Trinity Community Church
Trinity Community Church
The Blessed Life - Session 8
What does it really mean to be a peacemaker in a world filled with conflict? The answer might surprise you. When Jesus declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” He wasn’t calling us to avoid conflict at all costs—He was inviting us into a revolutionary way of engaging with a fractured and hurting world.
The Greek word for peacemaker (eirēnopoios) appears only once in Scripture and describes someone who “bravely declares God’s terms and makes others whole.” This definition challenges the passive view of peace many of us hold. Jesus Himself said He came not to bring peace but a sword, revealing that true reconciliation sometimes requires confrontation. As the ultimate peacemaker, He overturned tables in the temple and rebuked religious leaders, showing that addressing injustice is essential to genuine peace.
This teaching explores three dimensions of biblical peacemaking. First, peace within ourselves, modeled by Jesus sleeping through a raging storm while His disciples panicked. Second, peace between people, demonstrated when Jesus crossed cultural boundaries to speak with the Samaritan woman at the well. Third, peace between humanity and God, accomplished through Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. Each dimension shows that real peace demands courage, intentionality, and a readiness to step into difficult conversations for the sake of restoration.
The early church embodied this radical approach to peace through its diverse leadership and inclusive fellowship. From Pentecost onward, God’s people were called to break down racial, social, and cultural barriers through unity in Christ. Like leaven working through dough, this Kingdom peace transforms from the inside out—changing hearts, shaping communities, and ultimately influencing the world. As James writes, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
This session invites you to embrace that calling—to step beyond comfort, speak truth in love, and become an active participant in God’s redemptive work of reconciliation.
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As some of you know, patty and I worked together in the prison ministry, and when I shared with her that I was feeling a little nervous about tonight, she suggested a good way to deal with that would be just to picture you all as being prisoners, so I hope you don't mind being a captive audience tonight. Seriously, though, it's a real honor to be a part of bringing this series to you and getting to work alongside so many amazing teachers, and I hope my contribution will be a blessing to you. The title of it is Making Peace in a Warring World. Before we get started, let's do a review. Let's go to Matthew, chapter 5. When you're there, say I'm there.
James Boyd:I'll begin with verse 1. Seeing the crowds, he went up to the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure at heart, for they will see God and finally our passage for this evening Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. The grass fades, the flower withers, but the word of our God will stand forever. Friends, this world is hurting. How many of you grew up watching Mr Rogers? If you did, you probably remember his famous quote when scary things are happening, look for the helpers. You'll always find people who are helping. Well, if you watch the news for five minutes, you know there are a lot of scary things going on in our world right now. And to adapt Mr Rogers' quote to our context, we could say look for the healers, look for the conciliators and, yes, look for the peacemakers.
James Boyd:The Amplified Bible puts it blessed, spiritually, calm with life, joy and God's favor, are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will express his character and be called the sons of God. Friends Jesus' seventh beatitude here is more relevant than ever. The Greek word here is erinopoios, and it's the only time in the entire Bible this word is used. It means a peacemaker, someone who bravely declares God's terms and makes someone whole. Peacemaker, someone who bravely declares God's terms and makes someone whole. Now, I'm sure you guys know this, but it's important to point out that the act of being a peacemaker itself doesn't make you a child of God. Being born again makes you a child of God, but when you're born again, your life will bear out the fruit of that. The fruit of the Spirit, is love, joy, exactly so. When you're part of God's family, you'll bear that family resemblance.
James Boyd:It's also important to remember that being a peacemaker may not always look like you think it will. It's not all about tie-dye t-shirts, patchouli and granola. Let's look at Matthew, chapter 10. Chapter 10. Chapter 10, verses 34 through 36. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have come not to bring peace but a sword, for I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a person's enemies will be those of their own household. Strong words from the same Jesus that previously said blessed are the peacemakers. Is that a contradiction? Not at all. It's just simply pointing out a fact that sometimes conflict is necessary to get us to that place of peace. Now, if you know me, you know I'm a pretty easygoing guy, so that's a lesson I've had to learn the hard way from time to time. But being a peacemaker means that sometimes you deal with hard truths. It does sometimes involve confrontation. Jesus was the ultimate peacemaker, but he had to be very confrontational at times, just as the money changers that felt the sting of his whip.
James Boyd:As believers, we walk the narrow path. The gospel message is always going to be countercultural and we're going to be going against the grain a good part of the time, but we have to do that with the end goal of being a peacemaker as much as possible. Romans 12 18 tells us that yes, if possible, as far as depends on you, live. Live peaceably with all, the presupposition being that it won't always be possible to live at peace with everyone. So adjust your expectations accordingly.
James Boyd:So we're going to look at three different aspects of being a peacemaker Peace with ourselves, making peace between others and, ultimately, peace between God and humanity. And in each case, we're going to be looking for examples from the life of Jesus. After all, wwjd, what would Jesus do? First of all, we'll talk about peace with ourselves. We can't give to others what we don't already have. The making peace begins with having God's peace in our own lives. And when I think about how did Jesus cultivate that in his life.
