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Good morning my friends,
It’s the weekend and aren’t you glad! Our focus in God’s Word for this weekend is Ephesians 2:11-22. I hope you’ll have time to soak in it!
“Barriers” are something we face in many areas of our life, and we tend to bristle when we see one don’t we? We don’t like it when we face restrictions from what we want. Construction cones on the highway restricting traffic flow, or worse, the “road closed” sign, irritate us, right? Or what about all the restrictions when you try to use accumulated miles or points to purchase airplane tickets, or simply change your airline reservation and deal with all the penalties?
Yet my friends, these are nothing compared to what black skinned folks faced in America not all that long ago, remember? Or do you remember the Berlin Wall, which divided the German people? Or the emotions between most Palestinians and Israelis today in Gaza?
In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul confronts the harsh reality that there have been what he calls, “dividing wall of hostility” even among God’s people, and Jesus Christ came to break them down. Specifically he addresses the prejudice and even bigotry that existed between Jews and Gentiles. Jews, as you know, were people who could trace their biological heritage all the way back, through one of the 12 tribes, to one of Jacob’s sons, then on through Jacob, Isaac and finally to Abraham. Or, they were people who were practicing Judaism, with it’s laws and traditions, and had gone through all the ceremonies, to become Jewish by religion. Gentiles were everyone else in the world.
In the first century most Jews, viewed Gentiles as pagans. Jews were often prideful about their history, their Bible, their religious practices and traditions, and they kept a stiff-armed distance away from any relationship with Gentiles. “Good Jews” would not date or marry a Gentile; would not enter into business partnership with a Gentile; if a landlord, they would not lease to a Gentile. If possible ‘good Jews’ only did business with, or even associated socially, with fellow Jews. Gentiles generally viewed Jews as prideful, segregationist, prejudice and even bigots. History, both before the first century and since, shows us Antisemitism was rampant.
But Jesus never restricted people in their access to Him or His message. He spoke to Jews and Gentiles alike. He healed Jews and Gentiles. Remember how often Jesus used words like ‘whoever”? While the majority of His focus was the small region of Israel and much of His time and message was focused on showing the Jews that He was their Messiah, Jesus did not restrict Gentiles from engaging with Him. Paul’s conversion and commission from Jesus on the road to Damascus had very clearly called Jewish Paul to become an Apostle of Jesus to the Gentile world. Jesus sent His disciples to everyone in the world.
Everywhere Paul had traveled, he had brought the Gospel of Jesus to anyone who would hear him. The churches he planted in cities all across the Roman empire had both Jewish and Gentile Christians in them. But still, the resentments lingered. So Paul deals with it head on here in Ephesians 2 and calls Christians everywhere to understand something very, very important: Any person who trusts Jesus Christ, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, regardless of skin color or language, regardless if they are slave or free, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, man or women. . . when you trust Jesus Christ you are adopted by God the Father into His family, and you become part of “God’s people”, the “church” of Jesus Christ. There, you are equal in God’s sight and with one another.
All Christians everywhere, are purchased FROM the same sin deadness as Paul described in Ephesians 2:1-10; all purchased by the same blood of Jesus shed on the cross; all reconciled to the same Holy God by Jesus; all receive the same Holy Spirit. We’ve all come to Jesus through the same process and experienced the same salvation work of God! No exceptions, no variations! No special back doors or side doors, no special coupons, discounts or short-cuts. And once in the family of God, no special treatment or preferences. Now, look for a moment at your church. . .what do you see? Anyone receiving special treatment or being elevated above others? Anyone being restricted or shamed or belittled?
Look at your town or city and the attitudes of people in the different churches toward each other? What do you see…what do you think Jesus sees? How do you think Jesus feels about what He sees?
Now look closely with me at Ephesians 2:11-13 and see how Paul explains that Jesus Christ, by His shed blood, brings any Gentile to God, no matter how far from God they are. May I ask you a question friends? How would you describe the people you think are the absolute farthest from God? ___________________ And, what are the barriers which are preventing them from coming to God? And what do you understand God has done to break down those barriers and DRAW those people to Himself through Jesus? What did God do in your story, to bring you to Him? What barriers did you have to overcome to trust Jesus to be your Savior?
