9/5 Ephesians 2:14

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. . .

The Temple Mount had a large outer court the size of about nine football fields. Colonnades lined the sides, and at one end there was a row of columns four deep across the entire width. It was from this end of the rectangular Temple Mount that most people entered. At the opposite end was the temple itself. Around the temple was a waist-high wall. In the ruins of that temple a stone sign was found that was on that wall. "Gentiles who pass this wall will die."

The temple was off limits to Gentiles. They could pray in the outer court, but under no circumstances could they enter through the temple gates. It was believed that their presence would defile the temple. This is the wall of hostility to which Paul is referring. The whole sacrificial system was for the children of Israel alone. Gentiles could go to a synagogue and hear the Scriptures, but unless they were converted and the men circumcised, they could not enter the temple to worship or offer a sacrifice.

Jesus ended the need for the wall. Since He became the sacrifice for the sins of the world, the whole sacrificial system was no longer necessary. When Paul wrote this, the temple was still in service. About a decade later it lay in ruins with the sign in the rubble bearing witness that Paul's words had come to pass. In Christ Jesus, Jew and Gentile are one. Jesus has made a way for us both to be at peace with God in Him.

Consider: Now you can go to God without fear and present your requests to Him (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12). What peace we should have in Jesus!