EPHESIANS: He Tore Down that Wall

EPHESIANS Number 27:
He Tore Down that Wall

Ephesians 2:14 (KJV 1900)
“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us”.

The Hebrew people were chosen by God to be a light to the nations through the Messiah. Isaiah 49:6 prophesies this, saying, “It is a light thing (too small a thing) that thou shouldest be my servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, That thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” (KJV 1900)

Immediately after the exodus from Egypt, we learn that He chose them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Let’s read that passage from Exodus 19:4–6a “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” (KJV 1900)

Priests stand as intermediaries facilitating communication and worship between people and God. It is their job to represent God to people, and people to God. Jesus is our high priest. We’re told in 1 Timothy 2:5 that “there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”. Hebrews 7:17 quotes Psalm 110:4, saying, “Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.”

Because of this special status, the Hebrew people saw themselves as a “treasure above all people” as God had referred to them in Exodus. In so doing, they came to see everyone else as “less than.” In fact, they objectified all others calling them “the nations”, “the heathen”, even “dogs.” There was a wall of hostility between the Hebrew people and all others. It is this wall that the Lord Jesus broke down. Whereas the Hebrew nation had been God’s chosen people, and everyone else was without hope and without God in the world, what Jesus ushered in destroyed that dividing wall and unified the people in both groups, reconciling them all to God.

With regard to His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ came to minister only to the Hebrews. He was clear about it in Matthew 15:24, when He said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (KJV 1900) Consequently it came as a surprise when as recorded in John 10:14–16 He said, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (KJV 1900) There are those who teach that the statement about another sheepfold in John 10:16 refers to the Samaritans, or the northern kingdom of Israel.

Likewise, some wonder whether God’s promises to ancient Israel apply to those who are not a part of the Hebrew nation. In particular, the great promise of Ezekiel 36:25–27 is problematic for some. In it, God says, “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (KJV 1900)

Fortunately, scripture is very clear on this issue. Galatians 3:28–29 is straightforward.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” A few verses earlier Galatians 3:8–9 points out that “the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, ‘In thee shall all nations be blessed.’ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” (KJV 1900)

Nothing stands between us and God. The wall has been torn down and we all stand equal in the eyes of God. We do not need anyone but Jesus. He is our peace.