., enough is enough. Point taken.
This beatitude is not comending being permanently miserable. Proverbs
17:22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up
the bones”.
iii] Again, this building block, saying blessedness is weeping now, is not
referring to those who are weeping under the judgment of God. Isaiah
describes the nation of Moab weeping and howling for its condition, but
their tears would do them no good because it is God who has brought
destruction upon the nation for its idolatry and wickedness. We live in a
moral universe, and what men sow that will they also reap, and if
they’ve sown wickedness they are bound to reap grief. Tears because
their sin has found them out are not a mark of blessedness. Judas
despaired because of his sin, but Judas did not repent.
iv] What Jesus is saying does not mean that we are blessed if we respond
to life’s disappointments by grieving. I am thinking of Ahab lying on his
bed with his face to the wall depressed because he couldn’t have his own
way. He wanted the beautiful vineyard of Naboth, but it was a family
farm and Naboth kept it in trust for his sons and their sons after him
and he was not prepared to sell. Ahab responded by weeping in
frustration. Those are not the tears that Jesus is commending. God saw
Cain looking so unhappy when he was condemned to a perpetual
wandering life for murdering his brother. Again you remember Amnon,

David’s son, who lusted after Tamar his half-sister, and when he could
not have her he wept. Such a liason was against the law; it was against
the law of nature; it was against the law of God, but Amnon had the
longest face because he wanted forbidden fruit. That is not the
blessedness Jesus is speaking of here.
v] Jesus is not referring to a time of mourning that follows the death of
one of our family. That is perfectly natural and proper. We weep
because we love. It is certainly wrong for a Christian to sorrow
despairingly as if they weren’t Christians at all. People who lack any
hope when death enters the home display abject uncontrollable grief,
and that is a mark of their unbelief, but the children of God are not
urged to be stoical at bereavement. When Joseph’s cruel brothers told
their father that his son Joseph was dead, then Jacob’s heart was
broken, and he mourned the death of his son. The mothers of Bethlehem
grieved over the murder of their little children, refusing to be
comforted. When the women returned from the empty tomb on
resurrection morning and went to the apostles with the news that the
stone was rolled away they found them weeping because of the death of
Jesus. When Stephen was stoned to death his friends made great
lamentation over him as they buried him. Sometimes Christians need to
be encouraged to cry when a friend dies, but Jesus is not referring to
bereavement when he said, “Blessed are you who weep now.” It is not
the sorrow of loss but the sorrow of repentance that Jesus is speaking
about.
vi] Jesus is not saying here that the school of sorrow is a great place to
learn about life. That is true. Sometimes we can learn more from failing
an exam, or from a broken engagement, or from losing our jobs than
from life being one long success story. As the old proverb says, “All
sunshine makes a desert.” Elgar was listening to a young woman singing
one of his songs. She had a beautiful voice, good breath control, faultless
technique, but something was missing. Elgar said, “She will be great
when something happens that breaks her heart.” The familiar poem
says it like this;

I walked a mile with pleasure
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow
And ne’er a word said she.
But, Oh the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me!
That may well be true, but that is not what Jesus is talking about here.
So I have begun by clearing away six mistaken attitudes to Jesus’ words,
“Blessed are you who weep now.”
WHAT GODLY GRIEF IS.
In Scripture you are presented with inspired examples and definitions of
what a Christian is and how a Christian behaves. You see how sin really
gets through to God’s people; its gets under their skin; they are really
put out by their own sin. In the Old Testament, David is a good
example: “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to
bear” (Psalm 38:4); “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin”
(Psalm 38:18); “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always
before me” (Psalm 51:3). Others were equally distraught as they
realized their spiritual condition. Abraham confessed, “I am nothing but
dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). When Isaiah had a vision of “the Lord
seated on a throne, high and exalted”, with such dazzling glory that
even even the angels covered their faces as they worshipped him, he
cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and
I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Job had a splendid reputation as
someone who was “blameless and upright” and who “feared God and
shunned evil” (Job 1:1), but when driven to his knees he confessed, “I

despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6). The Lord
Jesus is saying that that is blessedness.
We see the same sorrow for sin in the New Testament. Amazed at the
realization who was in the boat with him – it was Jehovah Jesus – Peter
cried out, “Depart from me for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). Later,
under some pressure, he denied at a fireside that he even knew Jesus,
but when he came to his senses “he went outside and wept bitterly”
(Matthew 26:75). Paul gives us a clear testimony as to what it means to
be a spiritual mourner: “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I
hate I do… I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful
nature… For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do … I
know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature … For
what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do
-this I keep on doing … What a wretched man I am!” (Romans
7:15,18,19,24). It is vitally important to notice that Paul was writing
about his ongoing experience as a mature Christian. This is not morbid,
self-pitying introspection. Paul is being ruthlessly honest with himself
and wants us to know this.
You can’t find any comfort by saying, “ . . . everybody sins.” Jesus is
speaking about taking your own life very seriously, and being sorry for
what you’ve thought, and said, and done, considering the people you’ve
hurt and betrayed, the lies you’ve told, the objects you’ve stolen, and so
on. Jesus is saying that it’s a bad idea to hide behind the fact of other
people behaving as badly as you, or making any excuse for your life.
Jesus is speaking about the blessedness that comes to us only through
spiritual sorrow, in other words, when we cease rationalizing our sin,
when we call our behaviour ‘sin’, and we let its horrors, and desolation,
and degradation penetrate into our souls until it makes us grieve.
I’m saying that God is honouring you by taking your behaviour very
seriously and telling you that you must answer to him for your life. It
was that that made Archbishop Cranmer write in the prayer book in
1662 these words. He put them on the lips of people in the Church of
England these words to say at the Lord’s Supper as they broke bread;

