Part 7 of “BLESSEDR: A Study of the Beatitudes”
November 8, 2026, Glynwood Baptist Church, Prattville, AL
James Jackson, Pastor
Good morning. Please open your Bibles to Matthew 5.
Recently, I heard a fascinating story about Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Peace prize. The story may be an urban legend, but it’s too good not to share with you this morning, as we talk about Jesus’ seventh Beatitude,
Matthew 5:9 ESV
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The story goes that one day, Alfred Nobel read his own obituary in the morning newspaper.
Now, in case you don’t know much about Alfred Nobel, he was the inventor of dynamite, which was patented in 1867. Although dynamite had important applications in construction, mining, and engineering, within just a few years it was being used in warfare and political violence.
So, according to legend, one morning in April, 1888, Alfred opened up the paper to the headline, “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” The article went on to record the death of Alfred Nobel, and went into detail about all the money he had made inventing new ways to kill people.
The newspaper had the wrong Nobel. It was actually Alfred’s brother, Ludvig, that had died. Nevertheless, Alfred was supposedly so horrified at the idea of going down in history as the merchant of death that seven years later, he signed a will dedicating most of his fortune to establishing five annual prizes, including one honoring those who advanced peace. The Nobel Peace Prize
Hopefully, you will never be put in this situation. But Alfred Nobel’s story invites some soul searching.
Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.’
But what does it mean to be a peacemaker? And how do we become one?
This morning, we’re going to look at four questions that will help us understand what Jesus meant.”
Let’s pray together.
What Is Peace? (Ephesians 2:14–18)
When you hear the word peace, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s an old hippie in a tie-dyed Grateful Dead shirt giving you the peace sign. Maybe it’s the Eagles singing “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
Maybe it’s two countries signing a peace treaty.
Or maybe it’s just a quiet evening at home when nobody needs anything from you.
Those are all things we might associate with peace. But the biblical understanding of peace is much richer than that.
One of the best-known Hebrew words is shalom. It’s translated “peace.” You hear it in the name “Jerusalem,” city of peace. It shows up in the famous benediction in Numbers 6:24–26
Numbers 6:24–26 ESV
24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
But biblical shalom is more than just the absence of conflict. It’s the presence of wholeness.
It means things are as they ought to be. Relationships are restored. Wrongs are made right. What’s broken is healed. What’s divided is brought together.
That’s the kind of peace God desires for His creation.
But sin messed that up.
From the Garden of Eden onward, the Bible tells the story of human beings at war with God and one another.
But God promised that one day, a child would be born.
One day, a son would be given.
And the government would be upon his shoulders, and his name would be called—
Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father.
And the Prince of Peace.
We will celebrate His birth next month. Notice how Paul described Him in Ephesians 2:14–18
Ephesians 2:14–18 ESV
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Through His death on the cross, Jesus broke down “the dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentile and made them one.
But Jesus didn’t just tear down the walls that divide people from each other. He broke through the ceiling that separated sinful humanity from a holy God.
And notice what Paul says in verse 14. He doesn’t merely say that Jesus brings peace. He says, “He Himself is our peace.”
Jesus doesn’t simply negotiate a ceasefire between enemies. He reconciles them to God and to one another.
He takes what was divided and makes it whole.
That’s shalom. And that’s why Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.
What Breaks Peace? (James 4:1–3)
We’ve defined biblical peace as the presence of wholeness, not just the absence of conflict. So what’s the opposite of wholeness?
Brokenness.
We see it in wars between nations, violence in our streets, marriages falling apart, families that haven’t spoken in years.
But many of these outward conflicts have their roots in something happening inside us. Look at James 4:1–3:
James 4:1–3 (ESV)
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, [that’s internal] so you murder [external]. You covet and cannot obtain [internal], so you fight and quarrel [external]. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James says there’s a war going on inside us. A war of desire, greed, envy, hatred, bigotry, fear. Before the first punch is thrown, the battle lines are drawn inside the heart.
And I think there’s a reason peacemaking comes where it does in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peacemakers” comes after:
• Blessed are the poor in spirit: you recognize your brokenness.
• Blessed are those who mourn: you grieve over your sin.
• Blessed are the meek: you gain a proper perspective of yourself and God.
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: you develop an appetite for what pleases God.
• Blessed are the merciful: you extend the compassion God has shown you.
• Blessed are the pure in heart: your one consuming desire is for more of God.
And then Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Do you see the progression?
You can’t make peace if you’re too proud to admit you’re wrong, unwilling to show mercy, or more concerned with getting your way than pleasing God.