James Boyd:What do you guys think Any thoughts Exactly prayer? What do you guys think Any thoughts Exactly Prayer? Wouldn't you love to be able to watch Jesus pray? The Bible gives us a few references to it, but just to be there and watch one of those all-night prayer sessions and hear his intimate discussions with the Father. Now, while the Bible only gives us a few glimpses, it gives us the results of that. Plenty of time.
James Boyd:Let's look at Luke, chapter 8. Luke, chapter 8. Luke, chapter 8, I'll begin reading in verse 22. One day he got into a boat with his disciples and said to them let's go across to the other side of the lake. So they set out and as they sailed he fell asleep and a windstorm came down on the lake and they were filling it with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him saying master, master, we are perishing. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves and they ceased and there was a calm. He said to them where's your faith? And they were afraid and they marveled at saying to him who, then, is this that he commands, even the winds and the water? And they obey him, even this catastrophic storm, where the disciples, just like most of us would, were freaking out. Jesus took a nap, and then he rebuked them for not having that kind of faith too.
James Boyd:But living in the Father's peace carried Jesus all throughout his earthly life. Even when his soul was overwhelmed to the point of death, he still maintained trust and resolve. That's an important lesson for us. Peace doesn't necessarily mean the absence of pain. It means that kind of trust and resolve in God in spite of it. Next we're going to talk about peace between others.
James Boyd:Let's look at Ephesians 2, verse 14. Ephesians 2, verse 14. He himself is our peace, who has made the two group, jew and Gentile, one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Of course, the immediate context of this passage is again taking away the barriers between Jewish and Gentile believers, but the broader message is that the gospel is for everyone, and no one embodied that more than Jesus. To see an example, let's go to John, chapter 4.
James Boyd:This story will probably be familiar to most of you. John, chapter 4. John, chapter 4, I'll begin reading with verse 5. So Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, weary from his journey. A little side note it gives me comfort to see Jesus got tired. It's okay to be tired and it's okay to take a rest, but he sat down beside the well.
James Boyd:It was the sixth hour and a woman from from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her give me a drink, for his disciples had gone away to the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him how is it that you, a Jew, asked drink for me, a woman of Samaria? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. We'll be coming back to that. Jesus answered her.
James Boyd:If you knew the gift of God and who it is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him sir, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where do you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. Jesus said to her everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. Amen. The water that I give him will become a spring of water welling up into eternal life.
James Boyd:The woman said to me sir, give me this water that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water. Jesus said Go call your husband and come here. The woman answered him I have no husband. Jesus said You're right saying I have no husband, for you've had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband. What you said is true. The woman says to him Sir, I believe you're a prophet. You think Our fathers worshipped in the mountain, but you say Jerusalem is the place we should worship. Jesus said to her Woman believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is with the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit and those who worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. The woman said I know the Messiah is coming. He was called Christ. When he comes he will tell us all things Jesus said to her. I who speak to you, am he.
James Boyd:Jesus had left Jerusalem, was going back to Galilee and he passed through Samaria. And on the way he stops and takes a rest by Jacob's well. Little side note Jacob's well is still standing. It's in a monastery on the West Bank. It's still visited by tourists. While he's there, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water and Jesus asks for a drink. That alone is revolutionary, that he would speak not only to a woman in a day when women were treated in very degrading ways, but also to a Samaritan.
James Boyd:The animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans ran deep. It goes back to Israel's captivity in Assyria, which you can read about in 2 Kings 17. During that time, jews and Assyrians intermarried and the Samaritan race came from that. So it reminded the Jews of a very painful time in their history. There were also theological differences. Samaritans only accepted the first five books of the Bible as scripture and they didn't worship at the temple at Jerusalem. They had their own temple on Mount Gerizim.
James Boyd:But despite this, jesus came to seek and save the lost. He used the mundane, everyday act of drawing water to introduce her to the concept of living water, a symbol of the Holy Spirit which you can drink and never thirst again. This woman tradition tells us her name was Fotini. She asked for the water and then something unexpected happens. Jesus has a word of knowledge about her past. She's been married five times and she's currently in a relationship with someone out of wedlock. Obviously, that amazes her and she speaks of the Messiah and Jesus says I am the Messiah. In response, she goes back and tells her friends come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Because of this, fotini is regarded as one of the first Christian missionaries Christian missionaries, and tradition further tells us she was baptized and served God faithfully all of her life before being martyred by Emperor Nero for refusing to renounce her faith. This was all because Jesus reached out to someone that religion had rejected. He dared to be a peacemaker.
James Boyd:This radical cross-cultural approach was the way that was the pattern of the early church from the beginning. Remember how the church was born at Pentecost, in an international assembly, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on a group of people from very diverse ethnicities and backgrounds, including Parthians, medes and Elamites people from modern-day Iran, residents of Macedonia, judea and Cappadocia. Others came from Pontus and Asia, phrygia and Pamphylia, all of which are part of modern Turkey, egypt and parts of Libya near Cyrene and North Africa. There were also visitors from Rome, along with Cretans and Arabs. In addition, we see in Acts 13, leaders in the early church included names like Barnabas, who was a Hellenistic Jew from Cyprus. Simeon, called Niger, was a black man from Africa. Lucius of Cyrene was also from Africa, manan had an aristocratic Jewish background and Saul or Paul obviously was a Roman citizen and Jew from Tarsus. This diverse group of leadership tells us how the church transcended racial, cultural and social barriers through unity in Christ.
