The Peace Between Us
23 October 2018
The letter to the Ephesians contains some of the most thrilling theological languages in the New Testament. It’s pretty dense stuff. You want to take your time reading and reflecting on each line to let the weight of it sink in.
In today’s text from Ephesians 2 we hear of the power of the death of Jesus to unite what is radically separated:
But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For He is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility…
You can get the impression these days that raging division is the new normal. In politics, in public debate, in posts on Twitter or Facebook, even in the Church, people seem given to shouting their opinion about how stupid those who take a different perspective to them are. In truth, it’s an old story. In the first century, the Jew/Gentile divide was a biggie, but every tribe in every generation has come up with their own justifications to have a crack at those they see as different.
Whatever the division between us is, God has provided the way to healing and reconciliation: the death of His Son. Somehow, wonderfully and mysteriously, Jesus has taken the power of division and hostility and broken it, by giving His own body to be broken on the cross. This is powerful news: The only true antidote to the hatred, hostility and division in the world is the blood of the cross. We so need to get this into our hearts!
Jesus, reveal to us the power of your cross today.