Jesus the Wall Buster

For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14).

Knocking down walls is a big part of any renovation project.  Open things up.  Make rooms bigger.  Whether it's with a sledgehammer or a wrecking ball, walls are coming down.  

Paul lets us know that Jesus is busting down the walls of race, culture and religion in our lives.  "For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (v14).  

In order for Christ to bring enemies together, He has to knock down the walls that separate us first.  The fall of the Berlin Wall is nothing compared to the wrecking ball Jesus uses on our prejudice and discrimination.

The walls are coming down.

From a Roman prison, Paul writes to a church in Ephesus that's predominantly made up of Gentiles.  On his first visit to the big port city, the apostle first reached out to Jews at the synagogue with the Good News of Messiah Jesus but was soon given the boot (Acts 19:9-10).  He moved to a local convention center called the Hall of Tyrannus and expanded his outreach to non-Jews (Acts 19:11).  

Ephesus was a crossroads of cultures, races and religions.  The new church there was a perfect reflection of it.  Call it a melting pot.  Call it a mutt.  And it would be the birth of arguably the most important church in the entire New Testament.  Paul started it.  Timothy pastored it.  John taught it.  Jesus wrote to it.

Paul reminds his Ephesian friends how the radical and risen Rabbi has brought together one-time enemies in a brand new way.  "For He Himself is our peace" (v14).  Only Jesus could pull this off.  He brings the end of fighting with each other and fighting with God.  

But the writers of the Bible mean so much more than the lack of war when they talk of peace.  This is the equivalent to Hebrew word "shalom."  Sure, it means peace.  But it's SO much more.  It's a picture of perfect order.  God's intended rhythm for life that we destroyed with sin at the fall.  Jesus is bringing shalom back.

There's no doubt that He's the God-Man for the job.  Isaiah called Him "Prince of Peace" (Is 9:6) about 700 years before Jesus was born.  Right before His crucifixion, He made sure to let His posse know that His peace was like no other.  "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you" (Jn 14:27).  

Christ made it clear that those who act as agents of God's shalom have a special place in His kingdom.  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9).  He is the source of the peace so deep, so rich, that we can't wrap our brains around it (Phil 4:6).  Jesus is our peace.  The bumper stickers are right.  Know Jesus, know peace.  No Jesus, no peace.

Jesus is the ultimate Unifier.  He's the One "who has made us both one" (v14).  The "both" he's talking about are Jews and Gentiles.  Christ transforms two longtime enemies into one family.  He's transforms two opponents into teammates.  He's transforms two completely different groups into one new entity.  

We see this all throughout the New Testament.  It's His specialty.  He's the Reconciler (2Cor 5:16-20).  Like the divine Botanist, He's grafting us together into one organism (Rom 11:11-24). 

Jesus is the ultimate Wall Buster.  He "has broken down in HIs flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (v14).  This "dividing wall" is the Greek noun mesotoichon, which describes a barrier that separates, fence, obstacle or partition.  

There's another word in the original text that doesn't show up in the ESV: phragmos.  A hedge, fence, something that blocks up or enclosure.  It's where we get our word fragment.  These walls of prejudice had fragmented mankind.

These walls are coming down.

Back in first century Palestine, landowners put up fences or walls to protect their property.  This is the hedge that separates the Master's vineyard (Mt 21:33).  In Jesus' story of the big party, folks were to beat the bushes along the highway to invite people (Lk 14:23).  

Here Paul is talking about an obstacle to interpersonal relationships.  Specifically, Jews and Gentiles.  At the temple in Jerusalem, there was a wall that separated an area call the Court of the Gentiles.  Non-Jews were restricted from the rest of the temple complex.  In many ways, it symbolized the racial, religious, social and cultural divide between Hebrews and everyone else.

These walls are coming down.

The level of tension between Jews and Gentiles at that time is hard to fathom.  Paul uses the Greek word echthra.  It describes an active hostility between people.  Racial hatred was expressed openly and actively.  

God originally handpicked Abe's descendants as a source of blessing to the entire world (Gen 12:3-4; 18:18).  One day, He would use them to bring forth His long promised Messiah (Gen 22:18; Is 49:6).  

But there was one big problem.  His chosen people had grown arrogant.  They hated the filthy and disgusting non-Jews.  And Gentiles returned the favor.  Racial discrimination.  Prejudice.  Hatred.

These walls are coming down.

Dr. King's dream is Jesus' reality.  He's knocking down the walls of racial discrimination and creating one new race.  Something brand new, something radically different is happening.  Only Christ could take one of the proudest and most arrogant Jews on the planet and transform him into His "chosen instrument" to non-Jews (Acts 9:15).  

This same Paul wrote to folks over in Colossae that Jesus is creating an entirely new people.  "Here here is not Greek or Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Schythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all" (Col 3:11).  

And just so you know that wasn't a slip of Paul's pen during a weak moment, he told the Galatians the same thing.  "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:27).  

These walls are coming down.

So where are these walls in my life?  In your life?  Is there a group of people you have "issues" with?  Who are the folks that you simply don't like?  It doesn't matter if it's another race, a different culture, folks on the other side of tracks, people who work in another department, your competition in business.  

You may want to step back.  Jesus is the ultimate Wall Buster.  These walls are coming down.