James Boyd:Finally, in chapter 7, verses 9-10 of the magnificent book of Revelation, we see people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshiping God together through all eternity and just like cultivating peace in our own lives. Peace between others starts with prayer. Friends, we know the secret. We have an audience with the creator of the universe anytime we want it. Do we ever stop and think about what an awesome privilege that is? People are frying their brains on drugs, trying to get what we can get in our prayer time. So to see how prayer ties into peacemaking.
James Boyd:Let's look at 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2, verses 1 and 2. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Okay, first, notice how we are to pray for all people, but it specifically signals out government officials, and we're to pray for all those who are in authority, whether we agree with them or not, whether they're members of our party or not, whether they're Christians or not. Keep in mind that the government that Paul was telling Timothy to pray for didn't have a single believer in it. In fact, they were routinely using Christians as human street lamps. But still, the end result that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness and honesty. So the focus of the prayer is peace and stability, maintained by godliness and honesty. Finally, we can be peacemakers because Jesus is our peace, which brings us to the final point and the ultimate goal peace between God and humanity.
James Boyd:Let's look at one of my favorite scriptures Colossians, chapter 2. Colossians 2, I'll begin reading with verse 13. And you who were dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, god made alive together with him. Having forgiven our trespasses by canceling the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands that he set aside, nailing it to the cross, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to an open shame by triumphing over them in him. Okay, we discussed earlier how sometimes conflict is necessary to bring us to peace. This is the key example of that. To bring us to peace. This is the key example of that. Jesus won our peace by going directly into battle against the powers of darkness. This reached its climax on the cross. What seemed like a humiliating defeat turned into the supreme victory when he rose from the dead. How many of you have seen the Passion? I'm very grateful for how that movie jarred us out of our Sunday school image of what crucifixion was and gave us a look at just how brutal it really was.
James Boyd:Medical doctor Gerald H Bradley describes it this way this was the most agonizing death man could face. He had to support himself in order to breathe. The flaming pain caused by the spikes hitting the median nerve in his wrists explodes up his arms, into his brain and down his spine, the spike burning through his nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet jerks, his body erect, then the leg muscles convulse and drive his body downward, beating him against the cross. Air is sucked in but cannot be exhaled until the built-up carbon dioxide in his lungs and bloodstream stimulates breathing to relieve the cramps. Exhaustion, shock, dehydration and paralysis destroy the victim. The heart is barely able to pump the thick blood as each of his billions of cells die, one at a time.
James Boyd:Prior to his death and all his agony, Jesus is in full control of his mind. He asked the Heavenly Father to forgive them, for they don't know what they do, and the dear Lamb of God was sacrificed for you. At least 30 Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus' death. The guard thrust his spear into Jesus' side and blood and water came out. That shows that the ultimate cause of death was heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by the fluid sack around the heart. Think of that for a moment. Because of our sin, he literally died of a broken heart.
James Boyd:Next is the Colossians passage tells us Jesus spoiled principalities and powers. He made a show of them openly triumphing over them. In it. This is military terminology. The image being drawn is an army overthrowing a rival kingdom, stripping its ruler naked and leading him down the street in humiliation. This is exactly what Jesus did to Satan. When he came out of that tomb, he had the victory once and for all, and he invites us all to share in it. Jesus died as the sacrificial lamb and he was raised as the conquering warrior, and he reminds us in Revelation 118, I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of hell and death.
James Boyd:Rc Sproul put it well when God signs a peace treaty, it signs for perpetuity. The war is over. Of course we still sin, we still rebel, but God has done our co-belligerent. He will not be drawn into warfare with us ever again. We have an advocate with our father, we.
James Boyd:So where do we go from there?
James Boyd:Let's look at Romans, chapter 10. Romans, chapter 10, verses 14 and 15. How thus shall they call on them who they have not believed, and how they will believe in him who they have not heard? And here, how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach except they be sent as is written? How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring back glad tidings of good things.
James Boyd:Friends, jesus has entrusted us to be messengers of that peace, each and every one of us. We're the ones who are to be the source of peace and stability in these scary times. You may be like me and have feet so ugly only your mother or a podiatrist could love them. But as long as they're devoted to spreading this message of peace, god says your feet are beautiful. And don't be discouraged because it doesn't happen as quickly as we'd like.
James Boyd:Remember, jesus compared the spread of his kingdom to leaven, just like yeast in a loaf of bread it starts off small and brings change from the inside out. Similarly, god's kingdom brings change gradually from the inside out. It starts small, but eventually it'll be manifest on a worldwide scale. In closing, we'll look at one more scripture. Let's look at James, my book, chapter 3, verses 16 through 18. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere, and a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Amen.
