Sunday
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(Matthew 5:9, NIV)
Of all the teachings of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount is probably the best known. Matthew tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds following him after news of his miraculous healing of “every disease and sickness” spread throughout the entire region of Galilee and Judea, he went up on a mountainside and began to teach. The location of this story in chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel of Matthew suggests that it occurred very early in Jesus’ public ministry. This sermon is only recorded in the first Gospel (Matthew), although Luke records a similar sermon (6:17-49), sometimes called the Sermon on the Plain. While Luke’s account is considerably shorter than Matthew’s, both sermons begin with the Beatitudes, end with the parable of the two housebuilders, and contain much material in common.
It is quite likely that the teachings recorded in these three chapters of Matthew were not a single sermon given on one particular occasion all at one time, but rather are a collection of teachings by Jesus early in his ministry. Of all the teachings included in these chapters, the Beatitudes especially establishes the radical character of Jesus’ ministry and clearly sets him apart from all the other teachers of his day. Verses 3 to 11 of chapter 5 record Jesus’ specifications of what his followers ought to be like. Here Jesus describes his ideal for every citizen of the Kingdom of God.
The first four Beatitudes describe the Christian’s relationship to God and the second four, the Christian’s relationship to other people. Today’s verse is included in the second of these categories. “Blessed are the peacemakers” – those, according to the Amplified New Testament “who are makers and maintainers of peace.” As God is the author of peace and reconciliation, so his followers are called to the task of peacemaking. Satan is the author of discord and conflict. It is God who loves peace and who, through citizens of his kingdom, is committed to seeing peace (shalom) established on earth through his people, empowered by his Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Lord of history, we praise you for the gift of your Son, who came to earth as a man and lived among us. We thank you for the instruction he offered us and the summary of the Beatitudes, which depict how we, as citizens of your Kingdom, ought to live in relationship to you and to the people around us. Amen.