Ephesians 2:11-22 11/21/21 a.m.
Jesus, the SLAYER of HATRED the MAKER of PEACE
In this day and age SUPERHEROES are the BIG THING. I mean you have the X-MEN, Marvel Comics and all the rest.
Superman was the first well known superhero. He was in Action Comics #1 in June 1938. Since then there have been DOZENS of SUPERHEROES invented to ENTERTAIN us.
I was gonna tell you about a guy running down the road with a cape on so I yelled at him, “Hey are you SUPERMAN?” He answered, “Nah, I just didn’t pay for my haircut!!!”
Or how about this one, “What does a superhero do when they CLEAN? They fight GRIME!!!
But, as we all know, Superheroes aren’t real. Listen folks, I know it’s hard to take but Batman doesn’t really exist.
But there is ONE who isn’t make believe. He does EXIST. I hesitated to even talk about SUPERHEROES because too many times we try to COMPARE the things of this world with the things of God. But listen, what God did by sending His Son was extraordinary. What Jesus did as HE HUNG there on the OLD RUGGED CROSS is AMAZING. There really isn’t ANYTHING that can compare. But as my dad and I were reading this passage it just kind of grabbed ahold of me. And so this morning I want to talk about JESUS, the SLAYER of HATE, and the MAKER of PEACE. Let’s turn in our Bibles to Ephesians 2 and we’ll read Verses 11-22.
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 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 sometimes were far off are made 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; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Verse 15 tells us that Jesus ABOLISHED in His flesh the ENMITY. And then in Verse 16 it tells us that He has SLAIN the ENMITY.
And ENMITY means- positive, active, and typically mutual HATRED or ILL WILL. Jesus has SLAIN HATRED. He has DESTROYED IT. And that same Jesus is DESTROYING the ENMITY that exists in the world today. Before we get into this message let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother ____, would you lead us?
I. First of all I think we need to understand what this ENMITY was. There was ENMITY between the Jews and the GENTILES. ENMITY sounds a lot like ENEMY and that makes a lot of sense. These words have a lot in common. An ENEMY is oftentimes, someone we HATE.
There has been strife among people since the AGE of TIME. Listen, from the very first family there has been ENMITY. God accepted the OFFERING of ABEL but REJECTED the OFFERING of CAIN. And so Cain killed his brother Abel because he was JEALOUS of him.
And from then on, there was ENMITY between him and all the other people in the world. In Genesis 4:15 God put a mark on Cain to give him PROTECTION from those who would take VENGEANCE against him for killing Abel.
There was ENMITY between Abraham and Lot. Their HERDSMEN couldn’t get along. So they had to split up.
Enmity between Joseph and his brothers.
Enmity between Moses and the Pharoh of Egypt.
Enmity between David and King Saul.
And the list goes on.
And now as Paul writes this letter to the people in the Church at Ephesus, there was ENMITY between those of the CIRCUMCISION and those of the UNCIRCUMCISION. ENMITY between the JEWS and the GENTILES. The JEWS called the GENTILES DOGS. They weren’t part of the ORIGINAL COVENANT. They were AFAR OFF as Paul tells us.
But Jesus came to SLAY that ENMITY.
He came to TAKE US that were AFAR OFF and bring us right up next to Him.
To BREAK DOWN the “Middle Wall of PARTITION Between Us”
Jesus came to ABOLISH in the FLESH the ENMITY. The HATRED between people. He came to take TWO PEOPLE that had HATRED for each other and make a CHURCH. God’s CHURCH founded upon Jesus Christ. Made up of Jews and Gentiles. Only JESUS could do something like that. Only Jesus could take two groups of people that had HATED EACH other for thousands of years and make ONE CHURCH. JESUS the SLAYER of HATRED.
And that is THE CHURCH of TODAY. God’s Church. Not the Nazarene, the Baptists, or the Free Will Baptists.... It is the CHURCH that is made up of every TONGUE, every CREED, every SKIN COLOR, every AGE. It is a CHURCH where people who used to HATE each other now WORSHIP GOD together.
