Matthew 5:9

Last December I was invited by Nathan to give a message for Advent on peace.

!

He makes peace and he preaches peace.

Today I've been invited again to speak about peace.

We had a little laugh at the dinner table when I told our young ladies,

Wow, Dad, you just preached on peace in December.

But it's a further aspect that I think somewhat completes the idea that we began to look at back then.

And it has to do or highlights the continuing role that Jesus' followers have in bringing his peace to fruition.

So let's look at, read together Matthew 5 and verse 9.

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

Father, thank you for your word that it is life to us.

That your spirit is here with us.

And we ask you to awaken our hearts to grasp exactly what you want us to hear and know.

And to strengthen us in order to live faithfully.

In the light of your love and desire to bring your kingdom.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

I think the topic of peace should pique our interest because the world around us is so much in need of peace.

Someone in 2003 calculated that of the last 3,400 years of recorded history,

only 268 of those years have been war-free.

That sink in.

These continually present wars show us the desperate need for peace among nations.

But in addition, lingering racial tensions show us the ongoing need of peace among people groups.

And the present high rate of divorces, broken families, conflicts with roommates, neighbors, and co-workers that we all face show us the need for peace in our interpersonal relationships.

But as much as negotiated truces and discrimination laws and counseling have been helpful,

history and our own experience has shown us that the world's peace is at best uneasy and temporary.

But in contrast, the gospel, the gospel that we cherish, the gospel that we love and proclaim every week offers a different kind of peace.

It is a powerful peace.

It is a peace that Jesus makes between God and his people and between you and other believers.

It is a peace that doesn't just restrict hostility.

It completely eliminates the hostility.

The prophetic portrait of the church in the book of Revelation depicting a great multitude that no one can number from every nation,

from all tribes of people and languages,

standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.

This depiction is not just a roll call of everybody that's going to show up in heaven someday.

This is an amazing glimpse into the glorious destiny of the church.

True unity among great diversity.

This unity appears to be foremost in the mind of Jesus just before he was crucified.

And we can see it in his prayer in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

And I like to read a couple passages out of John 17.

First in verse 11, he is praying,

And he makes that request even stronger and broader when he continues in verse 20.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

That's us.

That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you.

That they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

If this was so important to Jesus, then I hope you agree with me.

It should be a primary concern for us who are his followers.

The beatitude we are looking at this morning in Matthew 5 verse 9

Matthew 5:9

affirms this point in the strongest way.

It links the very identity of God's children with the activity of peacemaking.

It must be obvious to us that the church has not yet fully experienced this peace.

Our assurance is that one day it will be complete.

But perhaps what is not so obvious is that each one of us has a role in the process.

Church splits.

Segregated congregations.

Crises among Christian families.

Other broken relationships among believers show us that the task is far from finished.

And what the passage before us this morning suggests is that the peacemaking that Jesus describes

is the normal activity of the children of God.

And that which best represents our father's nature.

In a fallen and divided and conflict-ridden world.

Of course, in this world, peacemaking is usually a painful process.

Now, like most Proverbs, Matthew 5 verse 9 has its limitations.

Matthew 5:9

It doesn't instruct us how to be peacemakers.

Nor does it even command us to be peacemakers.

Neither does it show the context for peacemaking.

Rather, I believe it simply serves to encourage us that the change that God has worked in us to make us peacemakers is evidence that we belong to him.

And the fact that we thus belong to him is what makes us blessed.

I believe this morning Jesus wants to encourage you and me by reminding us of what truly makes up the blessed life.

Each succeeding beatitude affirms this.

And in this seventh beatitude, we focus first on the idea of peacemakers.

And then the benefit that belongs to you and I.

First, Jesus wants you to know that peacemakers are among those who are blessed.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Very straightforward.

So, to begin with, I'd like to consider what peacemaker is.

The Greek term that we find behind this word is a compound word that is translated literally peacemakers.

Really simple.

But it's only used right here in the New Testament.

When a word is only used once in the scripture, it's difficult to interpret it.

