Ephesians 2:14

14 For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us,

Ephesians 2:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ephesians 2:14

For he is our peace
The author of peace between Jew and Gentile: there was a great enmity of the Jew against the Gentile, and of the Gentile against the Jew; and chiefly on account of circumcision, the one being without it, and the other insisting on it, and branding one another with nicknames on account of it; but Christ has made peace between them by abrogating the ceremonial law, which was the occasion of the difference, and by sending the Gospel of peace to them both, by converting some of each, and by granting the like privileges to them all, as may be observed in the following verses: and Christ is the author of peace between God and his people; there is naturally in man an enmity to God; sin has separated chief friends; nor can man make his peace with God; what he does, or can do, will not do it; and what will, he cannot do; Christ is the only fit and proper person for this work, being a middle person between both, and is only able to effect it, being God as well as man; and so could draw nigh to God, and treat with him about terms of peace, and agree to them, and perform them; and which he has brought about by his blood, his sufferings and death; and which is made on honourable terms, by a full satisfaction to the law and justice of God; and so is a lasting one, and attended with a train of blessings: moreover, Christ is the donor of peace, of external peace in his churches, and of internal peace of conscience, and of eternal peace in heaven: this is one of the names of the Messiah with the Jews ^F2;

``says R. Jose the Galilean, even the name of the Messiah is called (Mwlv) , "peace"; as it is said, ( Isaiah 9:6 ) "the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace";''

see ( Micah 5:5 ) where it is said, "and this man shall be the peace"; which the Jewish ^F3 writers understand of the Messiah:

who hath made both one;
Jews and Gentiles, one people, one body, one church; he united them together, and caused them to agree in one, and made them to be of one mind and judgment by the above methods; as well as he gathered them together in one, in one head, himself, who represented them all:

and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
the ceremonial law, which was made up of many hard and intolerable commands, and distinguished, and divided, and kept up a division between Jews and Gentiles: so the Jews call the law a wall, "if she be a wall", ( Song of Solomon 8:9 ) (hrwt wz) , "this is the law", say they ^F4: and hence we read of (hrwth tmwx) , "the wall of the law" ^F5; and sometimes the phrase, a "partition wall", is used for a division or disagreement; so R. Benjamin says ^F6, that between the Karaites and Rabbanites, who were the disciples of the wise men, there was (huyxm) , "a middle wall of partition"; a great difference and distance; and such there was between the Jew and Gentile, by reason of the ceremonial law; but Christ removed it, and made up the difference: the allusion seems to be to the wall which divided the court of Israel from the court of the Gentiles, in the temple, and which kept them at a distance in worship.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Perek Shalom, fol. 20. 1. Baal Hatturim in Numb. xxv. 12.
F3 Vid. Kimchi in loc.
F4 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 87. 1.
F5 Caphtor, fol. 95. 1. & 101. 1.
F6 Itinerar. p. 28.

Ephesians 2:14 In-Context

12 remember that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, ye who once were far off have been brought nigh by the blood of Christ.

14 For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us,

15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that He might make in Himself one new man out of the two, so making peace,

16 and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.