It’s a CHURCH that is made up of people who WERE at one time SINNERS. Those who were in DEEP SIN and those who were RAISED UP IN CHURCH but yet they REALIZED their NEED for a SAVIOR. And ALL of THIS is MADE POSSIBLE by JESUS the SLAYER of ENMITY. The SLAYER of HATRED.
ILLUS: In the early 1900’s, Japan invaded, conquered, and occupied Korea. They were cruel and their crimes against women and children were inhuman.
The Japanese hated the CHURCH and so they BOARDED UP all of the church buildings.
But one pastor persistently begged his local Japanese police chief for permission to meet for services. Finally the Police Chief gave in and offered to unlock the church … for one meeting. It didn't take long for word to travel. Long before dawn, on that promised Sunday, Korean families throughout a wide area made their way to the church.
Their voices of praise could not be concealed inside the little wooden frame sanctuary. Song after song rang through the open windows into the bright Sunday morning.
For a handful of peasants listening nearby, the last two songs this congregation sang seemed suspended in time. It was during a stanza of "Nearer My God to Thee" that the Japanese police chief waiting outside gave the orders. The people toward the back of the church could hear them when they barricaded the doors, but no one realized that they had doused the church with kerosene until they smelled the smoke. The dried wooden skin of the small church quickly ignited.
There was an immediate rush for the windows but the Japanese soldiers shot anyone who tried to escape. The good pastor knew it was the end. With a calm that comes from the Peace of God, he led his congregation in a hymn whose words seemed a fitting GOODBYE to earth and a loving PRAISE to heaven. The first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshipers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined as one to sing their hope and leave their legacy.
“Alas! and did my Savior bleed? and did my Sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?”
Just before the roof collapsed they sang the last verse.
“But drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away; Tis all that I can do!”
At the cross, at the cross Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day.”
All of those folks finished the song in the presence of God.
But the story doesn’t end there.
In the many years that followed there was a HATRED for the Japanese and each generation passed it on to the next. The monument the Koreans built at the location of the fire not only HONORED the people who died, but it stood as a reminder of their pain.
But in 1972 a group of Japanese pastors traveling through Korea came upon the memorial. When they read the details of the tragedy and the names of the spiritual brothers and sisters who had died, they were overcome with shame. Their country had sinned, and even though none of them were personally involved they still felt a guilt that could not be excused.
They returned to Japan with a commitment to right a wrong. There was an immediate outpouring of love from their fellow believers. They raised ten million yen ($25,000). The money was transferred through proper channels and a beautiful white church building was erected on the sight of the tragedy.
When the dedication service for the new building was held, a delegation from Japan joined the relatives and special guests. Although their generosity was acknowledged and their attempts at making peace appreciated, the memories were still there. There was still HATRED and BITTERNESS. But at the end of the dedication service, the song leader began to sing, “Nearer My God to Thee.” As the voices mingled on the familiar melody, the song gave hope once more. The song leader closed the service with the hymn "At the Cross."
And the Japanese couldn’t contain themselves. Tears suddenly gushed from deep inside. They turned to their Korean spiritual relatives and begged them to forgive. The Koreans met their new Japanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other and wept. Japanese tears of REPENTANCE and Korean tears of FORGIVENESS MINGLED TOGETHER and brought HEALING. MY FRIENDS, ONLY JESUS CAN DO THAT!!!
JESUS the SLAYER of HATRED.
II. Secondly, since the FALL of ADAM in the Garden of Eden, this ENMITY had been between God and man.
Look at Ecclesiasticus 12:6,
“For the most High hateth sinners, and will repay vengeance unto the ungodly, and keepeth them against the mighty day of their punishment.”
That’s YOU and that’s ME. We are BORN SINNERS and because of that there is ENMITY between US and GOD.
Habakuk 1:13 tells us,
“Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”
This verse doesn't mean that God is Blind to the Evil that goes on in the world today but it is speaking about the character of God.
