Week 12 - Breaking Down The Wall That Divides

“[Jesus Christ] is our peace… [He] has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” (Ephesians 2:14)

In the run up to the twentieth anniversary of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the BBC broadcasted a series of programmes relating to that historic event. As I listened to one of the programmes, I could not help but recall what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:14 about Jesus Christ destroying “the dividing wall of hostility.”

The Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to separate West Berlin from East Germany. It came to symbolise the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc. For 28 years, the Berlin Wall kept East and West Berliners apart. The wall divided German families and friends. The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 paved the way for German reunification.

We erect dividing walls when we face conflict with others and want to avoid facing them or talking to them. Such walls of anger and hostility take a moment to build but a long time to break down.

How can we overcome the dividing walls of anger and hostility in our lives? I believe it takes a lot of communication, confession and forgiveness, and reconciliation to break down the walls of hostility. Healing takes time, but it can be done.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ has torn down the dividing wall of hostility. Christ brings us peace when anger and hostility seeks to consume our lives. Christ can and does bring healing, and bring people together again. Christ can also work through us so that when walls are erected, they can be eliminated. They can be broken down and we would no longer feel like strangers to each other.

When Leonardo da Vinci was painting The Last Supper, he became angry with a man and even threatened him. A “wall of anger” divided them. Leonardo went back to his painting of The Last Supper and tried to paint the face of Jesus, but he could not because there was too much anger within him. That “dividing wall” kept Leonardo from completing his task and he had no peace in his heart. Eventually, Leonardo set down his brush, found the man who so angered him, sought his forgiveness and was reconciled with him.

Only then did he have the inner peace to complete his masterpiece. When that “dividing wall” was removed, he experienced the peace of God.

This is so for us too as children of God. With Christ’s help and through prayer and obedience, anger can subside. Healing can occur. Peace can reign. The “dividing wall of hostility” can be broken down.

Paul alludes to a “dividing wall” that has been “broken” in Ephesians 2:14. We can learn two lessons from this verse.

Wall Between Individuals

The first lesson is the “dividing wall” between individuals. Although in this passage Paul was referring to the hostility between Jew and Gentile, it applies equally to interpersonal relationship between friends, family members and working colleagues.

The church in Ephesus was experiencing the “dividing wall” as a result of the relational division between Jews and Gentiles under the Law. Through His sacrificial death, Christ had fulfilled the Law, making it no longer operative. He was able to bring Jews and Gentiles into a new relationship, and be reconciled to God for eternity.

Wall Between God and Humans

The second lesson has to do with the “dividing wall” that separates God and us. In the temple in Jerusalem, the “dividing wall” is the curtain protecting the Holy of Holies — this was torn down upon Christ’s death (Mark 15:38 ).

Christ is seen as reconciling the realms of heaven and earth. Colossians 1:20 says that He “reconcile[s] to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

There is a song, “He Is Our Peace,” that describes how our Lord Jesus has come to break down the dividing wall and establish peace. Peace between individuals and peace between God and man.

God’s desire is for His children to stop erecting walls that divide, and work to establish relationships that unite. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 ).

For Your Reflection

Is there a “dividing wall” between you and another person? Is there a “dividing wall” between you and the Lord? Spend some time this week to reflect on these. Pray for walls to be broken down and for peace and reconciliation.