Matthew 5:9 Kommentar

This chapter, and the two that follow it, are a sermon; a famous sermon; the sermon upon the mount. It is the longest and fullest continued discourse of our Saviour that we have upon record in all the gospels. It is a practical discourse; there is not much of the credenda of Christianity in it - the things to be believed, but it is wholly taken up with the agenda - the things to be done; these Christ began with in his preaching; for if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. The circumstances of the sermon being accounted for (Mat 5:1, Mat 5:2), the sermon itself follows, the scope of which is, not to fill our heads with notions, but to guide and regulate our practice. I. He proposes blessedness as the end, and gives us the character of those who are entitled to blessedness (very different from the sentiments of a vain world), in eight beatitudes, which may justly be called paradoxes (Mat 5:3-12). II. He prescribes duty as the way, and gives us standing rules of that duty. He directs his disciples, 1. To understand what they are - the salt of the earth, and the lights of the world (Mat 5:13-16). 2. To understand what they have to do - they are to be governed by the moral law. Here is, (1.) A general ratification of the law, and a recommendation of it to us, as our rule (Mat 5:17-20). (2.) A particular rectification of divers mistakes; or, rather, a reformation of divers wilful, gross corruptions, which the scribes and Pharisees had introduced in their exposition of the law; and an authentic explication of divers branches which most needed to be explained and vindicated (Mat 5:20). Particularly, here is an explication, [1.] Of the sixth commandment, which forbids murder (Mat 5:21-26). [2.] Of the seventh commandment, against adultery (Mat 5:27-32). [3.] Of the third commandment (Mat 5:33-37). [4.] Of the law of retaliation (Mat 5:38-42). [5.] Of the law of brotherly love (Mat 5:43-48). And the scope of the whole is, to show that the law is spiritual.

And seeing the multitudes,.... The great concourse of people that followed him from the places before mentioned, he went up into a mountain; either to pray alone, which was sometimes his custom to do, or to shun the multitude; or rather, because it was a commodious place for teaching the people: and when he was set: not for rest, but in order to teach; for sitting was the posture of masters, or teachers, see Mat 13:2 Luk 4:20. The form in which the master and his disciples sat is thus described by Maimonides (z). "The master sits at the head, or in the chief place, and the disciples before him in a circuit, like a crown; so that they all see the master, and hear his words; and the master may not sit upon a seat, and the scholars upon the ground; but either all upon the earth, or upon seats: indeed from the beginning, or formerly, "the master used to sit", and the disciples stand; but before the destruction of the second temple, all used to teach their disciples as they were sitting.'' With respect to this latter custom, the Talmudists say (a), that "from the days of Moses, to Rabban Gamaliel (the master of the Apostle Paul), they did not learn the law, unless standing; after Rabban Gamaliel died, sickness came into the world, and they learnt the law sitting: hence it is a tradition, that after Rabban Gamaliel died, the glory of the law ceased.'' His disciples came unto him; not only the twelve, but the company, or multitude, of his disciples, Luk 6:17 which he made in the several places, where he had been preaching; for the number of his disciples was larger than John's. (z) Hilch. Talmud Torah, c. 4. sect. 2. (a) T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 21. 1. Vid. Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 15. & Jarchi, Maimon, & Bartenora in ib.

Blessed are the peace makers,.... Not between God and man, for no man can make his own peace with God; nor can any mere creature, angels, or men, make it for him; Christ, in this sense, is the only peace maker: but between men and men; and such are they, who are of peaceable dispositions themselves; live peaceably with all men, and with one another, as their relation obliges to, and their mutual comfort requires; and with the men of the world; and who are ready, willing, and very serviceable, in composing differences, and making peace between their fellow creatures and fellow Christians. The Jews speak very highly, and much, in the commendation of peace making; they reckon this among the things which shall be of use to a man, both in this, and the other world. "These are the things, (say they (e),) the fruit of which a man enjoys in this world, and his lot or portion remains for him in the world to come; honouring father and mother, liberality, , "and making peace between a man and his neighhour."'' This, they say (f), Aaron was much disposed to. "Moses used to say, let justice break through the mountain; but Aaron loved peace, and pursued it, and made peace between a man and his neighhour, as is said, Mal 2:6'' Hence that saying of Hillell (g), "be thou one of the disciples of Aaron, who loved peace, and followed after it; he loved men, and brought them to the law.'' Now of such persons it is said, that they shall be called the children of God; that is, they are the children of God by adopting grace, which is made manifest in their regeneration; and that is evidenced by the fruits of it, of which this is one; they not only shall be, and more manifestly appear to be, the sons of God hereafter; but they are, and are known to be so now, by their peaceable disposition, which is wrought in them by the Spirit of God; whereby they become like to the God of peace, and to Christ, the great and only peacemaker, and so are truly sons of peace. (e) Misn. Peah. c. 1. sect. 1. T. Bab. Sabbat. fol. 127. 1. & Kiddushin. fol. 40. 1. (f) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 6. 2. Vid. Abot. R. Nathan, c. 12. fol. 4. 2. (g) Pirke Abot. c. 1. sect. 12.