But now let’s look again here in Ephesians and see what Verse 16 has to say,
“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”
So because of JESUS and what He did on the Cross of Calvary we can have FELLOWSHIP one with another but also we have been RECONCILED to GOD. Jesus, the SLAYER of HATRED, makes ALL of this possible. Let me tell you something, there was NO OTHER WAY. Hebrews 9:13-15,
“For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
I don’t think we as Christians realize the BLESSING that we have in Jesus. The PRIVILEGE to PRAY through Him to the Father ANYTIME we need Him.
Verse 18 says, “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Matthew 27: 50 and 51 tells us that the Veil between the HOLY PLACE and the HOLY of HOLIES was torn right down the MIDDLE from the Top to the Bottom. Most Historians believe the Veil was 60 feet tall. That SYMBOLIZED our ability to now pray to God.
There’s NO NEED to go through a PRIEST or OFFER INCENSE or SACRIFICE on an ALTER. JESUS has SLAIN ENMITY and HATRED.
III. And lastly, with this ENMITY, this HATRED being SLAIN, GONE, what do we have in it’s place?
Well, it says there in Verse 15, we have the PROMISE of a ETERNAL INHERITANCE. Jesus, with His death on the Cross of Calvary RECONCILED MAN with GOD. There’s NO ONE ELSE who could do that. No more separation. No more Death. No more Sickness. No more Disease. No more Anger and Strife. Jesus the Slayer of ENMITY and HATRED made this POSSIBLE. No one else could have done it.
So what else do we have instead of ENMITY and HATRED?
Well, Verse 14 tells us, “For he is our peace.”
Verse 15 says, “So making peace.”
And Verse 17 tells us, “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.”
Folks, in this world we’re living in there is very little Peace. That’s not too hard to believe is it? But in the Book of John Chapter 14, Verse 27, Jesus PROMISED US PEACE.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Jesus, the SLAYER of HATRED has LEFT us PEACE. And it’s a PEACE that the WORLD DOESN’T UNDERSTAND.
ILLUS: many years ago a man was looking for the perfect picture of peace. He looked far and wide but could never find one that really expressed what he thought represented PEACE. So, he announced a contest to produce a painting that TRULY represented PEACE. A lot of STARVING ARTISTS of that day were excited. Paintings from all around poured in. Finally the night of the unveiling. One by one the PAINTINGS were revealed. Beautiful meadows. Ocean views. Wildlife. But as they got down to the last one it was announced that it was the winner. Everyone held their breath as the drape was pulled off of the painting. It was a picture of a raging river cascading over a waterfall. There were storm clouds in the sky. Lightning flashing. But beside the FALLS was a lone tree with it’s branches sticking out over the water. And in the crook of the branch was a nest. And on that nest set a bird with it’s wings draped over it’s eggs. PEACE in the midst of the storm.
One of my favorite songs is
“PEACE IN THE MIDST OF MY STORM” It was written by a fellow named Stephen Adams.
“When the world that I’ve been living in collapses at my feet When my life is shattered and torn
Though I’m wind-swept and battered I can cling to His cross And find peace in the midst of my storm.”
There is peace in the midst of my storm tossed life
There’s an Anchor, there’s a Rock to cast my faith upon
Jesus rides in my vessel so I’ll fear no alarm
He gives me peace in the midst of my storm.
When my body has been broken till it’s wrecked in misery
When all the doctors shake their heads and look forlorn
Jesus comes to make my bedside a cathedral of hope and
love He sends His peace into the midst of my storm.
I don’t know about anyone else’s life except my own.
I don’t know if there is ENMITY between you and someone else. Maybe a family member, a mom or dad, a brother or sister but I do know that my Jesus is the SLAYER of ENMITY and HATRED.
Maybe there’s ENMITY between you and God. Maybe you have never been RECONCILED with Him through His Son. Jesus is the SLAYER of ENMITY and HATRED. He wants to be your Savior. Your MEDIATOR between you a SINNER and a RIGHTEOUS GOD.
Maybe you’re going through times of trouble. Storms are raging. Times of Sadness and Loss. Listen, Jesus is the SLAYER of ENMITY and the GIVER of PEACE. No, He’s NOT some SUPER HERO. He’s REAL and He wants to give you the PEACE that you long for. Why don’t you let Him?
Let’s Pray
