The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards known. It is awarded annually “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses” (nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/).
Recipients are chosen by a committee of five persons elected by the Norwegian Storting (parliament). The prize in 2016 amounts to SEK8,000,000 Swedish kronor (USD$985,600), but the acclaim, stature and position that follow, together with the speaking fees and other engagements, increase that value enormously. To join that elite group is considered by many to be a very high honor.
As Christians, however, a far greater reward awaits each and every one of us—those whose names will never appear before the Norwegian committee for consideration. This leads us to the seventh beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
What greater calling is there for any human being than to become a son of God—literally a member of God’s own family?
This is a position and reward that cannot be purchased or gained by political manipulation. It can only be accomplished by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, submitting ourselves to our Father’s purpose and leading the way of life that He instructs. The result of living that life of overcoming self, with the aid of God’s Holy Spirit, will be the creation of holy, righteous character—one quality of which is being a “peacemaker.” So now we will take a closer look at this subject and find out what it means to be a “peacemaker.”
Application for Today
It is easy to look to the Kingdom of God as a time of peace. Many scriptures convey this thought;
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6–7).
The outcome of the Kingdom of God is going to be peace without end! Details of that government are provided for us in a section of Scripture that we look upon as being Millennial. It offers an insight into that peaceable kingdom:
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…” (Isaiah 11:1–4).
Today we use the term “equity” in a legal or financial sense, but in the original Hebrew, it conveys a sense of a path or road that is made flat and straightforward—something that is not convoluted, but easily accomplished. Continuing with Isaiah:
“He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist” (vv. 4–5).
He will be girded and attired with righteousness and faithfulness—godly qualities. As a consequence of that, the Bible can give us this picture about what life will be like in God’s Kingdom:
“Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:15–18).
Isaiah 54:9–15 and other scriptures convey similar thoughts. Even the wild animals will be at peace with one another, and with humanity (Isaiah 11:6–9).
But for us, the concept provided in Matthew 5 is not one for tomorrow. Like all the other beatitudes, the demand is for the here and now, while the reward is in the future. It is instruction for today, in the world and society we live in. Jesus highlights this by showing that we are to be peacemakers in a world of persecution:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10–12).
So it is the peacemakers, who learn their craft living in a world that is full of persecution and tribulation, who are blessed. That is a challenge! We are not called to be peacemakers in ideal circumstances! The problem is compounded for us because Jesus also said:
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household’” (Matthew 10:34–36).
His standards produce hostility in the powers that be, and those powers will persecute His followers.
Peace: Active, Not Passive
Psalm 37 forms the basis of much of Jesus’ instruction in the Beatitudes.
“But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace… Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace” (Psalm 37:11, 37).
The NET Bible has an interesting way of putting verse 37:
“Take note of the one who has integrity! Observe the godly! For the one who promotes peace has a future.”
What is this peace that we are supposed to be promoting? How does it contrast with how humanity looks at peace? This world generally looks at peace as something passive—simply the absence of hostility or war. This outlook is found in typical dictionary listings of “peace.” Note how Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary sets out this term:
1: a state of tranquility or quiet: as (a) freedom from civil disturbance (b) a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom
2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3: harmony in personal relations
Similarly, “peacemaker” is defined as “one who makes peace especially by reconciling parties at variance.” However, we know that peacemaking is a dynamic process that goes much deeper than that. The Hebrew shalom is the word translated as “peace” throughout the Old Testament. (In the New Testament, the Greek word most often translated as “peace,” eirene, is modified by the understanding of the meaning of shalom.) Shalom is a very wide-ranging word that ultimately speaks to well-being—or a sense of completeness. One commentator records that the primary meaning of the word can be characterized “as the healthiness, or the completeness, or the intactness of a community;” while another notes that it conveys the concepts of satisfaction and contentment (Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, M. E. J. Richardson, and Johann Jakob Stamm. “Shalom.” The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000). Shalom conveys a very active, not passive, state because it requires something of the person seeking peace!
