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Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 41

The Things That Jesus Bore in Mind

Text: Matthew 5 : 1 - 12

Let us always remember that as Jesus ministered, He bore in mind what the Scriptures prophesied concerning His ministry. He had been sent to minister to the poor. He had also been sent to comfort those who mourn. The full text of which Luke quoted in part is found in the Book of Isaiah.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord…

To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3

There was definite reason why Jesus spoke about the poor. There was good reason why the second Beatitude was pronounced thus.

“Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4

THOSE WHO MOURN

Jesus ministered to the hearts of His Disciples even as He trained them. They would one day preach powerful messages of hope and comfort. However, they must first understand and experience what it means to mourn.

1. The brokenhearted mourn

God knew the hearts of mankind. He knew that there were times when they would experience sorrow. Some thirty years ago, wicked king Herod the Great ordered the massacre of infants under the age of two.

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:18

It is hard to heal a broken heart! It would take no one less than the Messiah with the healing words of God to comfort the broken hearted. Jesus came to do just that!

Thousands must have flocked to Jesus! Some must have carried their children in their arms to see Jesus. Others worked just as hard to bring their sick in the hope of being healed. No one knows what it means to have a heavy heart of mourning, except those who realize that there is no other hope outside grace and mercy from the Lord.

To all who came to Him with heavily burdened hearts, Jesus brought a word of comfort! Much more than that, He wanted to replace the spirit of mourning with the spirit of joy and gladness!

“THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED”

The Disciples must learn that they would be sent one day to minister a word of comfort to multitudes! There will be happy moments. But there would also be many sad ones where people would need to be comforted. And what was the comfort promised?

1. “Beauty for ashes”

In ancient Israel, when a person is in deep mourning, he puts on sackcloth and ashes. “Ashes” represented deep sorrow of the heart! “Beauty” on the other hand is a reference to wearing festive garments! The comfort that Jesus spoke about was more than just a word that brought relief. The comfort that He gives would be one that would bring “beauty”. The comforted would put aside his sackcloth and ashes and don beautiful festive garments instead.

2. “The oil of joy”

Part of getting dressed up to celebrate a festive event, oil (read “perfume”) would be used. It was rightly called “the oil of joy”. It was refreshing to put on the oil of joy. The comfort that Jesus promised would cause the believer to find joy!

3. “The garment of praise”

There is no mistaking the spirit of joy here. The mourner casts off his clothes of mourning. The period of mourning is over! He puts on “the garment of praise” given by the Lord.

4. “Trees of righteousness”

They would be as it were “trees of righteousness”. The Lord Himself would plant these trees. They would reflect the goodness of the Lord. They would glorify Him because of the wondrous work of transforming comfort that He would do in their lives!

“Blessed (indeed) are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4