“We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness.” That
is the wailing that Jesus is talking about in our text. John Bradford was
burned at the stake by the papists in 1555, and it is said of him that
scarcely a day passed in which he did not shed some tears for his sin.
David Brainerd was the great missionary to the American Indians, and
one evening as he walked in the forest he was convicted of his sins and
depravity before God. He wrote in his diary that he felt that the very
ground of the forest would open up and swallow him into hell. He
walked home feeling shame was written across his face. Spurgeon said:
“The best of men are men at best, and apart from the work of the Holy
Spirit and the power of divine grace, hell itself does not contain greater
monsters than you and I might become.”
What preacher wouldn’t say from the pulpit to his congregation, “As I
stand here today I am capable of committing any sin under the sun”?
McCheyne acknowledged that the seeds of every sin were in his heart.
That awareness is the first step on your journey into reality, by realising
how big a sinner you are. All such convictions are rooted in the Bible, in
the convictions of Psalm 51 and also Psalm 32. The apostle Paul in his
most mature years was thinking aloud about his life and he considered
himself to be the chief of sinners. Do you see that? Have you seen
yourself as you really are? An old puritan called sin “The devil’s
excrement.” Do we see our sins like that? Not beautiful. Not
understandable at all, but dung. That is the way of blessedness. Of
course it’s not wrong to make much of the amazing grace of God, but
not at the price of making light of our own sinfulness before God.
5. GODLY GRIEF IS ESSENTIAL FOR A HEALTHY GROWING
LIFE.
One of the advantages of preaching through the Sermon on the Mount
in Luke is that I have to read Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Studies in the
Sermon on the Mount. What a magnificent book it is. Hear these
beautiful wise words of Dr. Lloyd-Jones about godly grief. “It is quite
inevitable. As I confront God and His holiness, and contemplate the life
that I am meant to live, I see myself, my utter helplessness and

hopelessness. I discover my quality of spirit and immediately that makes
me mourn. I must mourn about the fact that I am like that. But
obviously it does not stop there. A man who truly faces himself, and
examines himself and his life, is a man who must of necessity mourn for
his sins also, for the things he does. Now the great experts in the life of
the spirit have always recommended self-examination. They all
recommend and practise it themselves. They say it is a good thing for
every man to pause at the end of the day and meditate upon himself, to
run quickly over his life, and ask, ‘What have I done, what have I said,
what have I thought, how have I behaved with respect to others?’ Now if
you do that any night of your life, you will find that you have done
things which you should not have done, you will be conscious of having
harboured thoughts and ideas and feelings which are quite unworthy.
And, as he realizes these things, any man who is at all Christian is
smitten with a sense of grief and sorrow that he was ever capable of
such things in action or in thought, and that makes him mourn.
“But he does not stop merely at things he has done, he meditates upon
and contemplates his actions and his state and condition of sinfulness,
and as he thus examines himself he must go through that experience of
Romans chapter seven. He must become aware of these evil principles
that are within him. He must ask himself, ‘What is it in me that makes
me behave like that? Why should I be irritable? Why should I be bad
tempered? Why am I not able to control myself? Why do I harbour that
unkind, jealous and envious thought? What is it in me?’And he
discovers this war in his members, and he hates it and mourns because
of it. It is quite inevitable. Now this is not imagination; it is actual
experience and true to fact. It is a very thorough-going test. If I object to
this kind of teaching, it just means that I do not mourn and therefore I
am not one of the people who, our Lord says, are blessed. If I regard this
as nothing but morbidity, something a man should not do, then I am
simply proclaiming the fact that I am not spiritual, and that I am unlike
the apostle Paul and all the saints, and I am contradicting the teaching
of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But if I bemoan these things in myself,
I am truly mourning.

“Yet the Christian does not stop even at that. The man who is truly
Christian is a man who mourns also because of the sins of others. He
does not stop at himself. He sees the same thing in others. He is
concerned about the state of society, and the state of the world, and as
he reads his newspaper he does not stop at what he sees or simply
express disgust at it. He mourns because of it, because men can so spend
their life in this world. He mourns because of the sins of others. Indeed,
he goes beyond that and mourns over the state of the whole world as he
sees the moral muddle and unhappiness and suffering of mankind, and
reads of wars and rumours of wars. He sees that the whole world is in
an unhealthy and unhappy condition. He knows that it is all due to sin;
and he mourns because of it.
“That is why our Lord Himself mourned, that is why He was ‘a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief’; that is why He wept at the grave of
Lazarus. He saw this horrid, ugly, foul thing called sin which had come
into life and introduced death into life, and had upset life and made life
unhappy. He wept because of that; He groaned in His spirit. And as He
saw the city of Jerusalem rejecting Him and bringing upon itself its own
damnation, He wept because of it. He mourned over it and so does His
true follower, the one who has received His nature. In other words, he
must mourn because of the very nature of sin itself, because it has ever
entered into the world and has led to these terrible results. Indeed he
mourns because he has some understanding of what sin means to God,
of God’s utter abhorrence and hatred of it, this terrible thing that would
stab, as it were, into the heart of God, if it could, this rebelliousness and
arrogance of man, the result of listening to Satan. It grieves him and he
mourns because of it” (D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on
the Mount, IVP, 1959, pp.58&59).
THE DEFINITION OF A CHRISTIAN.
A Christian is poor, a Christian is hungry and a Christian weeps. Dr
Lloyd-Jones concludes thus; “Let us, then, try to define this man who
mourns. What sort of a man is he? He is a sorrowful man, but he is not
morose. He is a sorrowful man, but he is not a miserable man. He is a

