What the Bible says about Peacemakers

Topics chevron-right Peacemakers

馬太福音 5:9

使人和睦的人有福了,
因為他們必被稱為上帝的兒女。

9 Jesus' concern in this beatitude is not with the peaceful but with the "peacemakers." "Peace" is of constant concern in both OT and NT (e.g., Isa 52:7; Eph 2:11-22; Heb 12:14). The making of peace itself has messianic overtones (cf. "Prince of Peace" in Isa 9:6-7). Jesus does not limit the peacemaking to only one kind, and neither will his disciples. In the light of the Gospel, Jesus himself is the supreme peacemaker, making peace between God and us (Eph 2:15-17; Col 1:20) and among human beings. Our peacemaking will include the promulgation of that Gospel. It must also extend to seeking all kinds of reconciliation. Those who undertake this work are acknowledged as God's "sons". In the OT, Israel has the title "sons" (Dt 14:1; Hos 1:10). Now it belongs to the heirs of the kingdom who are especially equipped for peacemaking and so reflect something of the character of their heavenly Father.

Read more from Expositors Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament

馬太福音 7:12

12 「所以,你們希望人怎樣待你們,就要怎樣待人,這是律法和先知的教導。

12 The word "therefore" probably refers to the entire body of the sermon (5:17-7:12), for here there is a second reference to "the Law and the Prophets" (see comment on 5:17); Jesus stresses that he has taught about the true direction in which the OT law points, i.e., the Golden Rule. This rule sums up the Law and the Prophets (cf. Ro 13:9). In the context of fulfilling the Scriptures, it provides a handy summary of the righteousness to be displayed in the kingdom (cf. 5:20).

The verb translated "sums up" (lit., "is") might properly be translated "fulfills," as in Ac 2:16. In the deepest sense, therefore, the rule is the Law and the Prophets in the same way as the kingdom is the fulfillment of all that the Law and the Prophets foretold.

Read more from Expositors Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament

馬太福音 5:22

22 但我告訴你們,凡無緣無故向弟兄發怒的,要受審判;凡罵弟兄是白癡的,要受公會的審判;凡罵弟兄是笨蛋的,難逃地獄的火。

5:22 anyone who is angry. The law limited sin, but Jesus’ kingdom demands go deeper; the law said, “You shall not murder,” but Jesus demanded, “You shall not want to murder.” Some other ancient teachers agreed that desiring to kill someone revealed the same sort of heart that actually could commit murder. The insult, “Raca” (essentially meaning, “empty,” “devoid of value”) was roughly equivalent to the common insult, “Fool.” The punishments might also be equivalent, if the “judgment” and the “court” refer to the tradition, attested in later Jewish literature, of a heavenly court (cf. vv. 25 – 26). Jesus’ word for “hell” here is a Greek rendering of Gehinnom (Gehenna), a place of fiery torment for the damned (see note on 3:12); by adding explicit mention of “fire,” Jesus underlines the warning even more strongly. Jesus might have employed an element of hyperbole to drive home the point (cf. his use of “fools” in 23:17).

Read more from NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible