What does “blessed are the peacemakers” mean? The full verse that this phrase comes from is found in Matthew 5:9:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
There are several things we can take from this verse, one of which is that we are mimicking the Lord Jesus when we seek, make, and live in peace. Jesus, called the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6, is the ultimate peacemaker. It is through Him that we obtain peace with God the Father. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus” (Romans 5:1). When we accept Jesus as Savior, we move from being enemies of God to being at peace with Him as His children. Jesus is also the giver of peace as seen in John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” So, no matter what we face, we can come to our Savior Jesus and receive His peace to help us move forward.
We are told in Scripture to seek, make, and live in peace. 1 Peter 3:11 says, “Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.” James 3:18 says, “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” Finally, 2 Corinthians 13:11 says, “... Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
The world around us is in constant turmoil, but if we will live righteously and intentionally as a people of peace, we will be blessed. The Greek word for “blessed” is makarios. The root, mak, means large or lengthy and the rest means fortunate or happy. As used in Scripture, makarios speaks to happiness coming from receiving divine favor. Therefore, as we strive to be peacemakers, we live in God’s divine favor, in large and lengthy happiness because we are acting like His Son. This is the birthplace of joy. Our circumstances may not be “happy,” but when we mimic Jesus and are in a right relationship with the Father, there is joy that cannot be fully explained. “Blessed are the peacemakers!”