serious man, but he is not a solemn man. He is a sober-minded man, but
he is not a sullen man. He is a grave man, but he is never cold or
prohibitive. There is with his gravity a warmth and attraction. This
man, in other words, is always serious; but he does not have to affect the
seriousness. The true Christian is never a man who has to put on an
appearance of either sadness or joviality. No, no; he is a man who looks
at life seriously; he contemplates it spiritually, and he sees in it sin and
its effects. He is a serious, sober-minded man. His outlook is always
serious, but because of these views which he has, and his understanding
of truth, he also has ‘a joy unspeakable and full of glory’. So he is like
the apostle Paul, ‘groaning within himself, and yet happy because of his
experience of Christ and the glory that is to come. The Christian is not
superficial in any sense, but is fundamentally serious and fundamentally
happy. You see, the joy of the Christian is a holy joy, the happiness of
the Christian is a serious happiness. None of that superficial appearance
of happiness and joy! No, no; it is a solemn joy, it is a holy joy, it is a
serious happiness; so that, though he is grave and sober-minded and
serious, he is never cold and prohibitive. Indeed, he is like our Lord
Himself, groaning, weeping, and yet, ‘for the joy that was set before
him’ enduring the cross, despising the shame.
“That is the man who mourns; that is the Christian. That is the type of
Christian seen in the Church in ages past, when the doctrine of sin was
preached and emphasized, and men were not merely urged to take a
sudden decision. A deep doctrine of sin, a high doctrine of joy, and the
two together produce this blessed, happy man who mourns, and who at
the same time is comforted. The way to experience that, obviously, is to
read the Scriptures, to study and meditate upon them, to pray to God
for His Spirit to reveal sin in us to ourselves, and then to reveal to us the
Lord Jesus Christ in all His fullness. ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for
they shall be comforted’” (D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the
Sermon on the Mount, IVP, 1959, p.62).
8th June 2008 GEOFF THOMAS
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The correct translation for Luke 6:21 (γελάσετε)
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What is the correct way to translate Luke 6:21b and 6:25b?
When translating the word (γελάσετε), some translators have used "you
will laugh" or "you shall laugh."

Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you
who weep now, For you shall laugh. (Luke 6:21 NKJV)
However I am getting the feeling that this Greek:
Stephanus Textus Receptus 1550 - Luke 6:21b
μακάριοι ο κλαίοντες ν ν τι γελάσετεἱ ῦ ὅ
Google Translate Gives
Blessed are you crying now that laugh
What is the intended meaning?
The person should instead of laughing be weeping
The person should weep because other people laugh
Laughing = a reward for weeping.
The correct answer will break down the Greek and say this declension
"σετε" (if that's the declension) means (this) and that it's second person
plural, which either means plural laughing or plural people (stuff stuff
stuff). And this word means this, and this word means this, and together
because of (this) we can see that it means (this) and here are some
examples of how these two words go together. And that this is why the
conjunction was used, for it was to mean this they would have wrote it
(this way).
greek luke
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edited Mar 29 '16 at 20:59
asked Apr 20 '15 at 6:45

Decrypted
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I think you are confusing the English conjunction "for" (=because) with
the preposition "for". τι corresponds to the former. – fdb Apr 21 '15 atὅ
11:40
@fdb Thanks for pointing that out. The word has indeed been
translated as "because" many times. I updated the question. I still need
the answer however. Does it really mean, because they laugh we should
weep? – Decrypted Apr 22 '15 at 11:26
1
@Decrypted - Some better resources than Google Translate: A.)
logeion.uchicago.edu B.) http://biblehub.com/greek/1070.htm - C.)
perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/… – elika kohen Mar 29 '16 at 15:28
The source provided: logeion.uchicago.edu/… gives γελάω a possible
meaning of "deride". Interesting – Decrypted Mar 29 '16 at 21:15
@Decrypted - A small clarification: A.) There are a lot of pretty smart

people here, who know classical theology and languages, and may be
able to give you great answers. B.) I am just a programmer that is
almost good at finding references and also computational searches - C.)
BUT: - When I first saw your question - I had only had researched it for
minutes when I was overwhelmed - and gave up trying to find consistent
definitions - in any language; D.) Remember, Google can do "Modern
Greek" - but not ancient Greek dialects, (Scripture is primarily Koine
Greek). – elika kohen Mar 30 '16 at 7:19
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1. Question Restatement :
In Luke 6:21 and 6:25, What is the intended meaning of "to laugh /
γελάσετε"?
Quick Answers:
James 4:5-5:4 - Instead of laughing - [arrogantly], the person should
instead be weeping - [humbly].
Luke 6:23 - The person should [not] weep, [but rather rejoice] because
[justice will come upon] other people [who] laugh [to scorn]*.

Isaiah 61:1-3 - Laughing = a [gift] for [the] weeping [who are oppressed]
2. The Future and Present Tenses of γελάω - Together With ν ν:ῦ
The verbs in this context, are Second Person Plural - because Jesus was
directing his comments to two specific groups of people - that were
there, (Jesus said: "Now / ν ν").ῦ
First: Jesus spoke to those who were Weeping NOW - stating that they
WILL Laugh - and then: Jesus commanded them: to rejoice:
Luke 6:21-23 - Blessed are, (μακάριοι) - the ones weeping, (ο κλαίοντες)ἱ
- NOW, (ν ν) - because you all Will Laugh, ( τι γελάσετε, future tense).ῦ ὅ
6:23 - Rejoice!
Then: Jesus spoke to those Laughing NOW - stating that they Will
Weep - but: Jesus didn't correct them, (though James does later):
Luke 6:25 - Woe to you all who are laughing, (ο αί, ο γελ ντες, presentὐ ἱ ῶ
tense) - NOW, (ν ν) - because you all Will Mourn and Weep, ( τιῦ ὅ
πενθήσετε κα κλαύσετε).ὶ
2.1. Joyful and Derisive Laughter :
This Context includes Two Senses of "Laughter": ε φρα νω /ὐ ί which is
"Laughter in Celebration and Gladness" -
But also, Laughter that is Derisive - which provokes shame and sorrow,
( νειδίζω, Luke 6:22)***.ὀ
In order to convey both senses of the term in Greek - γελάω would have
been a perfect word choice - as it does not necessarily imply a positive,
or negative sense.
Therefore if true, this distinction should be seen throughout Scripture:
A.) "Coming From Gladness / Joy"; B.) Or, "To Insult / Shame".