For which reason the "peace-making" apostle, for fear he should seem to claim all gifts for himself, says that he had been sent "not to baptize, but to preach.

"Blessed are the gentle: " under this term, surely, the impatient cannot possibly be classed. Again, when He marks "the peacemakers" with the same title of felicity, and names them "sons of God," pray have the impatient any affinity with "peace? "Even a fool may perceive that.

"But," say they, "God is `good, 'and `most good, ' and `pitiful-hearted, 'and `a pitier, 'and `abundant in pitiful-heartedness, ' which He holds `dearer than all sacrifice, ' `not thinking the sinner's death of so much worth as his repentance', `a Saviour of all men, most of all of believers.' And so it will be becoming for `the sons of God' too to be `pitiful-hearted' and `peacemakers; ' `giving in their turn just as Christ withal hath given to us; ' `not judging, that we be not judged.' For `to his own lord a man standeth or falleth; who art thou, to judge another's servant? ' `Remit, and remission shall be made to thee.'"

What doest thou, gentlest and humanest Discipline? Either to all these will it be thy duty so to be, for "blessed are the peacemakers; " or else, if not to all, it will be thy duty to range thyself on our side.

"Blessed," says He, "are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the sons of God." [Matthew 5:9] It behooves the sons of God to be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, agreeing in affection, faithfully linked to one another in the bonds of unanimity. This unanimity formerly prevailed among the apostles; and thus the new assembly of believers, keeping the Lord's commandments, maintained its charity. Divine Scripture proves this, when it says, "But the multitude of them which believed were of one heart and of one soul." [Acts 4:32] And again: "These all continued with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brethren." [Acts 1:14] And thus they prayed with effectual prayers; thus they were able with confidence to obtain whatever they asked from the Lord's mercy.

The blessedness of the peacemakers is the reward of adoption, they shall be called the sons of God. For God is our common parent, and no other way can we pass into His family than by living in brotherly love together.

(ubi sup.) When you have made your inward parts clean from every spot of sin, that dissentions and contentious may not proceed from your temper, begin peace within yourself, that so you may extend it to others.

Blessed are the peace-makers. Here He not only takes away altogether our own strife and hatred amongst ourselves, but He requires besides this something more, namely, that we should set at one again others, who are at strife. And again, the reward which He annexes is spiritual. Of what kind then is it? For they shall be called the children of God. Yea, for this became the work of the Only Begotten, to unite the divided, and to reconcile the alienated. Then, lest thou shouldest imagine peace in all cases a blessing, He hath added, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake. That is, for virtue's sake, for succor given to others, and for godliness: it being ever His wont to call by the name of righteousness the whole practical wisdom of the soul.

The peacemakers (pacifici) are pronounced blessed, they namely who make peace first within their own hearts, then between brethren at variance. For what avails it to make peace between others, while in your own heart are wars of rebellious vices.

(Verse 9.) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Those who first make peace in their own hearts, and then among quarreling brothers. For what good is it to reconcile others through you, when there are wars of vices in your own soul?

(Civ. Dei, xix. 13.) Peace is the fixedness of order; by order, I mean an arrangement of things like and unlike giving to each its own place. And as there is no man who would not willingly have joy, so is there no man who would not have peace; since even those who go to war desire nothing more than by war to come to a glorious peace. (Serm. in Mont. i. 2.) The peacemakers within themselves are they who having stilled all disturbances of their spirits, having subjected them to reason, have overcome their carnal desires, and become the kingdom of God. There all things are so disposed, that that which is most chief and excellent in man, governs those parts which we have in common with the brutes, though they struggle against it; nay even that in man which is excellent is subjected to a yet greater, namely, the very Truth, the Son of God. For it would not be able to govern what is inferior to it, if it were not subject to what is above it. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of good will. (Retract. i. 19.) No man can attain in this life that there be not in his members a law resisting the law of his mind. But the peacemakers attain thus far by overcoming the lusts of the flesh, that in time they come to a most perfect peace. Or, because peace is then perfect when there is no where any opposition, the peacemakers are called the sons of God, because nothing resists God, and the children ought to bear the likeness of their Father.

