thinking bible.

You asked

how does this idea of unity echo or contrast with old testament laws about distinct groups?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Ephesians 2:14

For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition,

The Apostle Paul, writing from prison, is addressing a community of believers in Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia Minor. He is explaining how Jesus has brought together different groups of people, specifically Jews and Gentiles, into one new community.

What divisions in your own context might be understood as needing a 'middle wall of partition' broken down?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Isaiah 56:6-7

    This Old Testament passage anticipates foreigners joining God's people and worshipping in his house.

  • Galatians 3:28

    Paul states that in Christ, traditional distinctions like Jew/Gentile or slave/free are overcome.

  • Acts 10:28

    Peter's vision and encounter with Cornelius challenged the Jewish custom of not associating with Gentiles.

Ask your own follow-up