2.2. Jesus Explicitly Explained Himself - with a Reference About the
Prophets:
Luke 6:23 - Be glad χαίρω - in that day, [their judgment] and leap for
joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven - *because in in the same
way their fathers used to treat the prophets, *[laughing at them],
( μπα ζοντες ν το ς προφ ταις, 2 Chronicles 36:16)***.ἐ ί ἐ ῖ ή
NASB, Prov. 1:22&26 - “How long, O naive ones, will you love being
simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools
hate knowledge? I will also laugh, ( πιγελ σομαι /ἐ ά ), at your calamity; I
will mock when your dread comes.
2.3. James Repeats the Same Commandment, with more Detail:
Jesus, James, and Isaiah - explicitly stated, (repeatedly), that God was
condemning the haughty, the scoffers, and oppressors - those who
unjustly pursued riches in this life - at the expense of others.
It is apparent that James is writing to correct arrogant laughter - and
not prohibiting "laughter and joy", altogether:
James 4:6 - ... “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the
humble.” 4:9. - Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter
(γέλως) be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 4:10. Humble
yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. 5:1 - Come
now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon
you. 5:4 - Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and
which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of
those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth.
2.4. Jesus Referred to Isaiah - Affirming Joy, and Condemning Derision

and Oppression:
NASB, Luke 4:18, Citing Isaiah - “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. ... Is. 61:1-3
-To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of
ashes, The oil of gladness [] instead of mourning, The mantle of praise
instead of a spirit of fainting.
NASB, Luke 6:24-26 & Isaiah 65:13-14 - Therefore, thus says the Lord
God, “Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My
servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will
rejoice [ε φρανθ σονται] but you will be put to shame. 14 “Behold, Myὐ ή
servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out with a
heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit.
Luke 16:19-25 - 19. “Now there was a rich man, joyous living
[ε φραινόμενος] ... 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at hisὐ
gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs ... 25.
But Abraham,(Isaiah 63:16) said [to the rich man], ‘Child, remember
that during your life you received your good things, and likewise
Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in
agony.
NASB, Isaiah 3:14-15 - The Lord enters into judgment with the elders
and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses. Isaiah 3:15 “What do you
mean by crushing My people And grinding the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord God of hosts.
Isaiah 28:12-22 - 12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the
weary,” ... but they would not listen. 14 Therefore, hear the word of the
Lord, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, ... do not
carry on as scoffers (in celebration) [ε φρανθε ητε /ὐ ί ], Or your fetters
will be made stronger;

3. The Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic Words for Laugh / γελάω are
Incredibly Ambiguous:
Some Terms in this Context:
A.) Laugh - ; B.) Laugh - ; C.) Joy - ; D.) Celebrate, Cheer, Laugh -
ε φρα νω and ε φροσ νη ; E.) Laugh - γελάω and Laughter - γ λως,ὐ ί ὐ ύ έ
(Greek Instances in Scripture) ; F.) πα ζω, (Greek Instances inί
Scripture) ; G.) To Shame - νειδίζω; H.) To Rejoice - χαίρω; etc ...ὀ
3.1. There are Many Terms in this Context, used Interchangeably:
The same exact Greek AND Hebrew words, in the same exact forms, can
either mean "Laughter" in the "Joyous" sense, or "Laughter" in the
mocking sense.
"γελάω" is sometimes used synonymously with πα ζω, (to laugh / play:ί
in the playful sense, and even musical sense);
The same Hebrew words "" and "" are translated into Greek as either
"γελάω" or "παίζω";
3.2. The Context, not the Syntax - Clearly Defines the Kind of Laughter:
Genesis 18:12 - Sarah laughed [ γ λασεν,ἐ έ ] within herself, saying,
“After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
Isaac's name is, "" which literally means "To Laugh":
Genesis 21:6 - Sarah said, “God has made me laugh (γ λωτ /έ ά ).
Everyone who hears will laugh with me (συγχαρε τα /ῖ ί ).”
1 Chronicles 13:8 - Israel were celebrating [πα ζοντες,ί ] before
NASB, Job 30:1 - than I mock [, (laugh) κατεγ λασ ν] me, Whoseέ ά

