You asked

what contemporary cultural or social 'ordinances' still create walls between groups of people?

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, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby.”

This letter, likely written by Paul while imprisoned in Rome in the mid-first century CE, addresses Gentile believers in Ephesus. It celebrates their inclusion into God's family alongside Jewish believers, emphasizing the unity brought about by Jesus. This section specifically highlights how Jesus transcended previous divisions.

What old 'ordinances' or social boundaries, subtle or obvious, do we need to recognize and dismantle in our communities today to foster true peace?

Then — the setting

Written by Paul, likely from prison in Rome around 60-62 CE, this letter addresses Gentile Christians in Ephesus, a prominent city in Asia Minor. The 'middle wall of partition' metaphor likely refers to the physical barrier in the Jerusalem Temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts accessible only to Jews, symbolizing the ritual and legal distinctions that separated Jewish and Gentile communities. More broadly, it refers to the Mosaic Law with its specific dietary, purity, and circumcision 'ordinances' that, while intended to set Israel apart for God, had become a source of division and hostility between Jews and Gentiles.

Across the Testaments

This passage is in the New Testament and speaks to the dramatic shift brought about by Jesus's death and resurrection. The Old Testament established a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, setting them apart with specific laws and customs, often symbolized by physical and ritual boundaries (e.g., dietary laws, circumcision, the temple layout). This created a sense of distinct identity but also 'walls' between Israel and other nations. Ephesians reinterprets this, arguing that Jesus fulfilled these laws and, in doing so, created a new way for both Jew and Gentile to be united in one body, breaking down those very barriers that once defined separation and fostering a new kind of 'people of God' that transcends ethnicity and previous legal codes.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
This verse states that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, emphasizing radical equality.
Colossians 3:11
Here, Paul reiterates that Christ is all and in all, transcending ethnic and social distinctions.
Isaiah 56:7
This Old Testament prophecy looks forward to a time when God's house will be a 'house of prayer for all peoples,' hinting at universal inclusion.

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