Matthew 5:9 - What Is A Peacemaker.
Mat.5:9: What Is A Peacemaker.
Mat 5:9 (KJV) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God.
DEVOTIONAL PEARL
Christ is "the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6), and it is His
mission to restore to earth and heaven the peace that sin has broken.
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1. Whoever consents to renounce sin and open
his heart to the love of Christ, becomes a partaker of this heavenly
peace. There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of
Christ received into the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife and
fills the soul with love. He who is at peace with God and his fellow
men cannot be made miserable. Envy will not be in his heart; evil
surmisings will find no room there; hatred cannot exist. The heart that is
in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven and will
diffuse its blessed influence on all around. The spirit of peace will
rest like dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.
Christ's followers are sent to the world with the message of peace.
Whoever, by the quiet, unconscious influence of a holy life, shall reveal
the love of Christ; whoever, by word or deed, shall lead another to
renounce sin and yield his heart to God, is a peacemaker. MB27,8
THE FOLLOWING ARE FOR THOSE WHO DESIRE DEEPER STUDY:
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Mat 5:9 (KJV) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be
called the children of God.
Mat 5:9 (NLT) God blesses those who work for peace, for they
will be called the children of God.
BLESSED
Each beatitude tells how to be blessed. "Blessed" means more
than happiness. It implies the fortunate or enviable state of those
who are in God's kingdom. The Beatitudes don't promise laughter,
pleasure, or earthly prosperity. To Jesus, "blessed" means the experience
of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope
and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter what
the cost. [Life Application SB]
Blessed: The Greek word was used in Greek literature, in the
Septuagint, and in the New Testament to describe the kind of happiness that
comes from receiving divine favor. [Nelson SB]
The beatitudes in effect say, "O the bliss of being a Christian!
O the joy of following Christ! O the sheer happiness of knowing
Jesus Christ as Master, Saviour and Lord!" . . . In Christianity there
is a godlike joy.
The Greek for blesses describes that joy which has its secret
within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and
self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and
the changes of life. The English word happiness gives its own case
away. It contains the root hap which means chance. Human happiness is
something which is dependent on the chances and the changes of life,
something which life may give and which life may also destroy. The
Christian blessedness is completely untouchable and unassailable. "No
one," said Jesus, "will take your joy from you" (Jn 16:22). The
beatitudes speak of that joy which seeks us through our pain, that joy
which sorrow and loss, and pain and grief, are powerless to touch,
that joy which shines through tears, and which nothing in life or
death can take away.
The world can win its joys, and the world can equally well lose
its joys. A change in fortune, a collapse in health, the failure of
a plan, the disappointment of an ambition, even a change in the
weather, can take away the fickle joy the world can give. But the
Christian has the serene and untouchable joy which comes from walking for
ever in the company and in the presence of Jesus Christ. [Barclay]
PEACEMAKER
Peacemakers. The Hebrew equivalent of the Greek eirene, is
shalom, meaning "completeness," "soundness," "prosperity," "condition of
well-being," "peace." [SDA Commentary]
Peacemakers Those who actively work to bring about peace and
reconciliation where there is hatred and enmity. [Holman's Bible Dictionary]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
Jesus announced blessings for citizens of His kingdom (5:1-12).
He expects citizens of His kingdom to do good deeds (vv. 13-16),
for He requires a righteousness that surpasses that of even the
zealous Pharisees (vv. 17-20). Christ looked behind the acts the Law
regulated to call for purity of heart (vv. 21-42) and that crowning
expression of kingdom righteousness: a love like the Heavenly Father's for
one's enemies (vv. 43-48). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
Jesus Teaches the People
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes
5:3-12 There are nine blessings listed in vs. 3-11. But vs. 10,
11, refer to the same aspect of Christian experience, and are
therefore to be considered one beatitude, thus leaving eight rather than
nine beatitudes. [SDA Commentary]
On these precious Beatitudes, observe that though eight in
number, there are here but seven distinct features of character. The
eighth one-the "persecuted for righteousness' sake"-denotes merely the
possessors of the seven preceding features, on account of which they are
persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). Accordingly, instead of any distinct promise to
this class, we have merely a repetition of the first promise. This
has been noticed by several critics, who by the sevenfold character
thus set forth have rightly observed that a complete character is
meant to be depicted, and by the sevenfold blessedness attached to it,
a perfect blessedness is intended. [Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown
Commentary]
There are at least four ways to understand the Beatitudes. (1)
They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conduct
for all believers. (2) They contrast kingdom values (what is
eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary). (3) They contrast the
superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ wants. (4)
They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the
new kingdom. These beatitudes are not multiple choice--pick what you
like and leave the rest. They must be taken as a whole. They describe
what we should be like as Christ's followers. [Life Application SB]
The Beatitudes are comprised of three elements: a pronouncement
of blessing, a quality of life, and a reason why the recipient
should be considered blessed. The first element is found in the word
Blessed (see Ps. 1:1), which introduces each beatitude. The second
element does not describe different groups of people, but a composite
picture of the kind of person who will inherit Christ's kingdom. The
third element looks ahead to some aspect of the coming kingdom.