Before God calls us to be peacemakers, He calls us to become people of peace.
And that begins with allowing Him to deal with the brokenness in our own hearts.
Can’t We Just Fake Peace? (Jeremiah 6:14)
Now, I’ll be the first to admit, this is hard work. Heart work is hard work!
Changing what you do is difficult enough. But changing what you want? That’s even harder.
And sometimes, rather than doing the hard work of making peace, we take a shortcut. We become peacefakers instead of peacemakers.
You know the expressions: “Go along to get along.” “Let sleeping dogs lie.” “Don’t rock the boat.”
And here in the South, we’ve perfected the art of saying, “Bless their heart.”
Now, there’s nothing wrong with avoiding unnecessary arguments. Not every disagreement needs to become a confrontation.
But there’s a world of difference between faking peace and making peace.
Peacefaking covers up what’s broken. Peacemaking works toward making it whole.
And sometimes, what looks like peace isn’t peace at all. It’s just a wound nobody wants to touch.
That’s exactly what was happening in Jeremiah’s day.
God’s people had turned away from Him. Jeremiah warned that judgment was coming, but the false prophets had a different message:
“Everything’s fine. Nothing to worry about. Peace! Peace!”
Listen to God’s assessment in Jeremiah 6:14:
Jeremiah 6:14 (ESV)
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
The people had a wound. And instead of treating it, their spiritual leaders were pretending it wasn’t serious.
Imagine going to a doctor with a serious infection, and instead of treating it, he just puts a Band-Aid on it and says, “You’re fine! Go home!”
That’s not healing. That’s malpractice.
They were treating a deep wound as though it were just a scratch.
And we do the same thing, don’t we?
- A husband and wife haven’t had an honest conversation in months, but they keep telling themselves their marriage is fine.
- Two friends have stopped speaking, but when somebody asks what’s wrong, they say, “Oh, nothing.”
- A church has unresolved conflict simmering beneath the surface, but everybody smiles and shakes hands on Sunday morning.
Peace. Peace.
But there is no peace.
We’re like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We’ve been wounded by our battles. We’re bleeding all over the place. But we keep insisting, “’Tis but a scratch!”
We’ve learned how to be excellent peacefakers.
But Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are the peacefakers.” He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Think about that for a moment.
Of all the things you could be called, can you imagine anything better than being called a child of God?
When we make peace, we’re reflecting the character of our heavenly Father.
For the past couple of years, JonWorth, our student minister, has done a “Dress Like Your Dad” night for the students. And the results have been hilarious. I won’t embarrass you guys with the pictures, but let’s just say there were a lot of ball caps, a lot of camo, pillows stuffed into shirts, and at least one bald wig.
But what I love even more is watching these students imitate the godly character of their earthly dads. I love knowing there are students I could say to, “I see so much of your dad in you,” and they’d take it as a compliment.
God is the great Peacemaker. We were separated from Him by our sin, and He took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
And when we take the initiative to make peace with others, we’re demonstrating the family resemblance.
We’re acting like our Father.
So how do we stop faking peace and start making peace?
How Do We Make Peace? (Romans 12:18; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20)
I want to take you to Romans 12. Because if you want to know what peacemaking looks like in everyday life, Paul gives us a pretty good picture.
Listen to what he says, beginning in verse 9. And pay attention to how practical it is. After 11 chapters of some of the most intricate theological arguments ever written, Paul puts the cookies on the bottom shelf with a rapid fire, do-this-don’t-do-that series of commands:
Romans 12:9–21 ESV
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. I hear this list, and my first thought is, “That’s a tall order!” We said earlier that peacemaking is heart work. And heart work is hard work.
But remember the promise: This is what it looks like to look like God.
Love one another genuinely. No faking. No fronting. Love must be sincere.
Outdo one another in showing honor. Make it a competition, and play to win.
Bless those who persecute you. We’ll spend all next week talking about this one.
Don’t repay evil for evil. Feed your enemies when they’re hungry. Give them something to drink when they’re thirsty.
And right in the middle of all those instructions, Paul says something that I think is the key to understanding what it means to be a peacemaker.
Look at verse 18:
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
I want you to notice two phrases in that verse.
First, “If possible.”
Isn’t that interesting? Even Paul acknowledges that peace isn’t always possible.
You can want reconciliation. You can pray for reconciliation. You can do everything you know to do to pursue reconciliation. But you cannot make another person want peace.