To the peacemakers the likeness of God is given, as being perfectly wise, and formed after the image of God by means of the regeneration of the renewed man: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

Wisdom corresponds to the peacemakers, in whom all things are now brought into order, and no passion is in a state of rebellion against reason, but all things together obey the spirit of man, while he himself also obeys God: and of them it is here said, Blessed are the peacemakers.

There is in the inner person a kind of daily quarrel; a praiseworthy battle acts to keep what is better from being overcome by what is worse. The struggle is to keep desire from conquering the mind and to keep lust from conquering wisdom. This is the steadfast peace that you ought to develop in yourself, that what is better in you may be in charge of what is worse. The better part in you, moreover, is that part in which God’s image is found. This is called the mind, the intellect. There faith burns, there hope is strengthened, there charity is kindled.

Where there is no contention, there is perfect peace. And that is why the children of God are peacemakers, because nothing can finally stand against God. In this way the children possess a likeness to God the Father. And those who calm their passions and subject them to reason, to mind and spirit, and who keep their carnal lusts under control engender peace within themselves. Thereby they themselves become the kingdom of God. In this kingdom all things are so well ordered that everything in humanity that is common to us and to the beasts is spontaneously governed by that which is chief and preeminent in humanity, namely, the reasoning mind. This preeminent human faculty is itself subject to a still higher power, which is Truth itself, the only begotten Son of God.

The peacemaker is the one who demonstrates the harmony of the Scriptures, where others see only a contradiction: the Old with the New, the law with the prophets, Gospel with Gospel. Accordingly, having imitated the Son of God, “he shall be called a son,” having by his work grasped of the “spirit of adoption.”

The peacemakers are those who, standing apart from the stumbling block of disagreement and discord, guard the affection of fraternal love and the peace of the church under the unity of the universal faith. And the Lord in the Gospel particularly urges his disciples to guard this peace, saying, “I give you my peace; I leave you my peace.” David earlier testified that the Lord would give this peace to his church, saying, “I will listen to what the Lord speaks in me, for he will pronounce his peace to his people and upon his holy ones and to those who turn to him.”

The peacemakers with others are not only those who reconcile enemies, but those who unmindful of wrongs cultivate peace. That peace only is blessed which is lodged in the heart, and does not consist only in words. And they who love peace, they are the sons of peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "The peacemakers" are not only those who are themselves peaceable with all, but also those who reconcile others who are at odds. "The peacemakers" are also those who by their teaching convert the enemies of God. Just as the Only-begotten Son reconciled us to God when we were His enemies, so too are the "peacemakers" "sons of God."