[Nelson SB]
Our Saviour here gives eight characters of blessed people, which
represent to us the principal graces of a Christian [Matthew Henry
Commentary]
The Beatitudes are not primarily promises to the individual but
a description of him. They do not show a man how to be saved, but
describe the characteristics manifested by one who is born again.
[Wycliffe Bible Commentary]
The Beatitudes describe what we should be like as Christ's
followers. [Life Application SB]
The Beatitudes: These qualities Jesus mentioned are internal.
These come only when one is properly related to God through faith,
when one places his complete trust in God. [Bible Knowledge
Commentary]
The Beatitudes describe the inner qualities of a follower of
Christ. [Ryrie SB]
The Beatitudes describe the character traits of those accepted
as citizens of the kingdom of God and set forth both the present
and future blessings of those whose lives portray these virtues.
[Believer's SB]
The Beatitudes refer to both present and future blessings of the
kingdom. [Disciple SB]
5:1-12 Eight Characteristics Of Kingdom Dwellers
The Beatitudes (5:1-12) revealed eight characteristics that
should be true of the righteous remnant in the promised kingdom. The
truths implied in these characteristics all reflect pervasive themes in
the Old Testament. They revealed to the listeners what the lives of
people in the process of repentance should be like and caused them to
reflect upon their own character in relation to the character of God.
The Beatitudes were built upon an if/then logic and hidden in each
Beatitude was an if/then relationship. For example, the first Beatitude
says in essence, "If you are poor in spirit, then you will receive
the kingdom of God" (5:3). The Beatitudes both describe and demand.
They demand good character as they describe the "blessed" results of
following the demands of kingdom living.
The attitudes of "poor in spirit," "mourning," and "meekness"
all draw upon Old Testament themes and underscore the need for human
responsibility and the work of divine grace. The basic element demanded by all
the Beatitudes was a right relationship with God. The Beatitudes
were intended to inspire Matthew's readers to think about the
character of the repentant person so that they also could follow the path
of repentance.
Matthew 5:3-16 should be seen as one single unit of thought. The
word "blessed" (5:3; etc.) literally means "happy." For "poor in
spirit" (5:3) see Psalms 40:17; 69:29-30, 33-34; and Isaiah 57:15; 61:1;
66:2, 5. This characteristic describes the inner attitude of a person
when confronted with the holy God and his demands. Being "poor in
spirit" means admitting that no one can have spiritual wealth in and of
themselves--that all are dependent on God alone for spiritual
salvation and daily
grace. Such a person aligns with God's will, even against the desires
of his own.
For the attitude of "mourning" (Matt. 5:4), see Isaiah 1:17, 23;
2:11, 17; 61:2. The afflicted were often seen as God's favorites in
contrast with the powerful. This "mourning" was a reaction to seeing all
that God had demanded for the kingdom and then seeing how far all of
mankind had fallen short.
For the attitude of "meekness" (Matt. 5:5) read Psalm 37:7-11
and Isaiah 57:15. Having the quality of "meekness" would result in
possession of the new heavens and new earth (cf. Isa. 66; Rev. 21-22). The
Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount as a whole continually looked
forward to the time of judgment and reward in the end times.
To "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6) was to seek
to live life as God intended for it to be lived. Concepts drawn
from Old Testament Wisdom Literature were being applied here (cf.
Prov. 8:22-36). For "pure in heart" (Matt. 5:8), see what it meant
under the old covenant (Deut. 6) as well as under the new covenant
(Jer. 31; Ezek. 36).
The "peacemakers" (Matt. 5:9) will be called "sons of God." They
will be heirs to God's kingdom of which "peace" will be an important
characteristic (cf. Isa. 9:6-7; 66:12-13; Mic. 4:3). Note the emphasis in 5:3,
4, 9, 10. In each of these verses, an implied contrast was being
made between those who would be blessed in the age to come and the
religious leaders of Jesus' day.
Those "persecuted because of righteousness" (5:10) would also be
heirs to the kingdom. This relates back to 5:3 regarding the kingdom
and to 5:6 regarding righteousness. The idea of this verse carried a
bit of irony. These people were being persecuted because they were
hungry and thirsty for righteousness. But their persecutors would be
the religious leaders of Israel, the ones who claimed to strictly
follow the way of righteousness.