Ecclesiastes 3:4 - a time to weep, and a time to laugh [LXX Greek,
γελ σαι &ά ]; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecclesiastes 7:3 - Better is sorrow than laughter, (γ λωτα /έ ), For when a
face
Ecclesiastes 10:19 - a meal for enjoyment (ε ς γ λωτα /ἰ έ ) and wine
NASB, Jeremiah 15:17 - I didn’t sit in the assembly of those who make
merry [παιζ ντων /ό ], nor rejoiced;
Jeremiah 20:7 - I have become a laughingstock (ε ς γ λωτα /ἰ έ ) all the
day
Jeremiah 31:4 - and shall go forth in the dances of those who make
merry [ παιζ ντων /ό ].
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answered Mar 29 '16 at 19:17
elika kohen
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I do respect the amount of effort that went into this. I personally have
found it completely possible to be full of joy without laughing. While of
course the concept of "joy" comes from the Holy Spirit, and something
to desire. I personally after doing a long long laughing fast learned
about laughing, and can define the triggers of laughing as sin and pride.
Abraham did name his child Isaac which does mean laughing, and it
was his child that was to get sacrificed. Could this be an analogy to the
sacrifice of the actual laughter instead of the actual child? – Decrypted
Mar 29 '16 at 20:48
The correct answer will break down the Greek and say this declension
"σετε" (if that's the declension) means (this) and that it's second person
plural, which either means plural laughing or plural people (stuff stuff
stuff). And this word means this, and this word means this, and together
because of (this) we can see that it means (this) and here are some
examples of how these two words go together. And that this is why the
conjunction was used, for it was to mean this they would have wrote it
(this way). Hope you can understand, thanks again for the effort +1. –
Decrypted Mar 29 '16 at 20:56
@Decrypted - A.) I updated this to differentiate between the "semantic
denotations" and "metaphorical connotations" in these terms; B.) The
argument here is that it is clear the "Plain Meaning" isn't being used -
but that the meaning must be understood "Metaphorically" - which can
only understood from the Context, not Syntax; C.) I also appealed to

Hebrew/Aramaic - and how these terms innately have ambiguity - and
are often used interchangeably. - D.) So, many, many, references have
been provided so people can independently verify the interchangeable
quality of the terms. – elika kohen Mar 29 '16 at 22:51
I will admit that you understand this better then I'm understanding. I
come in weakness and admit that I'm not understanding the great logic
of you. I stand in hope that the understanding will come. At this time I
choose to digest this information and let it grow, and I consider this step
three. And I agree that the complete meaning should be inferred from
the context, not its syntax. However its the details of the syntax that I so
need to digest, then with that foundation I should be able to see. I'm the
blind man, and I admit that I do not see. Sorry and thank you. Reading
answer again later – Decrypted Mar 30 '16 at 2:21
@Decrypted - A.) It is certainly not you. You aren't the only person to
say I am confusing - I have no skill at this - yet! B.) I think I understand
what you want to achieve with the "Syntax" portion - so: C.) In Section
2, I addressed each numbered question; D.) In section #3 - "Terms" - I
added "Instances in Greek Scripture - which will show you the how
each syntax form was was used - including Isaiah and the New
Testament; E.) I added more examples how the meanings would be
ambiguous - if not for their context. Thank you for your patience! –
elika kohen Mar 30 '16 at 6:07
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1
A full well thought out translation of Luke 6:21, one that seems as
accurate as possible, is here, showing the same translation as in most, if

not all Bibles ('you will laugh'). Note that 'laughter' should be γέλως,
which is noticeably different to γελάσετε and so does not fit into this
verse.
We can go further, to look at what the original author expected the
passage to mean. Scholars say the authors of Matthew and Luke both
copied this 'beatitude' from the hypothetical 'Q' document. Although
each evangelist amended the original text, we can look at both Matthew
and Luke to identify a common meaning:
Matthew 5:4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Luke 6:21: . . . Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
We can see how the beatitude has a common origin that both evangelists
understood and would have agreed with: Blessed ... mourn/weep now:
shall be comforted/ shall laugh. Matthew chose rather more moderate
language (mourn ... comforted) than Luke, who probably followed the
original more closely. Looked at in this way, it is not that Luke (or Q)
thought of laughing as a reward for weeping, but that those who mourn
or weep will be comforted: in fact they will laugh.
In this example, the Greek root 'I laugh' is γελάω, with a stem γελά
The tense suffix σ is affixed to the stem before adding the primary
endings, distinguishing the future from the present active indicative
tenses
The primary ending ετε indicates second person plural
Thus γελάσετε is correctly translated as 'you (plural) will laugh'.
Craig A. Evans (The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary:
Matthew-Luke, Volume 1, page 152) describes Luke 6:24-26 as a
typically Lukan theme of reversal. Those who have, will lose all: those
who are laughing now will weep.
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answered Apr 20 '15 at 8:08
Dick Harfield
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γέλιo is modern (Demotic) Greek. The word for ‘laughter’ in Classical
and NT Greek is γέλως (James 4:9). – fdb Apr 20 '15 at 9:48
1
shouldn't that be 'some scholars say'? – Jonathan Chell Apr 20 '15 at
18:57
1
@fdb Thank you for your assistance on this. I know modern/attic/koine
Greek is a minefield and I appreciate a review by someone who can help

avoid the pitfalls. Based on your advice, I have corrected my wording
and hope this is now a more informative answer. – Dick Harfield Apr 20
'15 at 21:33
3
@JonathanChell. I think this site is supposed to be about Biblical
hermeneutics, not "Christian scholarship" "across the whole church". –
fdb Apr 21 '15 at 11:36
1
@Onlyheisgood. I'm not sure if I understand your question. Luke 6:21
refers to the many (abstract) persons implied by Ye (archaic English) or
γελάσετε. Jesus is simply addressing his followers in the second person.
Have I missed something? – Dick Harfield Apr 23 '15 at 20:26
Heaven: Home of Laughter
By Randy Alcorn March 17, 2006
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. — Luke 6:21
And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream—
Almost—and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye. I knelt to drink,

