PEACEMAKER OR SOMETHING ELSE

SCRIPTURE READING

See Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9 NASB95

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

STOP THE VIOLENCE

Telemachus was a monk who lived in a cloistered monastery during the 4th century AD. He felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome." He put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus.  He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Caesar, we die for Caesar" and he thought, "this isn't right." He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd protested and began to shout, "Run him through, Run him through." A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd continued to chant, "Run him through." One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and he fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, "In the name of Christ forbear." A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.

CONTEXT OF THE TEXT

We live in a very different time than that of Telemachus, and yet not much has changed as it relates to man’s blatant disregard for their fellowman. Everywhere we look, we can see the ravages of an angry, bitter, cold, calloused, and cruel world.  In the midst of such chaos the Lord Jesus charges His followers to be different from the world.  The text before us today finds the Lord being followed by large crowds from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem, and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.  They had already seen what He had done, now they were about to hear what He would say.  The text says “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying:”

(A couple of questions arise right away as we read these words. First, did the crowd follow him up the mountain, and second “when Jesus began to teach them”, who is ‘them’ referring to.  First, did the crowd follow Him up the mountain? It would appear that Jesus went up the mountain to escape the crowd [see Mark 3:13; Luke 6:17, 9:28; John 6:3, 15]. 

Mark 3:13 NASB95

And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.

Luke 6:17 NASB95

Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

Luke 9:28 NASB95

Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

John 6:3 NASB95

Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.

John 6:15 NASB95

So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

Second, since we know that the crowd did not follow Him up the mountain, we can deduce that His teaching was not intended for everyone; He opened his mouth and taught his disciples!  Let’s give this truth an application today:  Not everybody who follows Jesus will get close enough to Him to hear what He says.  Some people are never going to be anywhere else but in the Crowd!  It is not enough to simply be in the crowd.  In his first book “The Purpose Driven Church”, Pastor Rick Warren talked about three groups of people in the church, they are: the crowd, the congregation, and the committed.  When Jesus opened his mouth and began to teach, He was speaking to the committed.  What we need to understand right from the start is that Jesus makes a difference and separates the committed from the congregation and crowd.

MAIN IDEA

What is it that He said to His disciples?  He said that there were certain characteristics that marked citizens of the Kingdom of God, and if these were present, the individual would be truly blessed, happy, fortunate (makarios).  Among these characteristics is the ability to be a peacemaker.  The word in the Greek is “eirenopoios ,” and it means “a mediator who tries to bring about harmonious relations between opposing parties”.  The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament defines “Peacemaker” this way: to make peace. Peacemaker, is the one who, having received the peace of God in his own heart brings peace to others (only in Matt. 5:9). He is not simply one who makes peace between two parties, but one who spreads the good news of the peace of God which he has experienced. Jesus says to his disciples then and now, “if you are to be called the sons and daughters of God, You must be Peacemakers.”

HE SAID, SHE SAID

I want to suggest today, as it relates to our desire to please God in this area, that in order to accomplish this task, we must do away with the “He said, she said” tendency.  This little circle of communication has done more to damage peaceful relationships than any other words I know.  He said, she said you think you cute; He said, she said your ears are big; He said, she said something about your mama…and the next thing you know, all war has broken out.  Christians, we have got to do better.  The reason that our children are caught up in this foolishness is because they have seen and heard grown-ups participating in this kind of non-sense. And then, I need to say this while I’m camp out right here: Every dog that will bring a bone, will carry one!  What did I say: The same people that are talking to you about somebody else could be the very same ones that are talking to somebody else about you.  In other words, don’t let anybody come to you with that “He said, she said mess.”

GOD HATES PEACE-BREAKERS

Secondly, I believe that The Lord would have us to realize that if we are not Peacemakers than we are peace-breakers. In the book of Proverbs, the writer lets us in on some of the things that God hates.  See Proverbs 6:16-19

Proverbs 6:16–19 NASB95

There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

God hates peace-breakers because their objective comes from the devil.  He is the ultimate peace-breaker.  He tried to break the peace in heaven and was cast out; he disrupted the peace that Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden, he created a great divide between humanity and God causing them to leave Eden without peace, and he continues to keep men and women fighting over anything and everything, so that, they cannot experience peace.  He pits us against one another to keep us from peace.  He is the ultimate peace-breaker: he sows strife between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, close friends, and between church members.  Revelation 12:10 calls him, “the accuser of the brethren” – he is still trying to break the peace! 

Revelation 12:10 NASB95

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

THE CHILDREN OF GOD

Has anyone ever told you that you look like your Mom or your Dad? Maybe they said you looked like your grand-mother or grand-father or an uncle or aunt. It is a wonderful thing that God has made us in such a way that we bare resemblance to our family members. This also bares true about our spiritual parentage as well.  The text says, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.  In John 8:44, Jesus tells the religious leaders and rulers of the people that they are exemplifying the character traits of their Daddy:

John 8:44 NASB95

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

  When you get right down to it, there are really only two kinds of people in the world; Peacemakers and Peace-breakers, the real questions is “which one are you?”

CONCLUSION

The old hymn said “Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart”.  And is there anybody in this house today that really wants to be like Jesus in your heart?   Well, if you do, you must become a peacemaker.  Just as the devil is the ultimate peace-breaker, Jesus is the Supreme Peacemaker.  There was a great gap that existed between God and man, and no matter how much man tried to bridge that gap, peace with God was unobtainable.  He tried to bridge it through good works, he tried to bridge it through the law, he tried to bridge it by being religious…but nothing could help, peace with God could not be found.  But Jesus, the Supreme Peacemaker, became the mediator between God and man…But He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  

I can hear the songwriter Charles Price Jones saying: “When nothing but death for my ransom could pay, and make me accepted with God, T’was Jesus who freely Himself made a prey, and ransomed my soul with His blood.” And he says to you and to me today, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.  The apostle Paul said it like this: But God commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And how many of you know that all we have to do is have faith in Him and He justifies us and gives us peace with God.  Is there anybody here today that can shout, sing, and celebrate that you have peace with God?

Peace with God grants us the peace of God and makes us the children of God.  Lord help us as your children to be peacemakers in the midst of a turbulent world, so that people can see and testify to the reality of the True and Living God!