Jesus made a personal elaboration (5:11-12) of the comments in
5:10. He would become the cause for the persecution of the righteous
("because of me," 5:11). The people who desired to be among the "blessed"
of the kingdom would not find their time on earth easy. Matthew
wrote for people who faced a time of persecution prior to the
establishment of the kingdom. There was a parallel drawn in 5:12 with the
prophets of the past who had suffered for the sake of righteousness. [New
Bible Companion]
Of all the virtues Christ commended in the Beatitudes, it is
significant that the first is humility being "poor in spirit" (v. 3). That
underlies all the others:
You cannot mourn (v 4) without appreciating how insufficient you
are to handle life in your own strength. That is humility.
You cannot be meek (v 5) unless you have needed gentleness
yourself. Knowing that need is humility.
You cannot hunger and thirst for righteousness (v 6) if you
proudly think of yourself as already righteous. Longing to fill that
spiritual appetite demands humility. In a parable that Luke recorded, a
humble tax collector prayed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" He went
away justified, unlike a proud Pharisee who boasted of his
righteousness (Luke 18:13).
You cannot be merciful (Matt. 5:7) without recognizing your own
need for mercy. Jesus said that it's the person who is forgiven much
that loves much (Luke 7:47). To confess your sin and ask God and
others for forgiveness takes humility.
You cannot be pure in heart (Matt. 5:8) if your heart is filled
with pride. God promises to exalt the humble, not the proud (James
4:10).
You cannot be a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9) if you believe that you
are always right. To admit your own fallibility takes humility Peace
results when both warring parties move toward each other.
Finally identifying with Christ no matter what the reaction of
others (vv. 10-12) demands a certain death to yourself and a
renunciation of your own rights. Standing up under persecution demands
Christlike Humility. [Word In Life SB]
Is it possible to live up to these standards? (5:3-10)
Even though the Sermon on the Mount has been called the
constitution for citizens of the kingdom of God, we will never see flawed
human beings, though they are Christians, reach this level of
perfection. Jesus begins the Beatitudes, the preamble to this constitution,
with our inability in mind - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who begin by admitting their
shortcomings are in the best position to experience God's blessing and enjoy
his kingdom.
Nevertheless, we cannot escape the fact that Jesus gave his
followers these lifestyle goals. Those who respond out of love for the
Lord, grateful for his grace in their lives, will better approach
these ideals. The Beatitudes are a model of perfection requiring our
declaration of dependence on God: we can't, but God can. Even when doing so
involves failure to follow perfectly, we're to press on in obedience.
The Beatitudes describe the quality of life God intended for
humanity from the beginning - a life of blessing. The word blessed can
also be translated happy, but it is something more than an emotion.
The closer we come to Jesus' standards, the more we experience the
blessing of God. [Quest SB]
When we first read the statements of Jesus they seem wonderfully
simple and unstartling, and they sink unobserved into our unconscious
minds. For instance, the Beatitudes seem merely mild and beautiful
precepts for all unworldly and useless people, but of very little
practical use in the stern workaday world in which we live. We soon find,
however, that the Beatitudes contain the dynamite of the Holy Ghost. They
explode, as it were, when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do
so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of these
Beatitudes we say--'What a startling statement that is!' and we have to
decide whether we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that
will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is
the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to
apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of
the Sermon on the Mount is child's play; the interpretation by the
Spirit of God as He applies Our Lord's statements to our circumstances
is the stern work of a saint. The teaching of Jesus is out of all
proportion to our natural way of looking at things, and it comes with
astonishing discomfort to begin with. We have slowly to form our walk and
conversation on the line of the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit
applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set
of rules and regulations: it is a statement of the life we will
live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us. [My Utmost for
His Highest by Oswald Chambers]
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Romans 12:18 (KJV) If it be possible, as much as lieth in you,
live peaceably with all men.
Romans 14:17-19 (KJV) For the kingdom of God is not meat and
drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. [18]
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and
approved of men. [19] Let us therefore follow after the things which make
for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Galatians 5:22 (KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
2 Tim. 2:22-24 (KJV) Flee also youthful lusts: but follow
righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a
pure heart. [23] But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing
that they do gender strifes. [24] And the servant of the Lord must
not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
Hebrews 12:14 (KJV) Follow peace with all men, and holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord:
James 3:16-18 (KJV) For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work. [17] But the wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. [18]
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make
peace.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Peace is never only a negative state; it never means only the
absence of trouble; in Hebrew peace always means everything which makes
for a man's highest good. In the east when one man says to another,
Salaam--which is the same word--he does not mean that he wishes for the other
man only the absence of evil things; he wishes for him the presence
of all good things. In the Bible peace means not only freedom from
all trouble; it means enjoyment of all good. [Barclay Commentary]
In every one of us there is an inner conflict between good and
evil; we are always tugged in two directions at once; every man is at
least to some extent a walking civil war. Happy indeed is the man who
has won through to inner peace, in which the inner warfare is over,
and his whole heart is given to God. [Barclay Commentary]
As all men are represented to be in a state of hostility to God
and each other, the Gospel is called the Gospel of peace, because it
tends to reconcile men to God and to each other. (Adam Clarke
Commentary)
Christ is "the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6), and it is His
mission to restore to earth and heaven the peace that sin has broken.
