SM-I Syllabus SM-7
The Sermon on the Mount
SM – I
Lesson 7
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9
Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience. Their conception of the Messiah’s kingdom was a worldly, physical one. Their hopes were for a revolution and restoration of the monarchy as it once existed, but what was being implemented and promoted was much different than their conception.
Instead of revolution and war, Jesus spoke of peacemaking. This peace would not come through violence and war, but through the spread of the good news and redemption (Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-33; Isaiah 2:2-4). Ultimately, this would mean that the traditional barriers that existed between peoples of various nationalities would no longer exist (Eph. 2:11-15).