Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Introduction

This Beatitude in the Context of the 1st Century

The key to understanding this beatitude is found in the promised blessing: “For they shall be called the children of God.” This blessing is totally unique from the others. Unlike the other blessings which involve possessions or experiences, this one concerns identity. You see, peacemakers are blessed because they are “called the children of God.” Now, to understand the significance of this, we must consider Jesus’ original audience.

To the Jew, names are very important. In fact, to be called something is equal to being it (cf. the parallelism in Lk. 1:32).” - TDNTA

For a Jew, being a child of God was seen as a right of birth (John 8:41).

It was something they were very proud of. They scorned Gentiles and Samaritans who were outside God’s family.

They expected their Messiah to destroy their enemies and automatically grant them entrance into His kingdom. They were expecting their Messiah to come as a warring General.

But then Jesus dropped a different kind of bomb here.

Notice, He doesn’t say, “Blessed are the Jews: for they are called the children of God.”

He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Instead of identifying the children of God by nationality, Jesus identifies them by this descriptive title—peacemakers. And of all the different names He could have chosen, this one must have been especially strange to the Jews.

They were expecting their Messiah to come and conquer their enemies, but here is the Messiah pronouncing blessing on those who make peace!

And then He goes even further and promises blessing on those who are persecuted for His sake.

We can’t fathom how strange Christ’s words would have sounded to the audience that day. They viewed themselves as the oppressed children of God, and they expected their Messiah to avenge their enemies.

But Jesus turned their expectations upside down. He “came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).

Also, Jesus turned their priorities upside down. Most of the Jews were more concerned with their physical status than their spiritual state. Their concerns regarding the kingdom were very earthly. That’s why, in John chapter 6, Jesus refused to let the Jews make Him their King. He knew that they just wanted Him to provide for their physical needs and that they didn’t care about Him transforming their hearts.

So here in Matthew 5:9, with the second last beatitude, the Lord Jesus is placing the emphasis once again on the spiritual side of things. He’s reminding them that their greatest blessings are bound up in their relationship with their Heavenly Father, in being His children.

But why is it a “blessed” [happy] thing to be “called the children of God”?

Well, for God to call “peacemakers” His children means that He personally identifies with them and gives them certain rights and privileges. One of these privileges is being able to reflect God’s image, which is what we were created to do.

Remember, several weeks ago, when we looked at the beatitude “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”? We learned that, the more we look at God through His Word and through the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we become like Him. We are “changed into the same image from glory to glory.”

So this week, we are going to embark further on that process--we are going to look in the pages of this book and see one of God’s most striking character traits. And my prayer is that we will become more like Him in the process.

The first heading for your notes is this:

GOD THE FATHER IS A PEACEMAKER

Now, what do we mean by that? Well...

God takes the initiative in making peace with us.

As you read through the Bible, you notice this pattern.

God always takes the first step in establishing relationships with people.

And ever since Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, God has always been the One to initiate reconciliation—He always takes the first step in making peace with people who have sinned against Him.

In other words, He doesn’t just “wait for us to come around.”

In the Garden of Eden, Who took the initiative in restoring the relationship after Adam and Eve sinned? Was it Adam or God? God of course!

Adam and Eve hid from God—they did nothing to fix the relationship.

God went looking for them. Remember how He said, “Where art thou?”

What about Israel? When they sinned repeatedly against Him, what did God do?

Jeremiah 7:23-26 “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.”

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

In each of our lives, God took the initiative to make peace with us. Isn’t that amazing—that God personally went after you?

He makes the sacrifice required for peace.

Here’s the thing—because God is holy and we are sinful...

Peace comes at a cost.

But aren’t you glad that God is always willing to pay?

As far back as the Garden of Eden, God has been providing sacrifices to reconcile sinners to Himself. He killed an animal and used its skins to clothe Adam and Eve and cover their nakedness.

And all throughout the Old Testament, from that point on, animal acrifices were required for people to make peace with God.

But those sacrifices were only temporary—they were foreshadowing the ultimate Sacrifice that God would make.

We turn to the New Testament and in John 1:29, John the Baptist “seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

God sent His Son—the Lamb of God—as a sacrifice for our sins. Why would He do that? We deserve judgment/condemnation. Why would God sacrifice His own Son?

Because of His great love for us—He wants us to enjoy everlasting life with Him.

So He sent His Son to die for our sins and “reconciled us to Himself” (II Cor 5:18), adopted us into His family!

