The gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection teaches us that we’re greater sinners than we can ever imagine. It also teaches us that our salvation is greater than we can ever imagine. Therefore, it teaches us how to relate to others. It enables us to forgive even those we see as our worst enemies; after all, in Christ, we ourselves have been forgiven even more. Reconciliation with God brings reconciliation with others. This is how the blood of Christ overcomes hostility. But we need to “remember” it (verse 11). We need to remember God’s grace. We need to remember that though we once were far away, we’ve now been brought close (verse 13).

As the Israel-Gaza war rages, with all the tragic death and suffering it entails, many pressing concerns naturally spring to our minds. Why is the situation so dire? Who is to blame for the suffering? And what are our political leaders doing about it? I can’t begin to answer all these questions in this short article. But I want to point us to something that will help us: the cross of Jesus Christ. How does it help? I’m convinced that the message of the cross gives us a deep foundation and a vital framework for making sense of issues of conflict in our world as well as in our lives.

I’m taking my cue here from the apostle Paul. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul directly raises the issue of conflict with Israel. And he immediately answers the issue by reminding his readers of something that has brought peace: the cross of Christ. (Here, I’m summarising and paraphrasing some key points from my online text and audio series on Ephesians called Lift Your Eyes; you can find more details there if you want to follow it up).

Just to be clear, I don’t believe the modern state of Israel is identical to ancient Israel—either politically or theologically. Yet I am convinced that what Paul says about this situation of ancient conflict in Israel is still highly relevant to us today whenever we face situations of conflict—including the present and pressing conflict in Israel.

Israel, Conflict and Hostility

Ephesians 2:11–12 is about the ancient conflict between Israel and “gentiles” (non-Israelites). This hostility is described in many places in the Old Testament. It continued into the time of Jesus and Paul in the first century when the Roman Empire occupied the land.

One of the ways this hostility manifested itself was through verbal abuse on both sides. Jewish circumcision was commented on and laughed at by various non-Jewish people. On the other side, various Jewish people called gentiles the “uncircumcision” (literally, “the foreskin”) as a term of abuse (you can imagine modern equivalents, can’t you?) Paul refers to this hostile name-calling in verse 11.

But it wasn’t just name-calling. For some Jewish people living under the Roman Empire, the “Christ” (or “Messiah”) was seen as God’s hoped-for military and political vindicator of Israel against the gentile oppressors. They read Old Testament prophetic hopes in terms of national military victory (see, for example, Psalms of Solomon 17). At times, those ideas erupted into direct conflict between Jews and gentiles. Paul is probably referring to those ideas, at least in the background, in verse 12.

The Answer: The Cross

How, then, does Paul address these issues of hostility and conflict? We might expect that he would face it head on by pointing to some human solution, such as a military plan, a political compromise, or a philosophical appeal to shared humanity. But he doesn’t. Instead, he points squarely to God’s solution: “the blood of Christ.” Jesus’ death on the cross, he says, brings peace in the face of hostility:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:13–14)

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