(non occ.) The reward of these is greater than the reward of the first; being not merely to dine in the King's court, but further to see His face. (ap. Anselm.) The peacemakers have thus the place of highest honour, inasmuch as he who is called the king's son, is the highest in the king's house. This beatitude is placed the seventh in order, because in the sabbath shall be given the repose of true peace, the six ages being passed away.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. This is the seventh beatitude and, as has been said, virtues disposing toward the best dispose toward two things, namely, to the vision of God and to love. And just as purity in heart disposes toward the vision of God, so peace disposes toward the love of God, by which we are called and are sons of God. Thus it disposes to the love of neighbor, because it says in 1 John (4:20): "He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." And it should be noted that two rewards of beatitude are presented here, namely, blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice' sake. And all the previous ones are reduced to those two and are their effect. For what is attained by poverty of spirit, by mourning, by meekness, but that a clean heart be had? What by justice and mercy, but that we have peace? "The fruit of justice will be peace, and the result of justice quietness and trust forever" (Is 32:17). Therefore blessed are the peacemakers. Let us now see what peace is and how we can attain it. Peace is the tranquility of order. Order is an arrangement of equal and unequal things, which assigns its own place to each. Therefore, peace lies in all things keeping their own places. Hence, man's mind should first be subjected to God. Secondly, the lower movements and powers, which are common to us and the beasts, should be subjected to reason; for it is through reason that man excels animals: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Gen 1:26). Thirdly, that man be at peace with others, because in that way he will be completely set in proper order. But this arrangement in proper order is found only in holy men: "Great peace have they who love your name" (Ps 119:165); "There is no peace for the wicked" (Is 48:22), for they cannot have inner peace: "They live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace" (Wis 14:22). True peace the world cannot give: "Not as the world gives, do I give to you" (Jn 14:27). However, all this is not enough, but they should make peace between those in conflict: "Those who enter into the counsels of peace and joy" (Pr 12:20). Yet it should be noted that peace begins here, but it is not perfect, because no one can have his animal inclinations completely subject: "I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members" (Rom 7:23). Hence it will be true in eternal life: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep" (Ps 4:8); "The peace of God surpasses all understanding" (Phil 4:7). Because they shall be called sons of God for three reasons: first, because they have the office of the Son of God. For the Son is said to have come into the world to assemble those who are scattered: "For he is our peace" (Eph 2:14); "Reconciling to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven" (Col 1:20). Secondly, because through peace with charity one reaches the eternal kingdom: "Why has he been numbered among the sons of God? And why is his lot among the saints?" (Wis 5:5); "Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3). Thirdly, because by it man becomes like unto God; for where peace is, there is no resistance, and no one can resist God: "Who resisted him and had peace?" (Jb 9:4). It should be noted that those beatitudes add something to one another. For it is a greater thing to obtain mercy than to be filled, because being full depends on one's capacity; but mercy is superabundant. Furthermore, not all who receive mercy are admitted by the king to see the king. Finally, it is a greater thing to be the king's son than to see the king. Yet it should be noted that by all these one only reward is designated. But why did the Lord wish to signify that one reward by many? The answer is that all things which are separate among lower beings are assembled into one in the higher. And because in matters human they are found scattered, and we are led to God through sense-perceptible things, the Lord signified that one eternal reward by many rewards. This seventh beatitude is adapted to the gift of wisdom, for wisdom makes men be children of God. It should also be noted that in the seventh beatitude is placed peace, and on the seventh day rest (Gen 2:2).

THE BEATITUDES, AND THEIR BEARING UPON THE WORLD. (Mat. 5:1-16) And seeing the multitudes--those mentioned in Mat 4:25. he went up into a mountain--one of the dozen mountains which ROBINSON says there are in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, any one of them answering about equally well to the occasion. So charming is the whole landscape that the descriptions of it, from JOSEPHUS downwards [Wars of the Jews, 4.10,8], are apt to be thought a little colored. and when he was set--had sat or seated Himself. his disciples came unto him--already a large circle, more or less attracted and subdued by His preaching and miracles, in addition to the smaller band of devoted adherents. Though the latter only answered to the subjects of His kingdom, described in this discourse, there were drawn from time to time into this inner circle souls from the outer one, who, by the power of His matchless word, were constrained to forsake their all for the Lord Jesus.

Blessed are the peacemakers--who not only study peace, but diffuse it. for they shall be called the children of God--shall be called sons of God. Of all these beatitudes this is the only one which could hardly be expected to find its definite ground in the Old Testament; for that most glorious character of God, the likeness of which appears in the peacemakers, had yet to be revealed. His glorious name, indeed--as "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin"--had been proclaimed in a very imposing manner (Exo 34:6), and manifested in action with affecting frequency and variety in the long course of the ancient economy. And we have undeniable evidence that the saints of that economy felt its transforming and ennobling influence on their own character. But it was not till Christ "made peace by the blood of the cross" that God could manifest Himself as "the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Heb 13:20) --could reveal Himself as "in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them," and hold Himself forth in the astonishing attitude of beseeching men to be "reconciled to Himself" (Co2 5:19-20). When this reconciliation actually takes place, and one has "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"--even "the peace of God which passeth all understanding"--the peace-receivers become transformed into peace-diffusers. God is thus seen reflected in them; and by the family likeness these peacemakers are recognized as the children of God. In now coming to the eighth, or supplementary beatitude, it will be seen that all that the saints are in themselves has been already described, in seven features of character; that number indicating completeness of delineation. The last feature, accordingly, is a passive one, representing the treatment that the characters already described may expect from the world. He who shall one day fix the destiny of all men here pronounces certain characters "blessed"; but He ends by forewarning them that the world's estimation and treatment of them will be the reserve of His.