"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
You open your Bible to the 7th Beatitude and read "peacemakers." Your neighbor opens his and reads "peace-producers." Are these two different things? Preacher A. Roberts, in his series on the Beatitudes at the Chapelle du Roi d'Espagne, took the time to clarify this. And the distinction changes a great deal about how you live out peace in your family, in the church, and in the world.
Introduction: two words for one Beatitude
Most modern translations render Matthew 5:9 as "peacemakers." The Greek word itself literally says "peace-producers": those who produce, who manufacture peace. Some older editions kept that nuance. A. Roberts isn't trying to set the two against each other, but to show that Scripture speaks of both realities, and that you're called to live out both.
This beatitude doesn't land in seventh place by accident. It follows the beatitude of the pure heart (Matt. 5:8). The connection isn't coincidental: it's because your heart is purified by Christ that you then become able to carry peace around you. The first six Beatitudes define the Christian's character; the seventh puts you into motion.
Article outline
1. Why the world lacks peace: a heart problem
2. What a peacemaker is not
3. What a peacemaker is: actively seeking peace
4. Christ, the Prince and Producer of peace
5. The three dimensions of reconciliation
6. Examples to inspire you
1. Why the world lacks peace: a heart problem
Look at the world around you. War in Ukraine, tensions in Madagascar, violence in Central America, persecution of churches in sub-Saharan Africa. These situations are often explained by political, social, or economic causes. A. Roberts goes further: the real lack of peace comes from the human heart.
You experience this yourself. If you're married, you know you're not always at peace with your spouse. Why? Because your heart falls back into its own center, into its desire to be right. Depending on your personality, you'll grumble or withdraw, and either way both of you suffer. The problem isn't first outside; it's inside.
2. What a peacemaker is not
It helps to clear away a few false portraits:
- It isn't someone who, faced with conflict, simply says "sure, sure, we'll get along" to smooth things over on the surface.
- It isn't someone who lacks a sense of justice and answers "it doesn't matter" to everything.
- It isn't someone who stays silent so as not to cause a stir.
- It isn't simply someone who is kind and pleasant.
All of these attitudes can be good, but they don't define the biblical peacemaker.
3. What a peacemaker is: actively seeking peace
A peacemaker is someone who actively seeks peace. He acts, he works, he takes steps. A. Roberts tells the story of an old man in a village, hated by his neighbors because he was a Christian. After trying to witness without success, he began praying for them every day. Little by little, the villagers were transformed without even realizing it. This man was a peacemaker: he carried peace because peace already lived in him.
Another example: during the Second World War, a priest near the German border cared for wounded German and French soldiers alike, without distinction. He was accused of "caring for his enemies." He kept going, because a peacemaker doesn't pick sides.
4. Christ, the Prince and Producer of peace
Isaiah had announced it: the Prince of Peace was to come (Isaiah 9:6). That Prince is Jesus. On the cross, he wasn't merely a peacemaker: he was the producer of peace. He made it. He paid for it.
Three theological words sum up what Christ did:
- Expiation: he paid our debt in full. Everything is settled.
- Propitiation: he made God favorable toward us. God, whose holy wrath was against sin, is satisfied through the sacrifice of the Son. Some modern translations soften this idea because they find it uncomfortable to say that "God is angry." But Scripture speaks of it, and we need to let it speak.
- Reconciliation: through his death, Christ reconciled us to God. That's why Paul pleads: "Be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Christ cried out on the cross, "It is finished." He descended to the realm of the dead to set the captives free. He ascended into heaven and intercedes for you today without ceasing (Hebrews 7:25). This isn't a Christ who "rests in the tomb": this is a living, active Christ.
The apostle Paul is a model peace-producer. He entered cities to preach the gospel and call people to repentance, and the result was often hostility and flight. In Ephesus, it was the idol-makers, seeing their trade threatened, who rose up against him (Acts 19). One day he even needed a military escort for protection. Producing peace is sometimes unsettling, because the gospel you proclaim lays bare people's hearts.
5. The three dimensions of reconciliation
The peace Christ produces plays out on three levels:
Reconciled with God. Christ is your righteousness (Romans 5:1). The Father is no longer angry with you.
Reconciled with yourself. The Holy Spirit produces his fruit in you, and peace is among it (Galatians 5:22). A. Roberts testifies: during the year of trial when his wife was seriously ill, he was anxious and sad, but an inner peace (a tangible one) never left him. "The Holy Spirit lives in me, just as he does in you."
Reconciled with others. In community life, you keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Christ tore down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14); through him, there is now only one people.
6. Examples to inspire you
Scripture and history are full of peacemakers:
- Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, risen to second-in-command in Egypt, who could have taken revenge but instead wept with joy as he embraced them (Genesis 45).
- Barnabas, who sought to reconcile Paul and John Mark; the split still happened, but without holding it against him (Acts 15).
- Martin Luther King Jr., who worked toward racial reconciliation.
- Corrie ten Boom, in the Netherlands, who after the Second World War brought together former Nazis and their victims for reconciliation.
- Nelson Mandela, who created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.
- Mother Teresa, who, when asked "why do you do this?" answered that she loved her Lord in the least of these.
Key takeaways
- The Greek word in Matthew 5:9 means to produce peace: to make it, to pay for it, as Christ did on the cross.
- The 7th Beatitude follows the pure-heart Beatitude: it's a transformed heart that becomes able to carry peace.
- The world's lack of peace is first a heart problem, not merely a political one.
- A peacemaker is neither a coward, nor naive, nor simply nice: he is someone who actively seeks peace.
- Peace is lived out on three levels: with God, with yourself, with others.
Personal application
Take a moment this week to bring these questions before God:
- Where in my life am I lacking peace, in my marriage, my family, my church, my work? Is the root a heart problem in me before it's a problem in the other person?
- Am I a "false peacemaker": do I say "it doesn't matter" to avoid conflict while I'm actually boiling inside?
- What concrete step could I take this week to actively seek peace? A word of apology? A visit? A daily prayer for someone who hurts me?
- Do I truly believe that Christ, on the cross, paid the price for my peace with God? Or am I still trying to earn it?
- Who in my life could I share the gospel with this week, so as to be a "peace-producer"?
Verses cited
- Matthew 5:1-9 · the Beatitudes.
- Isaiah 9:6 · the Prince of Peace foretold.
- Romans 5:1 · justified by faith, we have peace with God.
- Ephesians 2:14 · Christ is our peace, he tore down the wall.
- Ephesians 4:3 · keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- Galatians 5:22 · the fruit of the Spirit: peace.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 · be reconciled to God.
- Hebrews 7:25 · Christ intercedes for us.
FAQ
Why do some Bibles say "peacemakers" and others "peace-producers"?
Because the Greek word in Matthew 5:9 (eirênopoioi) literally means "those who make/produce peace." Modern translations tend to prefer "peacemakers" because it reads more naturally in English; other versions keep "peace-producers" to stay closer to the literal sense. Both dimensions are biblical.
Does being a peacemaker mean accepting everything and staying quiet?
No. The biblical peacemaker isn't someone who dodges conflict or gives up on justice. He is someone who, moved by the Spirit, actively seeks reconciliation, even when it stirs things up, like the apostle Paul, chased from city to city for proclaiming the gospel.
How can I live out this Beatitude practically in my marriage or family?
By first recognizing that a lack of peace often comes from your own heart: your desire to be right, your unhealed wounds. Ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart (Beatitude #6) before trying to "fix" the situation. Then take one concrete step: a kind word, an apology, a regular prayer for the other person.
to take notes and ask questions.