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1. Whoever consents to renounce sin and open
his heart to the love of Christ, becomes a partaker of this heavenly
peace.
There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of Christ
received into the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife and fills the
soul with love. He who is at peace with God and his fellow men cannot
be made miserable. Envy will not be in his heart; evil surmisings
will find no room there; hatred cannot exist. The heart that is in
harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven and will diffuse
its blessed influence on all around. The spirit of peace will rest
like dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.
Christ's followers are sent to the world with the message of
peace. Whoever, by the quiet, unconscious influence of a holy life,
shall reveal the love of Christ; whoever, by word or deed, shall lead
another to renounce sin and yield his heart to God, is a peacemaker.
MB27,8
Christians have the Gospel of peace on their feet (Eph. 6:15),
so that wherever they go, they bring peace. This is not "peace at
any price," [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
A consecrated Christian life is ever shedding light and comfort
and peace. It is characterized by purity, tact, simplicity, and
usefulness. PP666-667
Compromise is not peace, but Christians should not be
contentious as they contend for the faith. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
Now by this it appears, that Christ never intended to have his
religion propagated by fire and sword, or penal laws, or to acknowledge
bigotry, or intemperate zeal, as the mark of his disciples. The children
of this world love to fish in troubled waters, but the children of
God are the peace-makers, the quiet in the land. (Matthew Henry's
Commentary)
Whose children are they who foment divisions in the church, the
state, or among families? Surely they are not of that GOD, who is the
Father of peace, and lover of concord; of that CHRIST, who is the
sacrifice and mediator of it; of that SPIRIT, who is the nourisher and
bond of peace; nor of that CHURCH of the Most High, which is the
kingdom and family of peace. (Adam Clarke Commentary)
There are people who are always storm-centers of trouble and
bitterness and strife. Wherever they are they are either involved in
quarrels themselves or the cause of quarrels between others. They are
trouble-makers. There are people like that in almost every society and every
Church, and such people are doing the devil's own work. On the other
hand--thank God--there are people in whose presence bitterness cannot live,
people who bridge the gulfs, and heal the breaches, and sweeten the
bitternesses. Such people are doing a godlike work, for it is the great
purpose of God to bring peace between men and himself, and between man
and man. The man who divides men is doing the devil's work; the man
who unites men is doing God's work. [Barclay Commentary]
The blessing is on the peace-makers, not necessarily on the
peace-lovers. It very often happens that if a man loves peace in the wrong
way, he succeeds in making trouble and not peace. We may, for
instance, allow a threatening and dangerous situation to develop, and our
defense is that for peace's sake we do not want to take any action.
There is many a person who thinks that he is loving peace, when in
fact he is piling up trouble for the future, because he refuses to
face the situation and to take the action which the situation
demands. The peace which the Bible calls blessed does not come from the
evasion of issues; it comes from facing them, dealing with them, and
conquering them. What this beatitude demands is not the passive acceptance
of things because we are afraid of the trouble of doing anything
about them, but the active facing of things, and the making of peace,
even when the way to peace is through struggle. [Barclay Commentary]
This is the seventh of the beatitudes: and seven was the number
of perfection among the Hebrews. It may be that the Saviour placed
the peacemaker the seventh upon the list because he most nearly
approaches the perfect man in Christ Jesus. He who would have perfect
blessedness, so far as it can be enjoyed on earth, must attain to this
seventh benediction, and become a peacemaker. There is a significance
also in the position of the text. The verse which precedes it speaks
of the blessedness of "the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
It is well to understand that we are to be "first pure, then
peaceable." Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or
toleration of evil. We must set our faces like flints against everything
which is contrary to God and his holiness: purity being in our souls a
settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness. Not less does the verse
that follows seem to have been put there on purpose. However
peaceable we may be in this world, yet we shall be misrepresented and
misunderstood: and no marvel, for even the Prince of Peace, by his very
peacefulness, brought fire upon the earth. He himself, though he loved
mankind, and did no ill, was "despised and rejected of men, a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief." Lest, therefore, the peaceable in
heart should be surprised when they meet with enemies, it is added in
the following verse, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Thus, the
peacemakers are not only pronounced to be blessed, but they are compassed
about with blessings. Lord, give us grace to climb to this seventh
beatitude! Purify our minds that we may be "first pure, then peaceable,"
and fortify our souls, that our peaceableness may not lead us into
cowardice and despair, when for thy sake we are persecuted. [Spurgeon,
Charles H., Morning and Evening]
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