And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.1 — John Piper
Who said, “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go
there”? (Hint: It wasn’t Mark Twain.) It was Martin Luther.
In Heaven, I believe our joy will often erupt in laughter. When laughter
is prompted by what’s appropriate, God always takes pleasure in it. I
think Christ will laugh with us, and his wit and fun-loving nature will be
our greatest sources of endless laughter.
Where did humor originate? Not with people, angels, or Satan. God
created all good things, including good humor. If God didn’t have a
sense of humor, human beings, as his image-bearers wouldn’t either. Of
course, if God didn’t have a sense of humor, we probably also wouldn’t
have aardvarks, baboons, platypuses, and giraffes, just to name a few.
You have to smile when you picture one of these, don’t you?
There’s nothing like the laughter of dear friends. The Bible often
portrays us around the dinner table in God’s coming kingdom. What
sound do you hear when friends gather to eat and talk? The sound of
laughter.
My wife, Nanci, loves football. She opens our home to family and friends
for Monday night football. Right now there are five toddlers in the
group, and they keep us laughing. If you came to our house on Monday
nights, you’d hear cheers and groans for the football teams, but the
dominant sound in the room, week after week, is laughter. There are
stories from family and work, and heart-to-heart talks, and pausing to
pray—all surrounded by laughter. God made us to laugh and to love to
laugh.
The new universe will ring with laughter. Am I just speculating about
this? No. I can point to Scripture worth memorizing. Jesus says,
“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are

you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21). You will laugh.
Where will we be satisfied? In Heaven. Where will we laugh? In
Heaven. Can we be certain of that? Yes, because Jesus, just two verses
later, tells us precisely where this promise will be fulfilled: “Rejoice in
that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven”
(Luke 6:23).
Just as Jesus promises satisfaction as a reward in Heaven, he also
promises laughter as a reward. Anticipating the laughter to come, Jesus
says we should “leap for joy” now. Can you imagine someone leaping
with joy in utter silence, without laughter? Take any group of rejoicing
people, and what do you hear? Laughter. There may be hugging,
backslapping, playful wrestling, singing, storytelling. But always there is
laughter. It is God’s gift to humanity, which will only be raised to new
levels at the resurrection.
The reward of those who mourn now will be laughter later. Passages
such as Luke 6 gave the early Christians strength to endure persecution
in “an understanding of heaven as the compensation for lost earthly
privileges.”2 In early Christian Greek tradition, Easter Monday was a
“day of joy and laughter,” called Bright Monday. Only the followers of
Christ can laugh in the face of persecution and death because they know
that their present trouble isn’t all there is. They know that someday they
will laugh.
By God’s grace, we can laugh right now, even under death’s shadow.
Jesus doesn’t say, “If you weep, soon things on Earth will take a better
turn, and then you’ll laugh.” Things won’t always take a better turn on
an Earth under the curse. Sickness, loss, grief, and death will find us.
Just as our reward will come in Heaven, laughter (itself one of our
rewards) will come in Heaven, compensating for our present sorrow.
God won’t only wipe away all our tears, he’ll fill our hearts with joy and
our mouths with laughter.
Those who are poor, diseased, and grieving experience therapeutic
laughter. At memorial services, people laugh quickly. The best carefree

moments on Earth bring laughter. And if we can laugh hard now—in a
world full of poverty, disease, and disasters—then surely what awaits us
in Heaven is far greater laughter.
One of Satan’s great lies is that God—and goodness—is joyless and
humorless, whereas Satan—and evil—bring pleasure and satisfaction.
In fact, it’s Satan who’s humorless. Sin didn’t bring him joy; it forever
stripped him of joy. In contrast, envision Jesus with his disciples. If you
cannot picture Jesus teasing them and laughing with them, you need to
reevaluate your theology of Creation and Incarnation. We need a
biblical theology of humor that prepares us for an eternity of
celebration, spontaneous laughter, and overflowing joy.
C. S. Lewis depicts laughter in Heaven when his characters attend the
Great Reunion on the New Narnia: “And there was greeting and kissing
and handshaking and old jokes revived (you’ve no idea how good an old
joke sounds after you take it out again after a rest of five or six hundred
years).”3
Who’s the most intelligent, creative, witty, and joyful human being in
the universe? Jesus Christ. Whose laughter will be loudest and most
contagious on the New Earth? Jesus Christ’s.
When you face difficulty and discouragement, keep your eyes on joy’s
source. Recite Christ’s promise for the new world, a promise that echoes
off the far reaches of the universe: “You will laugh.”
Do you look forward to laughter in Heaven? Are you experiencing the
joy of Christ so that there is plenty of laughter in your life now?
Father, today, right now, feeling as I do, with deadlines and health issues
and friends who are hurting and world events in flux, I need to hear
your promise that in Heaven we will laugh. I picture Jesus, laughing
with his disciples, and I can’t wait to hear his laugh in person. I look
forward to laughing with him at banquets and on walks and in
conversations. Thank you for the gift of laughter. Thank you that you
invented it. Thank you that we do not have to wait until Heaven to

laugh, but that laughter can carry us on its back through difficult times.
I think of the release that laughter brings at memorial services for
people who have followed you faithfully, people who are already
laughing on death’s other side. I have enjoyed rich laughter, mingled
with tears, with friends and family in difficult days. When we weep now,
Father, remind us that in Heaven, partaking of your joy, we will laugh.
Excerpted from Randy Alcorn’s book, 50 Days of Heaven (Carol
Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers), 2006, Day 43.
1 John Piper, Future Grace, 381.
2 McDannell and Lang, Heaven: A History, 47.
3 C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (New York: Collier, 1956), 179.
"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied...." (Luke
6:21)
"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are
you who weep now, for you will laugh." (Luke 6:21)
Jesus continues his lecture, directed at his disciples (Looking at his
disciples...)
Is Jesus speaking literally of hunger and weeping?
How will someone who is hungry become satisfied? Is Jesus going to
give them food? How will someone who is weeping turn to laughing?
Will Jesus be telling them jokes?
It is nonsensical to think that Jesus is speaking literally here.

