The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Peacemakers

by    4th May 2003    0 responses
Part of the series

Matthew 5:5   Expand passage

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

Collapse passage

Those words are just so poignant in today’s troubled world, aren’t they? We stand on the brink of war with Iraq. You can’t open the newspaper without reading of conflict somewhere. Conflicts between families seem to be on the rise looking at the divorce rate. Wherever you look, you see discord and disunity.

In this article, I want to look at two things: (1), just what is a peacemaker, and (2) what is being a peacemaker supposed to achieve?

So, onto the first question: “what is a peacemaker?” I don’t know about you, but the first image that springs into my mind is that of a United Nations soldier. “Peacekeepers” are soldiers that go into troubled areas and try to stop two warring parties fighting each other… quite how this is supposed to work I’m not sure, but in general my image of a peacemaker is someone who tries to stop people fighting (quite literally, someone who tries to make peace – logical, huh?)

Up to now this is fairly simple. But what is the “peace” that Jesus is referring to?

Dictionary.com refers to peace as:

The absence of war or other hostilities.
An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities.
Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations: roommates living in peace with each other.
Public security and order: was arrested for disturbing the peace.
Inner contentment; serenity: peace of mind.
I just want to look at one of these definitions for now: “Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations.” You can also apply this to the wider context and come up with the first definition of peace, but I believe this to be the more important in a Christian context.

I believe this is a fairly standard definition of peace. It’s a cliché, but you often get people saying “love and peace for fellow man” etc – you get the picture. However, there is a deeper meaning.

Look at John 17:20-23:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

This was Jesus’ last major recorded prayer on earth. In the words of David Jackman, “If, in the closing hours of his earthly ministry Jesus made this desire the great substance of his prayer, should we not make its fulfilment the passion of our lives?”

The Church can be united around the gospel. There are many other matters which people disagree on (I’m sure you can think of examples of issues which not everybody agrees one) but there are some things which we can be sure about and which will never change: that Jesus died as our substitute and that anyone who believes in him shall have everlasting life.

We should seek to be unified in the Church. We should seek to “make peace” with others. For example, Philippians 4:2 says, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.” We should be united around a common goal; that is – taking the gospel message (which we agree on) out to the world.

Look again at what Jesus said in John 17: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” The whole purpose of unity is so that we may go out and preach the gospel.

The only other place the word “peacemaker” is mentioned in the Bible (in the NIV text at least) is in James 3:18 – “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” We should make peace with each other, and then make peace with the world.

What “peace” is this referring to now? “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Phil 4:7). We should go out into the world and show people the peace of God. In a society such as ours, peace is one thing (both in terms of war and in terms of personally) that is incredibly valuable. We are called to be different – in the world but not of the world. Let’s show a world of violence and disunity what real peace is.

I pray that God will bless you and help you to bring a little peace into your community.

Leave a Reply

Allowed tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> <span style="">

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

What's On Crossring

Crossring is a community of Christians who meet together online in fellowship around the Christian faith and the Bible.

As part of our active lifestyle of prayer and Bible reading, we are currently reading a small section of the Bible together each day and sharing our responses to it with each other. We also publish a short devotional thought on a key verse or two from each day's passage to prompt prayer or reflection.

Introducing Daily Readings

Introducing Crossring Forums