Matthew 5:9-12
This week I am going to explore verses 9-12 and finish out the be-attitudes. I will start with the parallel between verse 9-10 and then connect Jesus’ conclusion, verses 11-12, of this sermon introduction.
9a Blessed are the peacemakers; 10a “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness
To begin, we must understand who a peacemaker is not. A peacemaker is not someone who avoids conflict. Life is full of conflict. It is all around us. It cannot be avoided, although there are many who try. Peacemaking is not about the absence of conflict, but rather the response to conflict that is already there. This is why peacemaking is parallel to persecution. The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom and is the word Jesus used. “Shalom” is taken from the root word shalam, which means, “to be safe in mind, body, or estate.” It speaks of completeness, fullness, or a type of wholeness that encourages you to give back — to generously re-pay something in some way. As believers our peace doesn’t come from inside ourselves. Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When we have the peace of God in our lives, we are whole, complete, full.
Jesus said in John 10, “I am the good shepherd.” A shepherd keeps the flock safe and they are at peace when He is with them. Jesus reminds us that, under his care, we will have abundant life. So, if we are to fully understand what Jesus is saying, we must look at the peacemaker as one who is complete in God alone. Even persecution will not extinguish our completeness. For when we are persecuted, for the sake of righteousness, we can be at peace with God. His peace will flow through us even in the midst of the shadow of death. Remember Psalm 23, “even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with me. His rod and staff are a comfort to me”.
I am reminded of the stories Corrie Ten Boon told about her sister Betsie. Corrie and her family were arrested for hiding Jews in their home during WWII and were eventually sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Corrie told of the peace Betsie had even in the midst of the great darkness that surrounded them. Betsie was able to see even the smallest blessings while in captivity in that horrible place and she would remind Corrie of God’s faithfulness. In the midst of being persecuted for the sake of righteousness, she became a true peacemaker. Betsie was so compete and whole in Christ, His peace spilled out from her to everyone she came in contact with at the camp. In fact, God’s peace was accentuated because of the persecution. When we are dealing with the many conflicts in life, what will define us? The conflict itself, or, as in the case of Betsie, the peace we have because of our all encompassing relationship with God, who is the King of universe? May the peace that passes all understanding be what defines us.
9b For they shall be called sons of God; 10b For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sons of God. A title given to us as the adopted children of God. A title that proclaims we are His and He is ours and that promises blessings and an inheritance. In Galatians 3 we find that before Christ, the Law was our guardian. “Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The Law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:23-29) You see, the Law is perfect, holy and is God’s standard for us to be able to be in relationship with Him. The problem is we could not meet the standard. We could not, on our own, keep the perfect and holy law. It was, after all, only our guardian. It kept us in line – or at least showed us what the line looked like. When Christ came, he was able to keep the law perfectly. He was holy and righteous. He was the unblemished Lamb of God. In His death and resurrection we have life and we are now heirs – sons of God. We have an inheritance. And what is that inheritance? For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Being sons of God leads to gaining the kingdom of heaven as heirs with Christ.
Verses 11-12: “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What these verses do is describe the persecution we will find as believers in Christ, and the blessing for those who are persecuted, insulted, and slandered because of Christ. When we stand firm in our faith, proclaim the name of Christ, and stand with Him, persecution will come. This seems to be a generally overlooked fact. As an American Christian, I live in a country where freedom is a huge thing. We have freedom of speech, the press, freedom to bear arms and freedom of religion just to name a few. We don’t like it when we perceive our freedoms being taken away or challenged. During this current Covid-19 crisis I have read many posts on Facebook lamenting the loss of freedoms. Several in this country are holding demonstrations proclaiming their dissatisfaction with the stay at home orders. These orders have affected the church in how we meet and worship. A few have defied the order and met anyway as they see this as their right. (I want to stop here and say one thing very clearly, this is NOT a blog advocating or condemning the churches or peoples rights. I am merely pointing out that we do not like it when our freedoms are taken away.) We do not like it when we feel persecuted. But, what we forget is, for the Christian, persecution is going to happen. And it will get more intense as time goes on and people move farther and farther away from God. Standing firm in our faith will not be a position applauded, liked, or admired. In fact, the firmer we stand, the more disapproval we will get. Around the world, Christians live with persecution everyday. Their very lives are at stake for standing with Christ. I will state it again: The more we stand with the truth, the more the world will reject us, despise us, and persecute us. It is a fact when we walk with God. The question is, what is our response? Do we complain about loss of rights? Do we become indignant and resentful? Do we quote the constitution and demand our rights? Do we give into fear and stop speaking truth at all?
I remember a conference I went to many years ago. One of the seminars was entitled, “The Doctrine of Suffering”. It intrigued me so I decided to attend. The professor who taught the seminar began with the question, “What is your definition of suffering?” After several answers were given, including health issues, job related issues, money issues etc., he said, “While all of these are under the “definition” of suffering, in the context of the gospel, many of the situations you described would be merely annoyances. For when we talk about the Doctrine of Suffering, it is not just describing painful experiences or emotional strife. It is the understanding that to live the Christian life, to walk in truth with God, and to stand firm in your faith, you will experience a deep loss of some kind. Loss of money, loss of opportunities, loss of family, loss of friends, and even at times, loss of life. You will experience insults, slander, false witness. You will experience exclusion and taunting. To follow Christ means you walk the narrow path, you carry your cross, and you follow Him no matter what the cost, because it will cost you something. The real question is, will you embrace the suffering or run from it?” I dare say, many of us would like to say we would embrace it, but instead we would try to avoid it at all cost.
Remember, life is full of conflict. It is something we can count on. Philippians 4:4-7 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petitions with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it great joy my brothers, whenever you experience various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” Here we find that persecution isn’t just about the suffering. It is about producing something. Out of our suffering comes endurance and maturity so we lack nothing. I will end this section with another quote from Corrie Ten Boon. After enduring great darkness and losing her entire family because they followed God she said, “Now, I know in my experience that Jesus’ light is stronger than the biggest darkness… For with Jesus, even in our darkest moments, the best remains and the very best is yet to be.” May we be like Paul and Silas in the cell, sing praises in the midst of insults. May we be like Stephen as he was being stoned, proclaiming that God is with us. May we be like many believers around the world today who stand for their faith even when prison or life is on the line. May we, in America, stand firm for Christ and the truth of His word in the midst of watered down doctrine and ever graying beliefs. May we commit to walk the narrow path no matter how many walk the broad roads. May we be true peacemakers, embracing the conflict that will surely come, knowing that, in Christ, we have complete assurance that He is with us, and will sustain us through it all.
Questions to Ponder
- Are you a true peacemaker?
- What defines you – the conflict or your response to the conflict?
- Are you ready to embrace the suffering, or avoid it at all cost?
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