“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9

A few of the High Schoolers in my church plan to study the Sermon on the Mount with me this Spring and Summer.

We are using Skye Jethani’s book What if Jesus was Serious[1] as a jumping-off point, but our hope is to go rather in depth. Jesus’ words in his sermon are very timely for believers today. They are also rather difficult in both understanding and in application. My aim in the next few months is to use this blog to wrestle with the text of Matthew 5-7 before I help facilitate my youth group’s conversations.

The Beatitudes

The section of Jesus’ sermon found in Matthew 5:1-12 has been traditionally labeled the Beatitudes. That’s because, within it, Jesus makes eight statements that begin with the phrase “blessed are…”

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed are the those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
• Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
• Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

But what exactly is Jesus trying to communicate with this list?

Some suppose that Jesus is attempting to lay the framework for a spiritual checklist that believers can use. The further along you are down the list, the deeper your relationship with God might be. Similarly, others believe that Jesus is prescribing actions that Christians can perform so that they might gain additional blessings in their life.

It is easy to see how one might come to those conclusions. However, it is important to note that Jesus’ list contains an inclusio, a common writing tactic that is used to signify that the material between the two phrases should be understood as similar or contained. Both the first and the last beatitude tell us that “…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  This means that the other seven beatitudes within this pairing should be understood in turn. All of the beatitudes are about the kingdom of heaven.  

Furthermore, Jesus isn’t prescribing how to be blessed. Instead, he is describing those who are already blessed by the announcement of God’s upside-down kingdom. The Beatitudes are declarations of hope to a struggling people hoping for better. Within the kingdoms of this world, the happy, the powerful, the popular, the ruthless, and the strong are often seen as those on top. Yet in God’s eyes, those who are overlooked, those who find themselves distraught at the state of creation, those who desire justice, and those who practice peace are truly the ones who will be blessed. They have the most to gain. And they will find what they are looking for in God’s coming reign.[2]

Making Peace

The seventh beatitude is this: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Instigators, or those who strong arm their opposition, often find success in the world. But such actions aren’t of the kingdom of heaven. It is the peacemakers who are blessed and can be identified among God’s children.

But what exactly does it mean to make peace?

Jesus is the Prince of Peace,[3] which implies that he rules over a kingdom called (or that can use the word as its primary descriptor) Peace.

And Jesus proclaimed peace, as Paul puts it Ephesians 2:17-19, but the proclamation that Paul is talking about isn’t a note about Jesus’ verbal preaching as recorded in the Gospels. Paul is talking about Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, a sacrifice that made it possible for both Jews and Gentiles to enter into Jesus’ new kingdom come:

“So, he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.“

Jesus is Lord of a kingdom characterized by peace. And Jesus has established everlasting peace within his kingdom through his blood spilled. This means that we ourselves don’t make peace in the way an original artist creates a song from scratch. The song already exists; we share it with others and dance to its tune. Peacemakers, then, are those who do the tough work of pointing others toward the peace of Jesus, fill others with the hope of his coming kingdom, and work to display Jesus’ peace on earth through word and action as a sign of the kingdom in our midst.

I think that there are two things we should learn from this:

1. Peacemakers don’t believe that the ends justify the means.

There are many different avenues within our lives where we might be tempted to perform, or support, something unjust if we feel that it might bring about a good result.

For example, on a national level, we might be tempted to support the torture of prisoners of war if the information we could extract from them would be useful to our military. On a political level, we might donate to the campaign of a morally bankrupt politician if one of their platform promises could bring about a policy change we’d like to see. We might be tempted to cover up abuse within our church so that the church can continue to preach the gospel unobstructed. We might even be ok with ostracizing or bullying someone to make another person happy, or commit to avoiding someone because they don’t fit the mold our friend-group deems acceptable.

All of the actions listed above bring about good outcomes: our friends are happy with us, our church appears scandal-free, and politicians are freed up to use their power to make positive social changes. Yet, all of these outcomes come at an expense. These are all ways to make “peace” using non-peaceful methods.

In God’s kingdom, peace is the way to peace. That’s because peace is a deed to be done and not a state of things to be established.[4] Jesus has already won peace through his death on the cross, and the ultimate peace that he’s created is on its way. It is a sure reality coming. Nothing we do ourselves within this present world can bring about peace in that way, but we have been called to promote and make known the peace that Jesus provides using the methods he approves.

2. Peacemakers don’t withdraw themselves from places of conflict.

Making peace isn’t the same as “keeping the peace.” A peacemakers’ aim isn’t to make sure that everyone is appeased and happy all the time. People-pleasing like that is often born out of a fear of conflict. Yet peacemakers don’t avoid conflict.

They aren’t passive, evasive, or weak.

Peacemakers don’t seek out conflict, but they aren’t afraid to wade into it when required. Jesus faced the evil of this world head-on by going to the cross. It cost him his life.

Yet in the face of conflict and pain, Jesus did not retaliate. He overcame evil with good. Through his death, he established the peace of God in the midst of a world consumed with hatred and violence. And Jesus calls all who follow him to take up their crosses (Matthew 16:24) to do similar. We aren’t to withdraw from conflict but remain present in a different way, meeting evil with good and hate with love.  

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[1] https://www.moodypublishers.com/what-if-jesus-was-serious/?srsltid=AfmBOorijbfz4hiCpCMzN_5xMeXwP8ukKBSs0hOVW62W5bMQ7Cfqlx-P

[2] Skye Jethani, What If Jesus Was Serious? A Visual Guide to the Teaching of Jesus We Love to Ignore, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020), 17-18.

[3] Isaiah 9:6

[4] John Howard Yoder, Revolutionary Christian Citizenship, (Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2013), 37.