He forgives those who don’t deserve it.

You know, before you were born again, you were God’s enemy—you were a child of the devil! And yet, while you and I were in that state, God sent His Son to die for us.

Romans 5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

He is always and forever a Peacemaker.

It’s not a “one-time deal.” God is always making peace with us, lovingly chastening us if necessary, to bring us back into a peaceful relationship with Himself.

Even after the Jews had been exiled to Babylon for their rebellion against God, He says to them in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Even the church in Laodicea, which was in such a despicable state that God was threatening to “spue [them] out of [His] mouth”—even this church was offered the opportunity to make peace with God! He says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:19-20).

God is a Peacemaker. He has done everything in His power to make peace with you and me. Are you at peace with Him tonight? Are you saved? Are you His child or His enemy? If you’re His child, are you enjoying close fellowship with Him, or can you sense that He is chastening you?

So that’s our first heading. Remember, we are trying to see God tonight in His Word, so that we can become like Him. And remember? The Lord Jesus is the living Word—the “express image” of the Father sent to earth to reveal God to us…and so our next heading is:

THE LORD JESUS IS A PEACEMAKER

With all of these Beatitudes, we can look to the Lord Jesus as our perfect Example. Notice how He is the Ultimate Peacemaker:

He followed His Father’s initiative.

He came as a Peacemaker because His Father sent Him. He was not acting independently of God.

John 8:28-29 “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

If you’re going to be a peacemaker, you’re going to have to follow the Lord Jesus’ example. You can’t live for yourself and be an effective peacemaker. It just won’t work.

He sacrificed Himself to make peace with us.

Matthew 20:28 sums it up perfectly: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

He forgave those who didn’t deserve it.

In the garden...

He called Judas, “Friend” (Matt 26:50).

He healed one his captor’s ears.

From the cross...

He prayed for His persecutors, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

He promised one of the criminals who had just earlier been mocking Him, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

THIS IS WHAT A TRUE PEACEMAKER LOOKS LIKE. NOT MERELY AVOIDING ARGUMENTS OR CONFRONTATION—ANY COWARD CAN DO THAT. A TRUE PEACEMAKER DOES EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO MAKE PEACE WITH OTHERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECONCILING THEM TO GOD.

It was too late for Jesus to be a peacemaker for His own sake—He wasn’t making peace to preserve His own life or help His own reputation. His chief concern was pleasing His Father and reconciling as many possible sinners to a right relationship with God.

And this is the kind of peacemaker that God has called us to be! We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves, but this is so important. Could you turn to II Cor 5:18-21?

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

We have been given the same ministry as the Lord Jesus, and it involves some radical forgiveness.

He is always and forever a Peacemaker.

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

The Lord Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand and keeps the way to God always open to us.

He is our “advocate with the Father” (I John 2:1) who “ever liveth to make intercession for [us]” (Heb 7:25).

He defends us from the devil’s accusations (Rev 12:10), giving us constant access to the Father.

No matter what you’ve done or how far you may feel from God, the Lord Jesus “ever liveth” as a Peacemaker—He wants more than anything to restore you to a close relationship with the Heavenly Father. Are you enjoying the peace that the Lord Jesus offfers?

HOW CAN WE BE PEACEMAKERS?

Follow God, and take the initiative to be a peacemaker (Romans 12:18):

“First be reconciled to thy brother...”

This is essential to your relationship with God.

Make things right with those who have “ought against thee" (Matt 5:23-24).

IF YOU WENT TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE, STARTING WITH YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS, WOULD THERE BE ANYTHING THAT THEY HAVE AGAINST YOU? IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU’VE HURT SOMEONE AND YOU HAVEN’T MADE THINGS RIGHT?

Even if you think you’ve done nothing wrong, God expects you to still take the initiative in reconciling with your brother.

THIS REQUIRES BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, BEING MEEK, BEING MERCIFUL.

“Agree with thine adversary quickly...”

Do everything you can to make peace before it’s too late—devote all your energy to making peace at the outset of a conflict (Matt 5:25-26).

Don’t have a Plan B (Matt 5:32).

Don’t have the mindset, Well, I’ll try to make peace, but if that doesn’t work I’ll have to fight.

You can acknowledge the fact that some conflict is inevitable—you can’t control the actions of others. But you can make the choice that, “as much as lieth in you,” you’re going to make peace, so long as it doesn’t cause you to disobey God.

