I read once that in the temple of Jesus’ day there was a wall that separated the Gentile court from the temple itself, and that wall was posted with signs. Those signs said any non-Jew who went past would be killed. That’s how serious the Jews were about keeping others away; in fact, a riot once started over the rumor that Paul had taken a Gentile into the temple.
That was before Jesus. Paul explained the difference in Ephesians 2:4-5: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations.”
In Jewish religious terms of that time there were only two kinds of people, so this verse means that Jesus intended that everyone everywhere was now to be included in his kingdom. He went to the cross to make us all one.
Sometimes when I read this I think we’ve spent the last couple of centuries trying to build those walls again. We can be relentless in finding and emphasizing the differences between us, and we work almost as hard to create havens for our group. It’s sad that we too often think our haven is only safe when we exclude other people.
When it’s just cliques this is bad enough, but in our churches it seems we struggle even more with racism and sexism than the general population does. We’re divided into so many denominations that I can’t keep count. What does Jesus think of all of this?
Jesus sees one kind of people, the ones God made in his own image and Adam led into corruption by the Fall. Jesus loves his own, but he loves the unsaved just as fiercely. I can’t imagine how sad it makes him when, instead of going to make disciples, we circle the wagons and protect what we have.
It’s a caution to me today to look beyond all the characteristics I usually focus on. If I look for it, I can find the image of God in everyone.
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