Sweet peace

We have a Jewish friend who once told me that he thought it was impertinent that I should call myself God’s child. In his mind, this was an outrageous presumption and could not be true.

In the Old Testament, God designated that the place of worship for those who belonged to Him be divided into separate areas for the Jews and Gentiles. Anyone who was not born into a Jewish family was a Gentile, and almost all of them worshiped idols; they did not know or care about God. Anyone who wanted to believe in the God of Israel was accepted into their worship, but they were only allowed into the Court of the Gentiles. They didn’t have the same access in the temple as the Jews.

After several centuries and before Christ came, the animosity grew. The average Jewish rabbi thanked God every day that he had not been born a Gentile (or a woman). Our friend’s attitude may be a carry-over from this, and his annoyance with me is certainly mixed with the prevailing rejection by his people of Jesus as their Messiah.

In Ephesians 2, Paul writes to those who were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” He wanted them to know that this separation was over, that they were included in the family of God. Since most of those in the early church were Jewish, this news caused considerable debate.

Acts 10 tells about the conversion of a Roman centurion named Cornelius and the stir over that remarkable event, yet the problem continued so the early Christians needed instruction about this change. Paul continues in Ephesians 2:13-16 with an explanation of what was different. He says:

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 both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Christ changed everything by perfectly obeying the law that neither Jew nor Gentile could obey. The commandments that separated them were abolished so that both could come to God on the basis of changed lives.

In the mind of God, there is no difference between sinners. All need forgiveness and all need new life. By sending Jesus to die for us, He established a new covenant. No one comes to God through law-keeping (as if we could anyway), but through faith in His Son.

The thing about this peace is that it doesn’t just happen without both parties putting their faith in Christ. A believing Jew is not going to have this amazing peace with his brother who does not believe or with any Gentiles who do not believe, any more than a believing Gentile has this peace with non-believing people. Rather, this is a peace and a unity that happens for those who, by faith in Christ, are reconciled to God and made new by the power of Jesus Christ.

This peace is an incredible blessing. Today I plan to simply rejoice in it and praise the One who made it possible and gave it to me.