More difficult, perhaps, because we don't have the support of other uses to determine meaning.

But in this case, we do have some other help.

In Colossians 1.20, we find a verbal form of the same compound that refers to Jesus as one making peace by the blood of his cross.

And closely related to that is Ephesians 2.15.

Where there are two words.

Where the two words of the compound are used separately.

To simply say, making peace.

And there he describes the mysterious work of Jesus when he created a unity between Jews and Gentiles who were previously enemies.

Now, both passages emphasize God's work of reconciliation.

And the use of the word peace in these passages, I think, aligns more with the Hebrew relational idea of shalom rather than the Latin pacts or the Greek irain.

Which we get the name Irene.

Both which refer to a state of being consisting of no war.

There's a, you know, that kind of peace is just the absence of war.

It's a state of quiet.

Whereas the Hebrew word shalom refers more to harmony and wholeness and welfare.

And it's a relational kind of term.

And the uses in Ephesians and Colossians suggest to us then that Jesus' peacemakers are those who are somehow involved in his reconciling work.

Now, further than that, we have a passage right here in Matthew chapter 5 that appears to shed some light on the idea.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Look at verses 43 through 45.

In chapter 5 of Matthew.

I'll read those verses.

You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you,

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he makes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Now, even though the word peace is not used here in this section,

the connection to this seventh beatitude is quite strong.

The main similarity is the use of the phrase,

Sons of your Father who is in heaven.

And Jesus is saying that contrary to the present religious teaching,

he instructs his followers to love their enemies.

And he says it's an attitude that reflects the care that God has for those who are evil as well as good.

And the characteristic of love in a follower of Jesus is what designates him as a son.

A son of the Father.

The same identification we find in Matthew chapter 5 verse 9 for peacemakers.

Matthew 5:9

So what I think Jesus is describing is not someone who simply tolerates enemies,

but who actually loves and actively demonstrates that love through prayer and interaction with them.

And really that's the heart of peacemaking.

Verses 44 and 47 provide two simple ways this love is demonstrated.

First, pray for those who persecute you.

This is a way in which peacemaking is accomplished.

And second, by, interestingly, greeting.

They're not complex tasks, but they can be difficult.

God has not left us alone in the process of peacemaking.

It's his task, but he wants us to participate with him.

And so prayer must be natural.

And praying for enemies is a first and major, perhaps the most important step.

But why does he mention greeting?

Hey, enemy.

Hey, enemy.

Perhaps it's simply a simple but powerful way of making a bridge.

There's someone who doesn't like you, hates you, has a problem with you.

John Piper has an insightful insight here.

He says, peacemaking tries to build bridges to people.

It does not want the animosity to remain.

It wants reconciliation.

It wants harmony.

And so it tries to show what may be the only courtesy the enemy will tolerate.

Namely, a greeting.

The peacemaker looks the enemy right in the eye and says, good morning, John.

And he says it with a longing for peace in his heart, not with a phony gloss of politeness to cover his anger.

Peacemaking is not necessarily a pleasant task.

And there are major areas that fall under this category.

Important, serious issues.

But we have to begin right here.

Right with our neighbor.

Right with the conflict that we are experiencing.

And to love.

And to seek reconciliation.

Whether it's a conflict between you and another person.

Or between two other people.

Or between groups.

The process is difficult.

And it's often painful.

And it's not always successful.

But the point is, it's the normal occupation of every believer of Jesus.

According to Jesus, these, as well as the previous Beatitudes, these peacemakers are the blessed.

Nathan has already adequately explained the difficulty in translating the Greek word from which we get the word blessed.

Blessed.

Blessed.

Most translators and scholars understand the limitations of the word blessed.

But they use it anyway.

And so I'm using it anyway.

I think it's because all the other words suggested have their own problems as well.

And we just don't have in English a 100% equivalent word.

And so, blessed is sufficient.

But what's really important to see here is that peacemakers are included in this unusual list that is described as having great benefit.

And so whether you use the word blessed or whether it's fortunate or whether it's happy or whether it's flourishing,

ending the peacemaker is a beneficiary and this will be well known.