Sometimes the other person isn’t willing to forgive. Sometimes they aren’t willing to admit they were wrong. And sometimes—and this is especially painful—the person you most wish you could reconcile with is no longer alive.
That’s one reason I believe we should never take the opportunity for reconciliation for granted. We never know when our last conversation with someone will be our final conversation.
That’s why Paul says, “If possible.”
But it’s not always possible.
But then he adds a second phrase:
“So far as it depends on you.”
And that’s where things get uncomfortable.
Because it’s easy to point to all the reasons someone else is making peace impossible. It’s a lot harder to ask whether I’ve done everything I can to make peace possible.
Have I examined my own heart? Have I acknowledged my own part in the conflict? Have I been willing to apologize? Have I extended the same grace and mercy that God has extended to me?
Paul isn’t telling us we’re responsible for how everybody else behaves.
He’s telling us we’re responsible for how we behave.
Peacemaking is proactive, not reactive.
It’s picking up the phone and making a call you’ve been putting off.
It’s saying “I was wrong.”
It’s saying, “Please forgive me.”
It’s listening to someone you’ve been arguing with long enough to understand why they see things differently.
It’s choosing not to have the last word. Not to win the argument. Not to defend or deflect.
Now, let me be clear. Peacemaking doesn’t mean pretending that wrong is right. That’s peace faking.
It doesn’t mean putting yourself in harm’s way. And forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean restoring trust where trust has been broken.
Peace faking sweeps what’s broken under the rug. Peace making works to put the broken pieces back together.
And that brings us to the very last verse of Romans 12.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
I love that Paul doesn’t just tell us what not to do.
Don’t retaliate. Don’t seek revenge. Don’t return insult for insult.
He tells us what to do.
Overcome evil with good.
That’s what makes peacemaking so distinctly Christian.
I think the dumbest cliche ever uttered is “Fight Fire With Fire.”
Now, I know there are some circumstances where firefighters actually do that. But Mike Whaley, when a fire truck pulls up to a burning house, do you hook the hose to a fire hydrant or a gas main?
No you don’t. You fight fire with water!
We don’t push back the darkness by turning off more lights. We don’t make something right with two wrongs.
And we don’t overcome hatred by being hateful.
But you’re saying, “James, I don’t know if I can do that,” I understand.
Because I don’t know if I can do it either.
At least, not in my own strength.
And that’s why I want to finish with one more passage of Scripture.
In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes:
[Read 2 Corinthians 5:18–20]
2 Corinthians 5:18–20 ESV
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
All this is from God. We can’t do it on our own. We talked about peacemaking as proactive. Look how proactive God is in this passage:
God reconciled us to Himself through Christ. God gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.
And now, Paul says, we are ambassadors for Christ.
Think about what an ambassador does. An ambassador represents someone else. He represents the interests, the character, and the message of the one who sent him.
And that’s what we are.
We represent the Prince of Peace.
We represent the One who didn’t wait for His enemies to make the first move.
Romans 5:8 says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And just two verses later, Paul reminds us that we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son while we were still enemies.
Jesus didn’t make peace by pretending our sin wasn’t serious.
He made peace by going to the cross.
And now He calls us to be peacemakers.
Conclusion and Invitation
Remember how our story began? Alfred Nobel opened a newspaper and discovered what the world would say about him when he was gone.
“The Merchant of Death Is Dead.”
So he decided he wanted to leave a different legacy.
Well, I don’t know what people will say about you when you’re gone.
I don’t know what they’ll put in your obituary.
But I know what Jesus said about those who make peace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
I don’t always get it right. I don’t always control my temper. I’ve said things in anger, or pettiness, or selfishness I wish I could take back.
But by God’s grace, I’m learning to love the things He loves. I’m learning to forgive as He has forgiven me. I’m learning to seek reconciliation instead of retaliation.
I’m learning to make peace.
So let me ask you two questions this morning.
First, is there someone you need to make peace with?
Maybe there’s a conversation you’ve been avoiding. An apology you need to offer. A grudge you’ve been holding on to.
You can’t control what the other person does. But as far as it depends on you, will you take the first step?
And second, have you made peace with God?
Do you know the Prince of Peace?
You can’t earn peace with God by being a good person. You can’t make up for your sin by doing enough good things.
But Jesus has already done what you could never do for yourself.
Through His death and resurrection, He has made reconciliation possible.
And so I want to close with Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:20:
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, be reconciled to God.
And if you already belong to Him, then go into this world and show people what your Father is like.
Make peace.
Don’t fake peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
For they shall be called children of God.
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