The world’s approach to peace is to erect walls between belligerents—to separate them—which is a poor compromise that does not solve the underlying issue. For instance, a parent may separate fighting siblings by sending them to separate rooms, but that simply creates quiet for the parent without getting to the cause of the problem. Those siblings will still fight again when placed in the same situation. We solve our problems of conflict by building walls, even at the national level. God’s way to peace, on the other hand, is to tear down walls between people and replace them with bridges—to build relationships. Peace, ultimately speaking, is the absence of evil! Notice how these concepts are juxtaposed in Zechariah 8:11–12, 16–19 (ESV, emphasis added):
“But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things… These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.’”
So, peace is living in harmony with the will of God, and not according to our own purposes. Or, to put it another way, sin is the enemy of peace.
The Peace Offering
To highlight the relationship-building aspect of peace, the Eternal instituted an offering known as a “peace offering.” The details are set out in Leviticus chapters 3 and 7. It is called a peace offering because the term derives from the Hebrew word shalom. The peace offering is also described as a fellowship offering in that the priest and the person making the offering shared it with the Eternal. Some people have tried to link the aspect of salvation to the meaning of the term as well. It is also described as being:
“A sacrifice for alliance or friendship; peace with God; fellowship between God and worshippers” (Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs. Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977).
So we have a sacrifice that portrays the quality of godly peace, whereby the parties sit down to a meal together—a sign of friendship and hospitality, and a sense of wholeness in the relationship of the parties. We are not talking about “fast food”! It could be an all-day affair, so the parties involved would want to be on very good terms—people who want to spend time with each other.
The relationship aspect of peace and peacemaking—restoring a person to fullness, etc.—is amplified for us in Matthew 5:21–48. Here, Jesus corrects six common misconceptions the populace had regarding relationships and teaches the only true way to be a peacemaker. First, He warns about the attitudes—anger, insults and epithets—that constitute the spirit of murder (vv. 21–22). Then He instructs:
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (vv. 23–24).
Here is a concept very few people employ, but it is the role of a peacemaker! The tendency is to say that if somebody has a problem with us, that is their problem, not ours. Not so; Jesus says it is ours and that we must deal with it proactively. We must work to heal the breach. He also addresses the lustful thoughts of the heart that lead to adultery (vv. 27–30), a sin that is violently destructive to the marriage relationship and destructive to the peace that should prevail in a marriage.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:27–30).
His antidote is not to literally mutilate our bodies, but He uses such graphic terms to impress on us how imperative it is that we stop at nothing to root out those harmful thoughts and to live at peace as a result.
He also said that divorce is not, with very limited exceptions, an acceptable solution to marital problems (vv. 31–32). We are to be faithful to our marriage covenant and work out any difficulties to the extent it is within our power to do so. With regard to swearing (vv. 33–37), His instruction is simple: just keep your word. How frequently is a sense of peace disrupted by ignoring this simple action?
Another wrong practice that Jesus addressed was that of seeking revenge. His well-known admonition is to “turn the other cheek” instead (vv. 38–42).
Consider the example of David and Saul in terms of this last instruction. David did not resist Saul or seek to become equal to him. Rather, he built up the borders of Israel so that Saul had a more peaceable time as king. Finally, rather than hate our enemies, Jesus says to:
“…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…” (vv. 44–45, emphasis added).
This is the same reward promised in the beatitude on peacemaking (v. 9). In each of these areas or examples, there is a way that leads to peace and to the maintenance of peace with others. Each is ultimately based on the the Spirit of the Law of God, and each requires that we consider the other as much as we do ourselves. We can take stock of our own progress by reviewing 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 as another example of making peace.
So, following the Spirit of God’s Law can help us be peacemakers. So can another aspect of our lives. Why do you pray for the Gospel to be preached with more power to the nations? For what reason do you contribute your tithes and offerings? Is it for our own salvation or so that others can be made whole by having a relationship with our Father and His Son? If the latter is your motivation, then you are seeking to be a peacemaker.
Christian Peacemakers
True peacemakers, therefore, are those who see others from a godly perspective and seek to reach out and help them become whole. In doing so, they are preparing themselves for the kingdom, when they will be able to help those who cannot be helped today.
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
We have been called to be peacemakers in the family of God—here, now and forever!