Pastoral Ministry and the Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Our world is filled with strife. Nations war against nations; there is conflict in our marriages and families, and in our churches; and there is strife even in our own hearts. Indeed, as Jesus said in His penultimate beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Being a peacemaker is a noble role. But how can any of us be a peacemaker when we lack inner peace—not to mention external peace—ourselves? Jesus doesn’t elaborate on this question at this particular point in the Sermon. His purpose is simply to cast a vision of life in God’s kingdom. So, to get help, we need to go to other places in Scripture.

Christ is our peace

In a very different context, Paul wrote eloquently about the peace Christ came to bring. Some in the church at Colossae claimed that a full experience of God could be found outside of Christ. Against such false teaching, Paul contended, “For in him [i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19–20).

Paul added, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:21–22).

Similarly, Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated . . ., having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:12–14).

Just prior to the crucifixion, Jesus himself told his followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).

The peace of reconciliation

Bottom line: There is no true, lasting peace apart from the cross of Christ. Ever since the fall, humans are alienated from God and stand in desperate need of reconciliation with their Creator. This reconciliation, Christ accomplished by dying on the cross in our place. We are now justified by faith—declared righteous—because of Christ representing us on the cross
and taking our sin upon himself, by sheer grace. Therefore, before we can serve as peacemakers, we need to receive the peace of Christ through being reconciled with God by Christ’s sacrificial blood.

Being peacemakers

How, then, can we be peacemakers and inherit the blessing Christ pronounced in the Sermon on the Mount? In order to do so, we need to embrace the fact that making peace, on the basis of Christ making peace with God on our behalf, is part of our calling as Christ’s ambassadors:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore [people] on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17–21)

To share the gospel, then, includes issuing a call to reconciliation and peace with God. This is why Paul can write to the Roman believers, after an extensive section on universal human sinfulness, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

We have peace with God! And because we do, we can be peacemakers. This peacemaking mission, in turn, entails first and foremost calling people to put their trust in Christ’s peacemaking, reconciling work on the cross. In addition, we can strive to live at peace with others.

What is more, we can be used by God to help others make peace with each other.

The Blessings of peacemaking

Let’s return once more to Jesus’s actual words: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). By serving as peacemakers, we show ourselves to be sons of God, children of our heavenly Father. And as we do so, we reap a harvest of peacemaking blessings.

In the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs tells us that the hearts of those who promote peace are full of joy: “Those who plan peace have joy” (Proverbs 12:20). In the New Testament, James writes that “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). Thus those who make peace will inherit the blessing of joy and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Paul on peacemaking

Also, Paul urges the believers in Thessalonica to “be at peace” among themselves and prays that “the God of peace himself may sanctify [them] completely” in “spirit and soul and body” so that they “be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:13, 23). Making peace, therefore, is a vital part of our sanctification, becoming more like Christ and growing in holiness. As the author of Hebrews urged his readers, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Finally, making peace involves not taking our own revenge but rather pursuing the edification of others: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. . . . Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify
another” (Romans 12:17–18; 14:19). As peacemakers, we can be a blessing to others and build them up in the Lord!

Pastoral implications

How, then, can we be pastor-peacemakers? We can encourage peacemaking by both example and instruction. We can preach the gospel of peace and reconciliation, and we can instruct the people in our congregation about the blessing that comes with being peacemakers. This doesn’t mean to shut down all meaningful dialogue with others out of fear that it’ll turn into a divisive issue. To the contrary, honest dialogue may proactively help avoid future conflict. It does mean, however, that we deeply imbibe in the true meaning of gospel harmony and unity, and that we affirm and promote the peace and reconciliation Christ came to bring when he shed his blood for us on the cross.

© 2025, Andreas Köstenberger. All rights reserved. Used by permission.