Notice in 2:14-18 Paul specifically addresses the barriers between Jews and Gentiles. He explains clearly that Jesus Christ has “…made the two one, and destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.” (2:14,15) Does that mean Paul is saying we can just tear out of our Bibles the 10 commandments and all the other laws God gave His people Israel? NO! In fact Jesus had said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets…I have come to fulfill them…” (Matt. 5:17) Does it sound like Paul & Jesus are contradicting each other?
This is a good example of being careful with the Bible and taking all that it teaches on any topic, not building your position on one verse alone. The purpose of the Jewish law God gave Moses, was to show us our sin and our need for a Savior. Same for laws and courts and prisons in our day! Jesus came to be that Savior and earn forgiveness for our sin, so we could have a relationship with Holy God. Jesus did not remove the law or discount them, He provided the answer to all of us found guilty by the law! And since Jews and Gentiles both are guilty, they both find their salvation in the same place. . .the cross of Jesus! Thus the cross unites us together with God and with each other!
Have you ever looked closely at the shape of the cross? The vertical post points us up to God, and as Jesus died on that post, His shed blood covered our sin so God could draw us up to Himself, forgiven! The horizontal cross bar represents two things, I believe…First, Jesus’ open arms, calling every person, from everywhere, no matter who they are or what they have done, and Jesus calls them to HIMSELF, so He can present them up to the Father! Also, Jesus’ horizontal reach draws us together with each other IN Him. It works in a family, a marriage, a church, a city, a nation, our world… the closer two people draw to Jesus the closer they draw to each other! That’s why Jesus can fix any marriage, any dysfunctional family, any prejudice.
Paul writes “His (Jesus) purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.” That’s what I’ve just described to you isn’t it? Now…how well are we living this?
Look closely at the last part of this section, 2:18-22. “For through Him (Jesus) we both have access to the Father by one Spirit (the Holy Spirit).” Now apply that to ANY two Christians who are at odds with each other, regardless of WHY they are in conflict! Do you see my friends, our natural prideful, selfish, ‘me first and me only’ sin nature fights hard to reject what Jesus is trying to accomplish as He draws people to Himself, to the Father and to each other? Do you see that when we are in conflict or our attitudes are demeaning toward each other, we are actually defiling the cross of Jesus, we are rejecting Jesus work of uniting us with God and with each other! That’s serious my friends.
Do you see Paul describes us, God’s people, as a building project? Look at vs. 20 “You are…members of God’s household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him (Jesus) the whole building in joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord…to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”
Let’s see ourselves like bricks and mortar, lumber and shingles, doors and window, electrical outlets and ceiling fans. . .and maybe even stained glass windows…all the things needed to build a beautiful house of worship for our great God! Each of us a special part, none of us more special than anyone else. All of us united by Jesus who is doing the construction work, and the foundation is God’s Word as spoken by the prophets of old, the apostles, and even Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. The “life and vitality” of this building we comprise is the powerful, wonderful, vibrant Holy Spirit of God who indwells each of us and unites our lives in a symphony of praise, a building of worship to God! Can you easily see the problem when pieces of the building start arguing with the architect & contractor Jesus, or start fighting with each other?
Oh my friends, we, you and me, God’s people, should be the most welcome people in any community, because God’s Spirit lives in us. We should be the most helpful, complimentary, grace filled, compassionate, flexible people in the community! Joined together in the church, we should simply be a contagious group of folks…the most welcoming, loving, helpful, humble, compassionate, generous people of any group in town. We should simply be ‘contagious Christians”, irresistibly drawing everyone who knows us to Jesus…not necessarily with our words, but with our lives! Are we?
I urge us all to ponder these verses several times this weekend, and let’s see what can be done to bring our lives, our families and especially our churches more and more into full agreement with what Paul writes here!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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