The Sermon on the Mount Part 8

[HKHaugan]

The Sermon on the Mount Part 8

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Mt.5:9).”

The seventh blessing is about the peace that passes understanding.

The seventh blessing is introducing others to the Lord's peace we have been given. Yes, purifying the heart increases the awareness of the peace that passes understanding. It is not peace as the world gives but the peace Jesus gives (Jn.14:27). There is definitely a difference like night and day. It's important to distinguish them.

Peace as the world gives, what is it? The world atmosphere spreads the idea that peace is the absence of external conflict. There is no war between nations. People don't argue. Everyone just gets along. In the 60's communes were built around the idea of people living in harmony. There are a number today doing the same. It's based on the premise that everyone can control what they feel and do. “Make love not war.” Wear hippie clothes and suppress whatever hostility you may feel. People who are drawn into this atmosphere find that they have to spend most of their time practicing not reacting and become consumed with the concept of peace. This is what made the drug craze, starting with marijuana, so popular in the youth culture. Drugging out reduced the effort of having to be non-aggressive. You anesthetize your problems. Alcohol is used with for the same purpose but both avenues don't solve the real problem which is the inner aggression, confusion, insecurity, inevitable depression and aloneness all of which come from sin. Then there is the strategy of denial. Deny the existence of inner restlessness as a kind of suffering that is embraced and accepted as part of being thus suffering is eliminated by the emergence of being at one with the suffering whatever it may be. Unreality is reality. All these avenues of peace as the world defines it is an idol, a rainbow whose end you never will find, a chasing after shadows like a dog chasing its tail, an illusion in the mist of a wish.

Peace as Jesus gives is quite different. First of all it is inner peace; mind peace, heart peace and spirit peace. Second, it is relational peace. It starts with a relationship with the Lord who is the Prince of Peace. It is His inner reality in the Holy Spirit, His relationship with His Father and consequent confidence He has that exudes stability. Jesus is the picture of inner peace in whom there is no conflict. Jesus was anticipated in the prophets. Especially in Isaiah 53 where His own people turned against Him. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open His mouth...He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors (vs.7, 12).” Then on the Cross he said, “Father forgive them for they know no what they do (Lk.23:34) and as He breathed His last breath He said, “Father, into you hands I commit my Spirit (Lk.23:46).” Now there is inner peace. It is knowing He is secure in His Father and the Holy Spirit. He knows what Scripture has taught Him for His mind, He feels it in His heart and speaks it in His Spirit. Peace in Jesus is spiritual, personal and relational. The Cross demonstrates what the Resurrection proves.

So what does that mean for us? Inner personal peace is a gift coming from Jesus through the Spirit. When people see we don't get easily rattled by their opposition, they know something is different about us. It's no longer about being number one in an argument or working hard at self confidence and being accepted. Knowing God accepts you as you are prepares you for every next moment. No matter what the circumstance, you have a stability in it. This doesn't mean you are always calm and self assured. Even in the midst of anxiety there is still an inner sense of balance.

The Lord's peace is the Holy Spirit bringing that balance in the moment of conflict both within and without. Our inner conflicts usually have to do with situations over which we have no control. This is where again, we look to Jesus on the Cross. His six hour physical agony was met with faith. In each of His words there we see the assurance of the Scripture as His expression of that inner peace (Mt.28:46, Lk.23:34, 43, 46, Jn.19:26, 27, 28, 30). In fact they are the outpouring of His faith in His Father, His love for others and His acceptance of circumstance as His Father's will for Him. His peace was a declaration that real peace is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal.5:22).

It is inner heart peace that motivates us as we share His peace with others. Ultimately it is His inner peace that will cause people to beat their swords into plowshares and for nations to train for war no more (Micah 4:3). So, basically, our inner peace is His peace making peace wherever we are. By His peace we are peacemakers because He is operating through us. He is our peace (Eph.2:14).

One more boost about how inner peace affects the outcome when dealing with enemies, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty,, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head (Prov.25:21-22).” Paul quotes this in Romans 12:20, then follows with this, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (vs.21).”