Now we come to the seventh of Jesus’ statements of good news. As always we begin with the two most obvious questions: who are the “peacemakers” and what does it mean that they will be called “children of God”?
Peace in the New Testament
Throughout the New Testament it’s clear that peace is something which God values very highly. For example on the night of the last supper, Jesus said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).
In his letter to Christians in Rome, Paul wrote: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (Romans 5:1-2).
To the church at Colossae he wrote: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15).
And in a list of the virtues which Christians should develop as a result of their conversion, Paul wrote: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Even in these four passages you can see that peace can refer to different concepts depending on the context. You can experience peace between yourself and God, or between yourself and other people, or simply with yourself – your faith can give you peace of mind and rescue you from depression or anxiety.
Let’s get specific
So which, if any, of these was Jesus referring to in his message of good news for “the peacemakers”?
The Pillar NT Commentary (Leon Morris) suggests that: there is a quality of peaceableness, a disinclination to engage in disputes, that is admirable, but Jesus is talking about more than that. He refers not to peace-keepers but to peace-makers, people who end hostilities and bring the quarrelsome together.
The distinction between peace-keepers and peace-makers is an important one. A peace-keeper is someone who uses force or the threat of force to prevent two rival factions from fighting each other. For example, the United Nations might send troops to a volatile area to prevent conflict. A peace-maker, on the other hand, is someone who can actually bring those rival factions together and persuade them to stop wishing to fight each other.
Think about some of the conflicts going on right now in 2024, such as Israel and Hamas or Russia and Ukraine. It would be one thing for the UN or a superpower like the USA to send in military forces to keep the two sides apart. It would be another thing entirely to persuade the two sides to stop seeing each other as enemies.
R. T. France in the New International NT Commentary puts it like this: This beatitude goes beyond a merely peaceful disposition to an active attempt to “make” peace, perhaps by seeking reconciliation with one’s own enemies, but also more generally by bringing together those who are estranged from one another
On the other hand…
While it is always desirable to make peace, we must accept there are circumstances in which this may not be possible. Jesus himself said: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ (Matthew 10:34–36)
Jesus’ point here was that there may be times when you cannot reconcile or live peaceably without compromising your principles. He was probably predicting situations in which people who chose to follow him would experience hostility even from members of their own family because of their new-found faith. He then went on to say: Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:37–39).
If the only way to make peace with someone is to abandon your faith in Jesus, then that is too high a price. That does not, of course, give you or me an excuse to behave poorly towards those who are hostile to our faith. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that someone hates you for being a Christian when it may be your attitude or behaviour towards them that is the real problem.
Peace isn’t easy
Michael J Wilkins in the NIV Application Commentary suggests that Jesus may have been thinking specifically about the various Jewish religious groups at the time, who had very different ideas on how to bring about God’s will on Earth: The zealots of Jesus’ day attempted to bring self-rule back to Israel through the guerrilla-warfare tactic of divide and conquer, while the religious leaders brought as much division within Israel by their sectarian commitments. But the real peacemakers are those who bring the good news that “your God reigns,” who brings ultimate harmony between all peoples … and the true peacemakers are those who wait and work for God, who makes whole the division created by humans.
Any attempt to bring about genuine, lasting peace between human beings through purely human effort or ingenuity is likely to fail. Some of the Jews at Jesus’ time thought the way to peace was to use force to get rid of the Roman occupiers. Others thought the best idea was to work alongside the Romans. Yet others thought they could secure God’s favour by meticulous obedience to the Old Testament commandments. Jesus taught that the way to make peace is to put God at the centre of your life, to confess your failures and to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to reconcile with those you hate, then to trust God that things will work out for the best. Even if the other party refuses to reconcile, your conscience can be clear.
D. A. Hagner in the Word Biblical Commentary thinks that Jesus was specifically referring to one of the political factions of his time: the point would seem to be directed against the Zealots, the Jewish revolutionaries who hoped through violence to bring the kingdom of God. Such means would have been a continual temptation for the downtrodden and oppressed who longed for the kingdom. The Zealots by their militarism hoped furthermore to demonstrate that they were the loyal “sons of God.” But Jesus announces the kingdom entirely apart from human effort and indicates that the status of … “children of God” … belongs on the contrary to those who live peaceably
It’s true in our day too that those who are poor or oppressed may often feel like they have nothing to lose and turn to violent means to bring about what they see as the right way forward. Think about young men from the Middle East persuaded to carry out terrorist attacks against what they see as the corrupt and militaristic Western powers. Or, not so long ago, young men from Ireland persuaded to do the same to try and free themselves from what they saw as the dictatorial yoke of the British government.
It’s easy to promote peace when you live in comfort and safety, have everything you need and are not being oppressed for who or what you are. Such people were probably not who Jesus was addressing. His attention was on those downtrodden souls who perhaps saw no other way out but to turn to bloodshed and killing in order to improve their situation.
Children of God
R. T. France (NICNT) suggests: Peacemakers “will be called God’s children” … on the basis that God’s children reflect God’s character … and God is the ultimate peace-maker.
God does not desire war or violence. Some people may find that hard to believe and may point to passages in the Old Testament in which God commands his people to go to war, to wipe out their enemies, or even chastises them for not doing so thoroughly enough.
Yet God says through his prophet Ezekiel: Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! (Ezekiel 33:11)
God has no desire for people to die or for them to use violence, yet he gives all of us free choice whether we stand with him or against him. That does not give you or I authority to make enemies out of those who seem to hate God. It’s for God to decide what will happen to them. You and I must seek peace with everyone, even knowing that it won’t always (or perhaps even often) be successful. Sometimes we have to walk away from a person unreconciled.
God wants every human being to come to him in repentance and become his son or daughter. You and I should want that too.
Nihilist to Christian 