You asked

what practical steps might 'breaking down walls' mean in our current polarized society?

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 between us, 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.”

Paul, writing from prison to believers in Ephesus, describes how God, through Christ, has brought together people who were once separated. He reminds them of their past alienation and then celebrates the new unity found in their shared faith, specifically addressing the division between Jewish and non-Jewish people.

What divisions in your life or community might be reconciled through a greater sense of shared humanity and purpose?

Then — the setting

Paul likely wrote this letter in the 60s CE, while imprisoned, to a diverse group of believers in the city of Ephesus, a major Roman port city in Asia Minor. The 'dividing wall' primarily refers to the profound and long-standing socio-religious distinction between Jews and Gentiles. Historically, the Temple in Jerusalem had a literal 'middle wall' (soreg) with inscriptions warning Gentiles not to pass into the inner courts under penalty of death. This physical barrier symbolized the deep religious and cultural chasm that separated these two groups in the ancient world, exacerbated by Jewish law and custom.

Across the Testaments

This passage builds significantly on Old Testament themes. While the Old Testament establishes a covenant with Israel, it also contains prophecies (e.g., Isaiah 2, Zechariah 8) about Gentiles eventually being drawn to God. However, the means and nature of their inclusion were often debated. Paul argues that Christ doesn't simply invite Gentiles to become Jews, but creates a 'new humanity' where both Jew and Gentile are transformed into a single, unified body. The New Testament, particularly Paul's letters, consistently develops this idea of a new creation where the old divisions are overcome in Christ, offering a universal peace that transcends ethnic and religious particularities.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Galatians 3:28
Emphasizes that identity markers like ethnicity or social status do not create division in Christ.
Isaiah 2:2-4
Prophesies a future where nations come together, seeking peace and justice.
Colossians 3:11
Reinforces the idea that in Christ, traditional distinctions lose their power to separate.

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