This type of speech is called figurative. When someone is speaking
figuratively, they begin to speak of something that is analogous in
principle or symbolic in imagery.
Let's use an example. Let's say that a school teacher is speaking to her
class about her students achieving great learning and advancing in their
academics. The teacher might say something like, "I want you to soar
above the clouds as you gather knowledge."
Is the teacher literally saying the children will begin to fly? Certainly
not. She is using "soaring" figuratively to indicate raising the mind to
new levels of learning. The teacher is hoping the children will eventually
go to college and continue their education.
In the same way, Jesus is speaking figuratively as he uses concepts of
hunger and weeping. The meaning of these is understood when seen
from the spiritual perspective:
A person who has forgotten their identity as spiritual, who has forgotten
that the Supreme Being is their Best Friend and Soul Mate can be
compared to someone who is hungry because we are empty without our
relationship with the Supreme Being. We have nothing but emptiness
without God.
And as we identify ourselves with the physical body, we are faced with
continuous misfortune and letdowns. When we identify ourselves as
something we are not (false identification), we cannot be fulfilled with
the things that this identity consumes: the things of this physical world.

This is why even the most wealthy individuals - those with more riches
than they could ever use in a lifetime, and the power to do most
anything in the physical world - are still unhappy. Despite all of this
wealth and power, they are still anxious.
Why are they anxious?
The three anxieties of materialism
They are anxious because they don't want to lose their wealth. Or they
are anxious about getting something they don't yet have.
There are three central anxieties of the physical world:
1) We are anxious about obtaining something we don't yet have.
2) We are anxious about the possibility of losing what we already have.
3) We are anxious about having lost something we previously had.
Every physical thing has the potential of causing all three of these
anxieties. And most of the residents of the physical world are constantly
in all three anxieties about different things.
For example, we might be in anxiety about finding and affording a new
car, at the same time we might be fearing that someone will steal our

wallet as we ride the subway home, at the same time we might be
regretting having lost money in the stock market. At different times or
concurrently, all three anxieties plague those who seek happiness within
the physical world.
And each thing can rotate us from one type of anxiety to another. Round
and round we go on this cycle of anxiety, as we look for things of the
physical world to satisfy us, fear we might lose those things, and regret
having lost them. This can occur in relationships with other people,
material things, money, or name and fame.
And because we are spiritual in essence, none of these physical things
can satisfy us.
Jesus' teachings are fulfilling
Yet Jesus is stating that his spiritual teachings will satisfy us. He is
stating that his teachings will give a person who has the sorrow and
emptiness of this world a renewed life of fulfillment and happiness.
And what, specifically, did Jesus teach that will bring fulfillment and
happiness? A loving relationship with the Supreme Being:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."
(Matthew 22:37-38) http://www.whatjesustaught.net/2012/11/blessed-
are-you-who-hunger-now-for-you.html
“For You Will Laugh”

Luke 6: 17-26
ren’t we glad that we serve a God who laughs! "He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh..." (Psalm 2:4 KJV). Our laughing God wants us to
have times of laughter. The wisdom of Ecclesiastes observes that there
is, "A time to weep and a time to laugh." (3:4).
We hear Jesus saying that one of the great purposes of his words is to
bring joy into the hearts of believers: "These things have I spoken unto
you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
(Jn. 15:11). Paul expresses it to the Romans in this manner:"...for the
Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit." (14:17).
I grew up hearing church folks express the old adage: "No joy, no
Jesus." What they obviously were affirming was that when Jesus comes
into one’s heart to abide, there is a natural joy, gladness, and holy
laughter that results.
In Dr. Luke’s rendition of "The Sermon on the Mount" we hear Jesus
talking about our laughter. He is actually rebuking those who are
laughing for all the wrong reasons: "Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep." (Lk. 6:25). But, we hear his promise that
for those of us whoknow his grace there is an inner experience of true
joy beyond temporal things: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you
will laugh." (6:21).
Do you have an unspeakable, inexpressible happiness that at times fills
your heart with gladness, even amid great sadness? One by one my
father’s eleven brothers and sisters have died and each funeral has
brought a surprise guest called happiness. Sure, there is always sorrow
and tears, but we Christians do not grieve like those who have no hope,
for we know that even though this body of flesh will be destroyed, yet we
will see God in resurrection. It’s designed into us the desire to live as
long as is possible, but we are also aware of our mortality; thus, the
promise of our Lord gives great joy in the face of death.

What a happy band we are! As I go out and do after dinner talks at civic
clubs and all sorts of groups, my funniest material is church humor---
sometimes true stories that have been passed down by oral tradition and
retold from thousands of pulpits. Great truths are often experience amid
joke telling times. Our ears are opened in an uncanny way by humor.
It’s hard to not listen to a joke, or humorous story-- the sleeper waketh
for the pun.
For example. Back in Mayberry there was a sawmiller in my Daddy’s
church who was bad to drink. One Saturday afternoon he drunkenly
went alone out to the mill and turned on the motor that turned that
eight foot across circular buzz saw. He started feeding in pine trees and
slicing them into two inch thick planks--- this is supposed to be a three
man job. Things went along for a while, but then he got a little too close
and cut his nose off. He ‘thunk real quick like and stuck it back on and
tied it in place with his ‘bandanner handkerchief. About six week went
by and he got in front of the mirror and took the handkerchief off--- he
had put his nose on upside down--- every time it would rain he’d nearly
drown, and when he ‘blowed his nose his hat would fly off.'
That’s one of my Daddy’s stories and every place that I tell it there is
laughter. However, it communicates the point that any drunk person is
likely to do something about that stupid. Social drinkers, who often
drive home legally drunk from parties can hear that joke when most
preaching about the subject falls on deaf ears.
Humor also helps us see ourselves as we really are--- the joke gives
objectivity. One of the hardest things we do is allow God to heal our
broken heart and especially widows don’t know that God wants them to
be able to laugh again, after a time of grief. It’s not his will that we live
doomed to pain forever.
We had a rich man in our town who knew that he was terminally ill. He
called his wife in and said, "Darling you are a beautiful woman and I
know you’ll want to get married again after a while, and I know that
whoever you marry will want to drive my Lincoln and live in my

