But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (15) 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, (16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  (17) And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome for preaching the gospel.  The theme of our verses today is the reconciliation of man with God – through the cross Christ Jesus reconciled the faithful to God and to one another. Being at peace with God is the foundation for being at peace with others.

But Paul begins this lesson by tracing the peace between formerly alienated peoples – the Jews and the Gentiles – and then moves to the underlying cause of this enmity which was sin which entered the world through Adam and Eve. At the moment of sin man became alienated from God.

The Jews were separated by God from the Gentiles – chosen through the grace of God to be His people of the covenant and the Law primarily to show them the impossibility of sinners earning salvation.  Christ Jesus alone could deal with the problem of sin and for the Jews to enjoy peace with God they had to accept Christ as the mediator and messiah. The Old Testament Law, the system of ceremonies and rituals, which created the barrier/wall between Jew and Gentiles was abolished with Christ’s sacrifice of the cross and in Christ there is a new covenant.

Those far away – the Gentiles – were strangers to the promises of God. The Jews were those near but they also needed to hear the gospel of peace with God in Christ. There is no righteousness on man’s own. The Jews and Gentiles alike were condemned by the law but through Christ, God offers forgiveness and access to all who believe in Christ – salvation is not be anything man does but by what Christ Jesus did.