You asked

what actions, inspired by this passage, could contribute to dismantling current walls of hostility?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Ephesians 2:14-16

“For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.”

This letter, written by Paul to the community in Ephesus (a major city in Asia Minor), addresses the profound implications of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. In this section, Paul is celebrating how Jesus' work brought together two groups previously considered separate and even hostile: Jewish people and Gentiles (non-Jewish people) into one new community.

What personal or communal divisions do you see in your own life or community that feel like 'walls of hostility'?

Then — the setting

Written by the Apostle Paul, likely from prison in Rome around 60-62 CE, to the Christian community in Ephesus, a significant port city known for its diverse population and the prominent Temple of Artemis. The 'middle wall of partition' could be a metaphor for the socio-religious barriers, including the Mosaic Law, that separated Jewish and Gentile communities. It might also allude to the literal dividing wall (soreg) in the Jerusalem Temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from inner courts reserved for Jewish people, beyond which Gentiles were forbidden to pass under penalty of death. This passage powerfully asserts that Jesus' sacrifice eradicated the very source of this entrenched hostility, bringing about reconciliation.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) often highlights Israel's unique covenant relationship with God, leading to a distinction between Israel and the 'nations' (Gentiles). While some prophets, like Isaiah, foresaw a future where Gentiles would be drawn to worship God, their inclusion was generally understood to be on Israel's terms. Paul, in the New Testament, dramatically reinterprets this, asserting that through Christ, Gentiles are not merely converts or adherents, but fully co-heirs and members of one new body, created directly by God's act. Jesus' work on the cross is presented as the definitive means of fulfilling and transforming these ancient expectations, creating a new, unified humanity.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
This verse echoes the theme of unity in Christ, stating that traditional social distinctions no longer hold sway within the new community.
Colossians 3:11
Another Pauline letter that emphasizes how new identity in Christ transcends ethnic and social categories, making 'Christ is all, and in all'.
Isaiah 2:2-4
An Old Testament prophecy that envisions a future where all nations stream to God's mountain, learning peace and dismantling instruments of war.

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