mansion and maybe even wear my fine clothes. But just one thing, if you
ever marry again, please don’t let him play with my new golf clubs!"
The young wife responded, "Oh, don’t worry, he’s left handed."
If a grieving person can laugh at that joke, I think it would do them
more good than many hours of counseling. In fact, many counselors
attempt to use humor in their process. If a person can laugh at
themselves, they are able to begin to heal.
However, Christian joy is much more than laughing at a joke, It’s
laughing at a joke with understanding. It’s knowing that behind
everything that happens to us in life, there is good that will come out of
it according to God’s promise. Sure, when you are in an accident, or get
sick, of experience a disappointment, there is temporary shock, but
doesn’t the assurance that all is well soon follow?
Sometimes we temporarily forget who we are--- as children of God, the
King’s Kids. We often forget to pray in emergency situations. A Pastor
tells of having a heart attack and being rushed to the hospital and
having all kinds of treatments, and three days later he remembered that
he had not breathed a prayer. Two of my favorite British authors wrote
books by the same name. Surprised By Joy. C.S. Lewis wrote his after
the death of a relative and shared how moment by moment joy had been
an experience of his relationship with Christ. J.B. Phillips wrote his
book by the very same title out of a lifelong clinical depression caused
by a neurological disorder. The gift of joy unspeakable was always there
even in the darkest times.
Christian Joy is not dependent upon our emotions but is a gift of the
Spirit. That gift is available to you this day as you open your heart to it.
a sermon synopsis by C. Robert Allred, Th.D., Pastor
Just a Plain Sermon

By Pastor Steven Molin
Dear friends in Christ, grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father,
and His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Several years ago, my brother-in-law and I were reminiscing about
some of the professors we had in seminary. Mike came through Luther
Seminary about eight or ten years after me, and although some of the
faculty had turned over in that period of time, we shared some favorites
in common. Berge. Harrisville. Simundson. Snook. Martinson. But the
name that kept coming up in our conversation was Tostengaard –
Sheldon Tostengaard.
Dr. Tostengaard was professor of homiletics; he taught preaching. He
would say that “preaching is not taught, it is caught” but that didn’t
stop him from trying to teach a whole generation of Lutheran pastors to
become preachers. He could be kind when he evaluated his students, but
he could also be blunt and sarcastic and rude. He made Simon on
American Idol seem friendly. Once, after a student preacher struggled
through a sermon, Tostengaard walked over to a window that faced
downtown Minneapolis, and he said “Dunwoody…Dunwoody. Maybe
you’d be more successful at Dunwoody.”
My first practice sermon was sort of a disaster, too. I was so nervous, I
preached a ten minute in about 3-1/2 minutes. When I was finished, Dr.
Tostengaard said “Molin, there are two kinds of fast. There’s a goose
through flax, and Sherman through Georgia. You were Sherman
through Georgia. Slow down young man!”
But in a rare moment, Dr. Tostengaard could offer some incredible
advice. One day, he told us, “Don’t get in the way of the gospel. Don’t
try to get cute. Just tell the story and let the gospel speak for itself.” It is
tempting, sometimes, when Sunday’s scripture texts seem dry and the
words won’t come, it is tempting to make the gospel say something that
isn’t there. That’s when I remember Tostengaard’s words. And I
remembered his words this week as I considered the day Jesus came
down from the mountain and addressed those who were gathered.

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are
you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate
you, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
In the Gospel of Matthew, these words are part of “The Sermon on the
Mount.” But in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus doesn’t deliver this sermon up on
the mountain top. He comes down among the people; the hurting,
broken, and rejected people of the day, and tells them that there is hope
for them. It’s called “The Sermon on the Plain” and it turns all the
injustices of this world upside down. The poor will be rich, the hungry
will be fed, the grieving will one day laugh again.
But then Jesus turns his attention to the powerful, the popular, the
beautiful people of that day. Just beyond the crowd of hurting people
who had come to be healed by Jesus, there were the social and religious
powerbrokers who had come to examine Jesus — and Jesus has a
message for them, too.
“Woe to you who are rich now,
because that’s as good as it’s going to get for you.
Woe to you who are full now,
because you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you are about to experience pain.
Woe to you who are popular,
because you are just like the false prophets.”
There was only one sermon that day. There was only one crowd. But
there were a myriad of responses, because the poor felt encouraged, but
the wealthy felt judged. The hungry went away hopeful, but the well-fed
went away worried about the future. And it occurs to me that, every
time a preacher steps into a pulpit, there is never just one audience

present, or just one sermon preached. You will leave this place today
and every one of you will have heard a different sermon. That’s
something else that Tostengaard told us; that we are responsible for
what we say, but we are not responsible for what people hear. Something
will prick your interest today, or something will offend you, or
something will make you wonder. I think Jesus knew that, and that is
why his teaching was always so provocative.
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But I’m wondering what kind of a sermon you need today. Do you need
a blessing, or do you need a woe? Do I need a pat on the back, or do I
need a kick in the butt? What would Jesus have us take with us from
this Plain Sermon of so long ago? I think he would want us to consider
four issues. Whether our lives are fractured or whole; whether we are
filled with delight or filled with despair, I believe that Jesus would have
us one message with four parts…for all of us.
The first message has to do with wealth. We live in one of the wealthiest
counties in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. By the world’s
standards, we are rich, yet many of us struggle to pay for our living.
There is often a wide gap between our needs and our wants, and it fills
us with all sorts of frustration, confuion and anxiety.
Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once wrote:
I walked into a spectacular cathedral surrounded by stained glass

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