For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility,
Jesus destroys the middle wall of partition.
In another place, we read that Jesus destroys the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), which is sin. By becoming sin, He destroyed sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was numbered among sinners and bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12).
The point is: attempted destruction of the Son of Jesus was the destruction of many things.
Jesus foretold it by saying that anything that hit Him would be broken into pieces, in other words, destroyed.
The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.
Whatever forces that put Jesus on the cross, whether seen or unseen, whether philosophical or spiritual, whether kingdoms or dominions, including Satan who entered Judas (Luke 22:3), were destroyed. If you had a hand in His death, you were a gonner.
All is vanguished. They hit him, now they are dissolved. End of story.
He now occupies where those things used to occupy as the Lord of all (Revelation 17:14, 19:16).
Authorities put Him on the cross; now all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). He occupies the preeminent place in all realms. No argument.
Powers/domonions put him on the cross. Now, all powers are vested in him.
Where the law used to occupy in the life of the people, He now occupies it.
Where the temple used to occupy in the lives of the people, He now occupies.
Where the high priest who ensured He was crucified used to occupy in the life of the people, He now occupies.
Where the ruler, king, occupied, He now occupies it, as is now the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14; cf. 19:16).
As the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the very blow the serpent dealt to Jesus—represented by all the forces that struck Him—became the crushing blow to the devil himself. The serpent’s strike was his own destruction.
Paul said if they had known, they would not have killed the Lord of glory.
Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
They cannot help but strike Jesus, and in their striking Jesus was their end, including what is regarded as the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).
God put a hidden clause in the law that cursed is the one who hangs on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:23). And since Jesus hung on a tree, though He was far from deserving it, and became a curse, those who put their trust in Him had whatever curse was on them transferred to Him, so that they would inherit only blessings. Christ becoming a curse crushes curse.
Violence done to Jesus became peace for us.
We cannot and should not look anywhere else for peace.
How come Jews and Gentiles are now one? The answer is Jesus.
The Jews no longer see themselves as accepted by God because of the law, and that the repeated failure to keep the law was not going to end, even though they were near to God, and the only solution to being in the presence of God was Christ.
And for those who are afar off (Gentiles) (Ephesians 2:13), we have the communication of the great love that God showed us, that while our only identifier was sin, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), demonstrating His patience and love.
Jesus made both groups into one.
So why would we have a church for the Jews and another for Gentiles? We should not have a messianic congregation, as in, Jews-only spaces.
We cannot have two Jesuses, one presented to the Jews, otherwise we make a lie of the words of Paul when he said that Jesus has made both groups into one, and that he has destroyed the middle wall of partition.
And what about having a white church and the black church? The bible does not directly address that. So we should not be so black and white about saying there should not be churches that have more white, and the idea that Sunday morning is the most segregated time is a pirochial view in my opinion.
Though there cannot be a Jew/gentiles division, there can be political division, etc.
- meaning one church having a particular political flavor different from the other.
- meaning their view of how society should be governed, things that good-meaning people can disagree on.
But there cannot be a division between Jews and Gentiles.