But also, like the other subjects of the Beatitudes, the benefit isn't the condition or the subject or the activity being described.

in other words there's nothing blessed about the pain of desperation the pain of sorrow there's

nothing blessed about the pain of restraint restraint or unsatisfied longing or the pain of

of standing in the middle of warring people and getting hit from both sides there's nothing

blessed in that the reason they're blessed is because of the promise and that brings us to the

second part of the verse not only does jesus want you to understand that peacemakers are among those

who are blessed but he understands he wants you to understand why peacemakers are blessed

because they will be called the sons of god

now if you were to go to israel or

run into some israeli people in walmart

there are various ways to ask someone their name you can simply ask what's your name

ma shemcha or ma shmech

but you find commonly this other phrase and it's simply

eich korim lacha or eich korim lach if it's a female so memorize that when you run into an israeli at walmart and you hear them speaking hebrew you just walk up to him and say eich korim lacha and they'll go oh you speak hebrew okay of course they'll say it in hebrew and you won't understand what they're saying but

but it is literally translated how

how

do they call you

eich korim how are they calling you in other words what's your name

and i think

eich korim lacha and i think it's very similar

and i think it's very similar

it's very similar

to the sense used here by the verb

it's an idiomatic way of stating one's identity

they will be called the sons of god because

they are

the sons of god

now

this concept of the sons of god is an important one for us and

it has a rich

biblical context

context

all the way back to the garden

god announces something unique about the

creation of humanity

they

among all his creation will be created

in the image

and likeness of god

now though there are various opinions about exactly what that image and likeness

referred to

there's strong evidence in

in

the scripture itself

and in the context of the

the ancient world at that time

that both rulership and sonship

are in view

man was created as the image of god

according to

genesis 1 26 through 28

and first corinthians 11 7 supports that

in relation to the world

man is

a ruler

in relation to god

he is a son

now this idea

of sonship

is supported by the use of the same term in

genesis chapter 5

Genesis 5:1–3

verses 1 through 3

they're

referring to the relationship between a human father

and his son

let's look at that just for a minute

if you want to turn there

genesis 5

1 through 3

this is the second

place where

image and likeness are used

in the scripture

and it says there in genesis 5

1

this is the book of the generations of adam

when god created man he made him in the likeness of god

male and female he created them and blessed them

and named them man when they were created

and adam lived 130 years

or when adam lived 130 years

he fathered a son

in his own likeness

after his image

and named him

seth

and on and on it goes

and the idea is further supported by luke

in his genealogy

in chapter 3 verse 38

where he

ending the genealogy of jesus

says in verse 38

the son of enos

the son of seth

the son of adam

the son

of god

so as a son

adam was to reflect

god's likeness

in a way that he

in the way that he ruled over creation

mediating god's will

later the designation

of son of god

was inherited by israel

eventually being applied

to the kings of israel

solomon especially

he will

he will be a son to me

i will be his father

and then jesus

in jesus

the idea of sonship

takes on its full significance

and then finally

the designation

sons of god

continues to those who believe in him

and that's us

now some of the translations say

children here

and that's

legitimate

because

of

the fact that it is generic

although

man in the old testament

is generic there

at least where it speaks

of humanity

and not specific man

adam

but i think the word

sons here

helps us

because it links us

back to this rich history

of sonship

and what god

is implying

by this term

in the old testament

this image

and likeness

was to be

reflected in man's

dominion

over creation

in his character

in the way he rules

he had

relationship with god

in the garden

and from that relationship

then he was able

to

to adequately

and

and represent god

in a way that

that

was consistent

with who god

was

and is

but here in matthew

there seems to be

an added dimension

and that is

not just

rulership

but love

motivated

peacemaking

and it's appropriate

considering

the state

the world

is in

what jesus

appears to be saying

is that peacemakers

reflect

god's heart

for reconciliation

and unity

in such a way

that reveals

that they are

actually

the sons of god

that is why

they are blessed

the blessing

is that god

has included you

in his family

and this

blessing

is consistent

with the other

blessings

of the beatitudes

possessing the kingdom

of heaven

being comforted

inheriting the earth

being satisfied

seeing god

being called

the sons

of god

these all

reflect

in different

words

and

different

nuances

the same

idea

that

the blessing

is that we

are included

the blessing

is that

we belong

to god

the blessing

is that

the kingdom

is ours

the blessing

is that

we

are a part

of god's

plan

and that's

the hope

i believe

jesus wants

you to have

to hold on

to

to take

with you

this morning

now in conclusion

and i know my

family's really

surprised to hear

me say that

so soon

it's funny

because i showed

one of my

daughters my

notes today

she goes

six pages

that's all

miracles

happen

but i believe

that jesus's

reason for

beginning the

sermon on the

mount with

these beatitudes

is just

as important

to us

today as it

was to the

disciples that

first heard

him

just like

them

he wants

to encourage

you

who follow

him

to keep

your hope

fixed

on him

to understand

that peacemakers

are among

those who are

in this way

blessed

and that

peacemakers

are blessed

because they

will be called

the sons of

god

as the

introduction

to jesus's

sermon on

the mount

the beatitudes

have an

important place

when you think

of this in the

context of the

sermon

the sermon

is a beautifully

structured

teaching

that warns

against

deceptive

religious

hypocrisy

that relies

on external

righteousness

that seeks

the approval

of man

rather than

god

that exhibits

a compromising

loyalty

to god

and to

the things

of this

world

and that

kind of

religion

jesus makes

very clear

is not

enough for

salvation

and will

crumble

in the

storms

of

judgment

the vision

of a

higher

kind of

life

a better

righteousness

is cast

in the

beatitudes

and it's

unpacked

in the rest

of the

sermon

many of us

today

are in

similar

or in

danger

of a

similar

religious

approach

to our

faith

god

will love

me

if i do

this

you might

even be

thinking

i gotta be a

better

peacemaker

i gotta

you know

do this

kind of

thing

because

i want

to be

right

with god

that's

that's

what he's

trying

to have

us

avoid

and

the

sermon

on the

mount

helps

us

with

that

but

there

is also

another

kind

of

danger

another

kind

of

deception

and it's

a

deception

that

relies

solely

on

mental

assent

to

certain

doctrines

as

evidence

and

assurance

that

we are

god's

people

rather

than

looking

for

evidence

in our

lives

we

we ask

ourselves

if we

believe

the right

things

or we

have a

list

of

things

that

we

know

if we

believe

these

things

we're

okay

with

god

and

they

even

sound

good

justification

by

faith

scripture

alone

trinity

and

we

believe

these

things

as

long

as

we've

got

that

together

we're

okay

and

yet

somehow

we

might

not

see

the

brokenness

of

spirit

we

might

not

see

a

mourning

in

us

we

might

not

see

a

desire

for

the

unity

of the

body

that

Jesus

is

praying

so

passionately

for

and

we

should

be

alarmed

if

we

don't

see

those

things

in

ourselves

and

I

think

that's

the

reason

why

the

sermon

on

the

mount

is

given

to

us

to

show

us

that

the

work

that

the

cross

accomplished

in

reconciling

man

to

God

and

reconciling

one

another

to

each

other

and

in

changing

us

from the

inside

so that

can be

possible

that

work

will

be

demonstrated

it

will

happen

we

should

be

able

to

see

it

in

us

and

that

is

the

evidence

that

we

are

among

the

blessed

Jesus

wants

you

and

I

to

escape

both

deceptions

he

wants

us

to

look

at

our

hearts

and

our

lives

and

to

evaluate

whether

or

not

we

see

Christ's

righteousness

being

formed

in

us

we

should

not

only

ask

ourselves

if we

believe

rightly

about

something

but

we

should

also

ask

ourselves

if

we

see

the

word

of

God

in

our

heart

making

us

long

with

Jesus

for

the

unity

of

the

church

and

to

be

determined

to

be

involved

Amen