This is our 7thand final installment of the Beattitudestaken out of the beginning of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Again, these are important teachings because most scholars believe that Jesus taught the principles and commands in the Sermon (Matthew 5-7) over and over during his ministry. Repetition suggests that he thought these were not elementary, but rather essential teachings for every follower of Jesus, so it is wise for us to revisit these teachings from time to time.
The last two beatitudes are in an interesting juxtaposition. Blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. The positioning almost suggests that peacemakers can anticipate persecution. That is the bad news. The good news is that they are in good company.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons or children of God. A son or child of God is one who has the character of God. “Like father, like son” is the old expression. A peace maker is one who has a heart for peace, harmony, reconciliation, and unity. A peacemaker is not a pacifist in the sense of avoiding conflict at all cost. Jesus is the Prince of Peace but he had numerous confrontations with the Pharisees. He is also pictured in Revelation as the commander of the armies of heaven going out to war. The idea is that this person’s first desire is peace. He or she will endure a personal wrong and not insist on his or her rights in order to maintain a relationship. This person will be forgiving, longsuffering, and patient in order to maintain peace. He or she will constantly work toward reconciliation as long as there is the possibility and even sacrifice for the restoration of a relationship. That is also the heart of God who gave his only Son so that the world might be to reconciled to himself.
The reason peace making often invites persecution is because peacemaking often appears to the world as weakness. When you turn the other cheek, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who despise you…those whose hearts are hard and self-centered will see you as timid or a pushover and will often move quickly to take advantage of your willingness to be wronged without striking back.
I have noticed that, for the most part, when we obey Jesus, we are put in vulnerable situations in which people can “use us” or take advantage of us. Jesus taught that if someone sues us for our coat we should give him our cloak as well. If we are compelled to carry something one mile, carry it two. Our vulnerability requires us to depend on the Lord for protection, provision, and vindication. Paul knew the risk better than anyone but pointed to peacemaking as long as it was possible. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil…If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom.12:17-19).
The peacemaker must trust God, perhaps more than anyone, because they will be vulnerable in many situations. Note that Paul said to be at peace as much as is possible. Even for the peacemaker, there is a time to go to war when all avenues of peacemaking have been exhausted and evil will prevail if not confronted. Remember, we are to resist the devil and seek justice for the weak. We are to care for the widow and the orphan. Jesus sternly confronted the Pharisees because their legalistic perversion of God’s Law was keeping men and women from a relationship with the Father. Paul often confronted sin and wrongs in the churches he had planted because the toleration of such things would eventually infect the church and put the salvation of other believers at risk. He did so after an extended time of pleading with patience for those in sin or those tolerating sin to repent. He would rarely oppose evil on his own behalf but would certainly “go to war” on behalf of the church or the weak when his attempts to make peace were rejected.
Peacemaking will eventually invite persecution or, at least, will put us in a position to be taken advantage of. Our desire for peace and reconciliation reflect the heart of God so that we can be counted as his children, but remember that the world hated Jesus and will eventually hate those who carry his image. The “up side” is that vulnerability and persecution force us to maintain a true dependence on God which then draws his presence to us. The presence of God reveals the glory of God and his glory reveals his goodness. His goodness always blesses. There is clearly a price to be paid for his presence, but it is s always worth the cost.
Jesus gave us a list of things that create a state of blessedness for his people. They are clearly counter-cultural but the kingdom always is. We all want to be blessed but blessing often comes with risk…of not being like everyone else or of placing ourselves in vulnerable positions. My problem is that I want to be at peace with the world while I am at peace with heaven as well. Biblically, I can’t pull that off. The world and the kingdom are at odds. I must choose one and if I want to live under a state of blessedness, I must choose the kingdom. If you search through the Sermon on the Mount, the message of choosing is imbedded in the texts. Our challenge is to choose Jesus everyday and then trust the rest to him.