See Jesus’ example: Like the OT prophets’ confrontations over the truth, the Lord Jesus caused a lot of strife by proclaiming the truth (Matt 10:34-35). This is a needful passage in this discussion about peace.

“Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay...”

Be honest and upfront in your communication (Matt 5:33-37).

Learn to say no. And when you say yes, always follow through.

Sacrifice everything—including yourself—to make peace (Matt 5:38-48).

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven...” (Matt 5:45)

Because we’re so worried about ourselves, we miss opportunities to fulfill our “ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor 5:18-20). God’s plans are bigger than us!

Forgive those who wrong you, regardless of whether they “deserve” it.

"For [your Father] maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt 5:45).

Model Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt 6:12).

Determine to be a peacemaker the rest of your life.

Focus on keeping your own heart right with God, rather than trying to fix other people (Matt 7:1-5).

Ask God to make you a peacemaker (Matt 7:7-11).

Live by the Golden Rule (Matt 7:12).

Expect it to be difficult (Matt 7:13-14).

Inspect the fruit of your life (Matt 7:15-20).

Gal 5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...”

CONCLUSION

Why should we be peacemakers? Because we’re God’s children—He has gone to great lengths to make peace with us, and He expects us to do the same with others. We are His representatives in this world—His “ambassadors” who’ve been given the “ministry of reconciliation.” Peacemaking is bigger than us—it’s about God’s purposes to reconcile humanity to Himself. The Lord Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” We are the light of the world. Our feet are to be always shod with the “preparation of the gospel of peace.” Everywhere we go, are we peacemakers?

God is a Peacemaker, and we are His children. The Lord Jesus is a Peacemaker, and we are His brethren. We must ask ourselves, Am I like Him? Is it obvious that I am His child? Do my daily actions show a family resemblence? Do I look like my elder Brother?

What Is a Peacemaker?

1. Someone Who looks like their Heavenly Father

They’ve gone through the Beatitudes up to this point, and they’re beginning to look just like their Father.

God has adopted us and made us His children. His goal is to make us like our elder Brother (John 20:17, Heb 2:11, 17), Who is the “express image” (John 1:18, 14:9, Heb 1:3) of the Father.

Remember, several weeks ago, when we looked at the beatitude “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”? We learned that, the more we look at God through His Word and through the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we become like Him. We are “changed into the same image from glory to glory.”

So this week, we are going to embark further on that process--we are going to look in the pages of this book and see one of God’s most striking character traits. He is the ultimate Peacemaker. He has adopted us, made us His children, and is currently at work in our lives making us more like Himself. So as we look to Him tonight--and discover once again the kind of Peacemaker that He is--we must ask ourselves, Am I like Him? Is it obvious that I am a child of God? Do my daily actions show a family resemblence? Do I look like my elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ?

God was willing to send His very own Son to die for us, in order to make peace with us.

2. Someone Who looks like their elder Brother

The Lord Jesus went to the cross and prayed, “Father, forgive them...”

He reconciled the criminal hanging next to Him to God from the cross.

Two critical questions:

(1) Are you at peace with God the Father?

(2) Is your heart “single” and at peace, like the Lord Jesus Who did always those things that pleased His Father?

You're going to have a hard time making peace with others if you are not at peace with God and yourself.

He was kept in perfect peace because His mind was “stayed” on the Father (Isaiah 26:3).

He was dead to self, living solely for the Father’s will—He had no inner conflict.

The Lord Jesus was able to make peace with others because He was at peace with God & Himself.

3. Someone who does everything in their power to make peace with others

In fact, peace with God is dependent on our making peace with others.

Peacemaking is all over the Sermon on the Mount because it is essential to our keeping a close relationship with our Heavenly Father:

Matt 5:23-24 -- God doesn’t want our gifts if we have not made peace with our brother.

Matt 6:14-15 -- God doesn’t want our prayers if we have not forgiven our brother.

I John 4:20-21 -- God doesn’t want our love if we do not love our brother.

1 Cor 7:15 -- “God hath called us to peace.”

Eph 4:3 -- “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

2 Tim 2:22-23 “follow...peace”

Heb 12:14 -- “follow peace with all men”Here again, peace with God dependent in some measure on peace with our fellow man.

James 3:18 -- “fruit of righteousness...sown in peace of them that make peace”

1 Peter 3:11 -- “seek peace, and ensue it.”