And might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility (Eph 2:16).
Ever try to fix something and, no matter what you try, it doesn't work. Well, it happens to me ALL the time because I'm no handyman. Not even close. But many times when I'm playing repair man, the only way I can be successful is by starting all over again. Taking everything apart and beginning all over again. Starting over. Here in this verse, Paul tells us that our situation is such a complete disaster that Jesus has to start over, "and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility" (v16). At the core of His being, God is a Creator. He's a Builder. He's a Maker. He's a Carpenter. To make things right, He starts over.
Jesus is the Re-Reconciler.
I see you shaking your head and having your doubts about this idea. But give me just a minute to explain. Thanks. Most English translations of this verse use the word "reconcile." However in the original Greek text, Paul uses the compound word apokatallasso. At its core, this verb certainly means to bring back to a former state of harmony, reestablish proper friendly relationships after being disrupted or broken and transform from hostility to friendship. But there's more to it than that. This is actually a very funky word that contains two different prefixes and a root word. It's "from" (Gr. apo-) "against" (Gr. -kata-) "transform" (Gr. -allasso). The use of this double prefix literally means to "re-reconcile." Once ang for all, Jesus is re-reconciling the relationships between people and between people and God.
The apostle isn't just firing up the WABAC machine and taking us back to a time when they're were not Jews or Gentiles. He's taking us back before Abraham. He's taking us ALL the way back. Back to God's original creation. Back to Eden. The brute force of this word is primal. Jesus' work on our behalf takes us back to the beginning. Back before our sin trashed everything. Back when we walked in perfect relationship with each other. Back when we walked in perfect relationship with God Himself. We all hung out together in paradise. Until we jacked it up.
Jesus is making things right. Between different races. Between different cultures. Between different incomes. Between different social strata. He's making things right by taking everything back to the beginning. He's knocked down all those walls (Eph 2:14). The racial hatred and discrimination that marked Jewish-Gentile relationships is no more. It's hard to wrap our minds around the level of absolute contempt there was in the first century between these two groups. Jews saw themselves as God's chosen people and arrogantly believed non-Jews were unclean and filthy. When Paul started this nonsense of telling Gentiles about Messiah Jesus, the fecal matter hit the whirling device among Jewish leaders. There's no way these nasty non-Jews could be allowed into God's holy kingdom. There were HUGE meetings back at the home office in Jerusalem on the issue (Acts 15). The head honchos in the church decided that if Jesus is re-reconciling folks, who were they to stand in His way.
This is exactly what happened when Paul showed up in Ephesus for the first time. Dr. Luke wrote all about it in Acts 19. For three months, he reached out to Jews with the Good News that the long-awaited Messiah had come. Some folks came to faith in Jesus but Jewish leaders gave the apostle the boot from the synagogue. At this point, he takes his teaching down the road to Tyrannus Hall where folks come hear the Gospel. Jews. Gentiles. Jesus was using Paul to re-reconcile folks. That's what he wants his Ephesian friends to remember. That's what he wants us all to remember. He's brought us back together one final time.
Jesus is the Re-Reconciler.
If you think we've jacked things up between other people, take a look at how we've trashed our relationship with our Creator. Our first parents used to hang with Him in that awesome paradise called Eden. God would swing by just to spend a little quality time with them "in the cool of the day" (Gen 3:8). But no, we had to ruin it by believing Satan's lies (Gen 3:4-7). From that point on, our sin put a barrier between humans and God. We went from His close friends to bitter enemies. Rebels fighting against His kingdom. But God's had a plan to fix it all ever since. A plan to take it all back to the beginning. A plan to re-reconcile everything. A plan fulfilled in Jesus.
For centuries, the only way for folks to gain access to our holy and sinless God was through a complicated system of sacrifice. Even then, only the high priest could go behind the heavy curtain the temple into the most holy of all holy places. The spot where God Himself would show up in a powerful and special way. Eventually, Jesus came as the Ultimate Sacrifice and brought an end to the need for further sacrifices (Eph 2:15). As He completed His work on the cross, God did some very important redecorating in the temple. He tore the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from top to bottom (Mt 27:51). Now EVERYBODY has access to God through Jesus. Not just one particular group of people. Everybody. Because Jesus, we can confidently "draw near to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb 4:16). He's making things right between man and God.
Jesus is the Re-Reconciler.
That radical Rabbi is 100% God. And because of that, He's able "to reconcile (Gr. apokatallasso) to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled (Gr. apokatallasso) in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him." (Col 1:21-22). By the way, that's the only other times this word shows up in the Bible.
Jesus is the Re-Reconciler.
His purpose as our Re-Reconciler is bring "us both to God in one body" (v16). Jews and Gentiles both playing on the same team. These former arch enemies don't just sign a peace treaty. They are now together. They are now one. He's brought us into His church, His body. We are the literal hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Once He headed back home to His Dad, He left us to live lives of sacrificial love in our communities. We're to be shiners of His light. We're to be spreaders of His salt. We are His body.
Jesus has brought all people back together on God's team "through the cross" (v16). That's the tool He used to pull off this miracle. The cross. While what happened that bloody Friday outside of Jerusalem must never be diminished, Paul is talking about the total package of Christ's work for us that we could never do for ourselves in a gazillion years. He wants us to know that our Savior did it by living he perfect life that we completely failed to live. He did it by dying on a cross for sin that we deserved to die. He did it by rising to a glorious new life that we in no way deserve. Perfect life. Brutal death. Resurrection. The total package. Smart dudes who tuck in their shirts and wear ties call it Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus lived perfectly in our place. Jesus died savagely in our place. Jesus rose spectacularly in our place. That's what Paul means by "through the cross" (v16). Over in a little ditty he wrote to folks in Corinth, the man from Tarsus tried to sum it all up. "For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (2Cor 5:21). The cross. The total package. That's how Jesus brought us all together.
Jesus is taking it all back to the beginning. He's starting all over. Jesus is the Re-Reconciler.
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