by Alec Zacaroli
Ephesians 2, and in particular the second half of Ephesians 2 (verses 11-22), carries a vital lesson for the Church to remember in our current times. The following is the third in a series of blogs in which we will look more closely at these verses and how through them God is enlightening us on the church’s right response to our times.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” Eph. 2:13-16 (NASB).
Growing up in apartheid South Africa in the 1970s, I have many memories of a segregated world. One that persistently haunts me involved a visit to the beach with a Black boy. We were both about 6 years old, and I had befriended him while staying at a campground near Durban. His mother was a maid in one of the nearby white-owned homes. He and I had become real mates – playing and exploring every inch of the campground. That we came from vastly different backgrounds and experiences had no bearing on the moment. We were blissfully and beautifully ignorant of such things. But that wouldn’t last. One day my mother suggested my friend accompany us to the beach, an offer he readily accepted. We set off down the sandy trail, through the milk wood trees, toward the deep blue of the Indian Ocean. But just as we were about to pass out of the forest and on to the gleaming white sand, my friend froze. His eyes were wide with a deep, tyrannizing fear. I looked up and there was the sign: “WHITES ONLY.” I didn’t understand why it was there – but he did. He knew, probably from experience, exactly why it was there. That may have been my first realization that there were two South Africas, and they were separated by both visible and invisible dividing walls erected and maintained by men.
Paul reminds us that the practice of building walls of division among men is not new. Last week, we looked at how Gentiles were once outside of the walls of the Kingdom, “separate from Christ… having no hope and without God in the world.” (v. 2:11-2). This week we see how, through the blood of Christ, the Gentiles then and us today are no longer far off. (v. 13) We are no longer staring at a wall. We are gazing into the Kingdom. But that reconciliation did not involve lifting a barrier imposed by God; it involved breaking down a barrier built by men. Still, we might be asking ourselves, what was that wall in these verses?
The “barrier of the dividing wall” in verse 14 is one of the more difficult phrases to interpret in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Literally “the dividing wall of separation” in the original Greek (μεσοτοιχον του φραγμου), this phrase has been interpreted as referring to a number of things, including the partition within the Temple that separated Jews from Gentiles, or even a wall that separates earth from heaven. Given the context, however, the dividing wall most likely refers to the imposition of the Jewish Law and resulting division. The Law was used by Jews as a means of segregating themselves from Gentiles, and the Gentiles in turn took it that way. As William Klein notes: “The wall embodied the antipathy between Jews and Gentiles. While the Jews arrogantly looked down on the uncircumcised Gentile dogs, the Gentiles returned the favor!”[1] This makes sense, given Paul refers to the wall as the εχθραν, a Greek word meaning “enmity” or “hostility.” It represents the enmity that existed between Jews and Gentiles based on their differences – a phenomenon not unfamiliar today. It bears noting again that it was not the Law itself that constituted the wall, but that which resulted from its imposition as a means of division and segregation.
But Jesus did not put up with the wall. Verses 15 and 16 go on to tell us that not only did He tear down the wall by ushering in the age of grace through His death and resurrection, but He did it for a purpose. The clause in verse 15 that begins with the conjunction “so that” (ινα) introduces a purpose. The purpose here is that “in Himself [Jesus] might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace…” Through His sacrificial death, Jesus intended to unite all people in Him. The thought continues with the conjunction και (and) introducing the remaining purpose of His death, that He “might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” Thus, we see two distinction reconciliations at work here; Jews and Gentiles reconciled with one another, and Jews and Gentiles reconciled with God.
That, to me, is what is so amazing about God’s message to us in these verses. Again, Jesus, through His atoning blood and accompanying grace, not only set about to reconcile all people with God, but also to reconcile all people with each other. The cross, with both its vertical and horizontal planes, truly represents all that Christ achieved upon it. And it represents all that Satan longs to undo. There is so much for us to take away from these verses, but for our current times I would suggest one thing in particular. We, the members of the Body of Christ, having been united into “one new man”, were never meant to be re-divided. The wall Jesus tore down He tore down forever for those in Him. Any walls we have allowed to be rebuilt represent the work of Satan, and have no place in the Church. My prayer for the Church in these times is that we would go back to that moment when Jesus tore down the walls between us and reflect on the price He paid to do that. Through our right response to that truth the Church can show why, through the peace we have among ourselves regardless of race or ethnicity, all hope lies in our Savior.
That sign on the beach that left my heart so hurting is no longer there. The funny thing is, for my sweet, rebellious mother, it never was. She took my friends hand, told him to ignore the sign, assured him he is absolutely safe with us, and the two of them marched resolutely on to the beach. Sure, we received a few unpleasant stares – which my mom returned with equally if not greater disdain – but not one white person on that beach said anything. And my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed what became one of the most memorable days of my life. It took courage for a white woman to tear down a wall of segregation in apartheid South Africa. It will take courage for believers to do the same whenever walls are erected. But we alone have the hope that gives us the courage needed. May we draw upon it and tear down the walls between us.
[1] William W. Klein, “Ephesians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians–Philemon (Revised Edition), ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 77.
Burke Missions 