What does it mean that Jesus is our peace? Peace in the Jewish concept is expressed by the word shalom. Shalom does not mean simply the absence of hostilities. It means wholeness. It means everything is right with your life. When you wish someone shalom, you are saying, “May all things in your life be right with you. May all things work out for you. May there be harmony in your home, prosperity in your business, warm relations with your contacts.” That is shalom.

Do you love everyone in your church?

It seems that many churches tend to reflect certain commonalities depending on the demographics and social and economic classes of their location. Most people are alike socially, economically, educationally and racially. Some of that is just natural because we live in communities that are relatively homogenous in these categories.

Increasingly, though, our cities and larger towns are changing demographically. Churches are changing as Christians from other nations come in, looking for a Bible preaching place to worship God. Our church has changed in that way. We currently have members or attenders from every continent except Australia and Antarctica (not expecting anyone from that last location). The influx of people from all over the world has happened in the last five years (and continues with new people visiting every week, it seems). We have embraced all these folks and turned our Thanksgiving into an opportunity to celebrate a cultural feast of food from all over. (I ask them to “bring the hot stuff” but so far, they have gone easy on me.)

What is your church like? Are you learning to love a wide variety of cultures and educational backgrounds? I hope so. All of this is the fruit of something Paul describes in Ephesians about the marvel of the church in putting Jews and Gentiles together. I recently preached a message on this topic from Ephesians that forms the article below.

But before we get into it, I want to ask a question. When you meet someone from Africa, Asia, South America, or Europe whose culture is so very different from your own, you know that God calls you to love that person, that family and embrace them in your assembly.

There is another category of differences we should think about, however, which I bring up in the title of the article. It’s THAT GUY who just seems to always be so different from you. Maybe he’s too loud. Maybe he seems to have an attitude against you. Maybe he’s socially awkward. Whatever it is, you have a hard time loving him in Christ. (And maybe it’s THAT LADY, too… but… it does often seem to be THAT GUY, doesn’t it?)

What are we going to do about THAT GUY? I think Paul addresses that question in the passage we are going to discuss below. I hope the Lord uses this to help you in your walk.

The passage before us today is Ephesians 2:14-15, a remarkable text that speaks to something fundamental about what God accomplished in salvation. The title may sound academic, but the truth contained here is anything but dry theology. This passage reveals exactly what God was doing among humanity by bringing Jews and Gentiles together in Christ.

The Barrier That Divided

To understand what God accomplished, we first need to grasp the reality of the division that existed. Between Jews and Gentiles in the first century, there stood a barrier that seemed utterly impassable.

The vocabulary Paul uses here is striking. He speaks of “the barrier of the dividing wall.” The word for barrier refers to a wall that separates one part of a house from another. Think of a duplex with two separate units. Modern construction techniques call for two sets of wall studs in that joining wall, with drywall attached to each set and insulation in between. The result is meant to be soundproof, and critically, there is no door between the two sides. If you want to meet someone on the other side, you must go outside. You cannot stay in your own house and somehow reach them.

This captures the reality between Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles could not go through the wall to meet the Jews. The Jews could not go through the wall to meet the Gentiles. They both had to come outside of their respective houses and meet somewhere else entirely. They had to meet in Christ.

The second term Paul uses, “dividing wall,” refers to a fence that creates a barrier. We can think of the famous walls built between nations: the Great Wall of China, designed to keep people out and keep people in, or the contested barriers being constructed between countries today. These are real, intentional separations.

Most of us do not encounter this specific division in our daily lives unless we happen to interact with ultra-orthodox Jews. But in the first century, this barrier was everywhere in the Roman Empire, and it was deeply felt on both sides.

The law required the Jews to be holy and separate. They could not eat with Gentiles or intermarry with them. The law of circumcision marked a real separation between Jews and Gentiles. This often led to hostility from Jews toward Gentiles and was a cause of Gentile hatred of the Jews. It wasn’t just the Law of Moses. The rabbis added many minute applications of the law and taught that it must be strictly observed by the Jews. This practice of separation offended the Gentiles, thus causing hostility on both sides. The wall of partition Paul speaks of was not a literal wall but a metaphorical wall that divided Jews and Gentiles. Often an attitude of superiority crept in that in turn engendered hostility.

Consider what happened during the trial of Jesus. The Jewish officials stood outside the palace of Pilate so that they could bring their accusations against Jesus. They would not go inside where Pilate normally held court. Instead, Pilate came out to the balcony to accommodate the Jews. The law of the Jews, or at least their understanding of it, said they should not go under a Gentile roof. They stayed outside.

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