Blessed Are The Peacemakers Series

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Matthew 5:1-9

September 4, 2022

For the past 6 weeks, we’ve been looking at the beatitudes from Matthew 5. Jesus gave us some very difficult to follow rules for living life. Yet, they are so needed. Let’s look at what He’s told us so far - - -

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

And this week, He tells us - - -

9 BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, FOR THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF GOD.

Blessed are the peacemakers. That’s not much fun! Personally, I didn’t get into too many fights as a youngster or as an oldster! I did get into 2 fights in high school. They were over quickly, since neither of us were fighters.

I did get into 1 gang fight! I won’t get into the details, but it wasn’t pretty. We were a bunch of suburban boys who knew nothing about fighting, going against Chicago boys who knew how to fight and who were very prepared for battle. The night ended with my first ride in a police car, but only to be taken to a safe place. No arrests were made!

I also learned what a dysfunctional peacemaker was like when I grew up. Maybe some of you can identify with this.

My biggest fight really came at home. It wasn’t always a fun place to be. If you did something wrong, or it was inferred that you did something wrong, you received the silent treatment from my father. So, we ended up being peacemakers, even when we weren’t wrong, we were supposed to apologize so that there could be a false sense of peace at home.

Maybe you’ve been there, but that’s not what Jesus is talking about. In fact, what Jesus was saying would have been very radical to the people He was talking to.

Think about the context ... the Jewish people were oppressed by the Romans. The Jews wanted the Messiah to come because He was going to be a Mighty Warrior like David and a priest like Aaron. He would lead the people in defeating the Romans and become world leaders.

The Jews didn’t want peace, they wanted to kick the Romans out of Israel. The only peace they wanted was what would happen after the war.

They must have been wondering . . . does Jesus really know what He’s saying? “Do you know how much the Romans are taxing us? We live in poverty. King Herod has killed 1000's. Pilate’s desecrated the temple. So, what’s this guy talking about. This is NOT what we want!!”

That must be a sermon-blooper. He meant, blessed are those who make war.

You see, this was a radical, an unimaginable statement from Jesus.

And it sounds pretty radical in our world today. We hear about the craziness of the world and we want to do some butt kicking ourselves. There’s threats all around us. We never know who’s going to fly off the handle at any moment.

Every day, people and situations try our patience — and if we’re not careful, we can easily explode — robbing us of peace.

So, what can we do and what does Jesus mean that the blessed peacemakers will be sons and daughters of God?

Well, let’s start with who we are and move from there. I actually thought the rest of the time I could read various, and I mean a lot of scriptures about peace.

What’s interesting is that when we think of peace, for many people, it’s not God’s peace, but the peace of the world that they try to experience. And worldly peace never lasts. Sometimes, admittedly, God’s peace is fleeting. But that’s because of us, not God - - - because we can easily sabotage it.

The first thing we need to do in order to experience God’s peace is to admit that we’re sinners in need of His grace. It goes beyond making mistakes, it’s the intentional and unintentional sins we commit. We need to confess that we’re in need because we’re fallen. But, who wants to admit they’re a sinner? Yet, that’s the vital first step to peace.

Paul tells us - - -

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

That’s the starting point, admitting we’re sinners, but because of God’s grace, He offers us the gift, which is free, of eternal life. So, Paul adds - - -