Bite 42: Jesus’ Blood in Ephesians 2:11-22

Recap

As we’ve been munching our way through our passage, I realize we have only taken nibbles and bits of all there is to eat here. (Aren’t metaphors fun?) Seriously, though, we have only skimmed. We started out with a plan to talk about repeated words and repeated opposites in our study. What have we learned?

Remember

Leading us, those repetitions took us to a study in remembering who the recipients are. Never touched all the history and nuance behind what it actually means to be called circumcision or uncircumcision. Or the idea that the circumcision is made by hands. There is an entire motherlode mine to be discovered there. Especially when you consider the opposite: what does it mean when the circumcision is made without hands, like it says elsewhere in scripture?

Additionally, we glanced back while we remembered with our Asia Minor brothers and sisters what they were without Christ. Separated, alienated, strangers, having no hope, and without God in the world.

Far Off and Near

But then Jesus moved in their story. Paul related the movement of Jesus in two paintings with one meaning. One explained how the uncircumcision had been brought near by Jesus, the other used a merism to show Jesus preached to the recipients no matter what spiritual distance there was between. No matter who they were, they heard the good news of peace.

Peace

Last time we touched on the idea of peace. It’s an old word, translation of a translation by the time we get to our English Bibles. Even though their sandals were worn and full of chafing sand, we tried walking in them to understand how the original audience would have heard Paul’s words. We cracked open their pew Bible, the LXX, and looked at the word peace using our spiritual imagination to understand the life of not-peace that was their world. On every front.

Context, Right?

How do we begin every session together? We want to read our passage to keep the picture as broad and expansive as we can even as we zero in on an idea. Just for funsies, let’s read it in the NET Bible today.

¹¹ Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands—¹² that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.¹⁴ For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, ¹⁵ when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, ¹⁸ so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, ²⁰ because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.²¹ In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22 (NET)

Have you been comparing scholarly translations in your study yet? Since translation is not a one-for-one code, I find having ESV and NET Bibles open in tabs next to each other helps me to gain some insight into the original languages without even opening a dictionary.

A Few of the 5 W’s and an H

The last note on the right isn’t on my sticky. As we study, I may or may not bring all five of these points up in our time. Perhaps I will even combine a couple. That’s the thing about study plans: they are plans. They are a guideline not a requirement.

So we have a plan for the study for some of the impacts Jesus has in the lives of the recipients. First, we will look at his blood.

By Jesus’ Blood

As we’ve discussed before, Ephesians 2:13 is where Paul hinges his message in our passage. While the original audience was previously called to remember, now the calling is to look at Jesus and what he’s done. With consideration for our concentric circles (which you can read about in Bite 2 here), we will start with Ephesians and Colossians.

Paul Speaks of Blood in Ephesians and Colossians

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off

have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13 (ESV)

The means by which the recipients had their position changed was by the blood of Christ. Does it sound familiar, the topic of blood? Does Paul speak of it elsewhere in Ephesians? In Bite 14, which you can see here, we touched on the blood in verse 7.

In him we have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses,

according to the riches of his grace

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

In both sections, the position of the recipients has changed by or through his blood. Paul talks about the blood in Colossians as well, since he wrote both letters about the same time. Probably had similar thoughts running through his head for both letters.

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything he might be preeminent. 

¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:18–20 (ESV)

I included more than the bit about by the blood because having familiarity with the context is important. Paul had been talking about the Colossians’ change in position as well. After writing to them about what a transformation took place, Paul breaks into a time of sheer worship.

Genre of Literature?

If you look at Colossians 1:9-14 and compare it will what follows in 1:15-20, do you see what I mean? Some scholars think that Colossians 1:15-20 falls into the genre of poetry. Dr. Stein believes 15-20 is an ancient hymn that Paul recited as his worship, based on some of the components of the text. (I have plans to write a Basics on genres of literature, poetry for example, because it is such a vital component to the accurate interpretation of a text.)

Regardless, what Paul writes is that Jesus making peace by the blood of his cross was the means of a change of position in Colossians as well.

Jesus Himself Speaks of His Blood

As an apostle, Paul speaks the very Word of God, we know this. But what does the Very Word of God say about himself? Let’s look at the scene of the Last Supper and listen in.

²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread,

and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples,

and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 

²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them,

saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 

²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant,

which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine

until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Matthew 26:26–29 (ESV)

Blood of the Covenant

Jesus speaks of himself and his blood in terms with which we may not have familiarity. Since I haven’t had the privilege of necessarily hearing your back story, I don’t know if you are a baby believer just learning to walk, a believer who has walked with Jesus for decades, or a Christian Jew. In our modern culture, speaking of covenants is archaic at best. At some point, we will discuss what a covenant is from the OT so it won’t be something foreign the next time we run into it.

However, I need to keep our discussion brief so we can keep crumbs to a minimum. For the purpose of our discussion and to keep it in familiar territory, a simple way to define a covenant is that it’s a promise. Remember how Paul said the uncircumcision were strangers to the covenants of promise in Ephesians 2:12? The blood of the covenant is the fulfillment of the OT promise of which the uncircumcision was a stranger.

There are promises associated with the coming of Jesus in the OT, and one of them is in Jeremiah 31:31-34. God tells the house of Israel and the house of Judah that he promises to have his rules be written on their hearts, he promises to be their God, and they would be his people. Then God says, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” ¹

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples that his blood would be the blood of the promise and that it was the means by which many would have the forgiveness about which we’ve been studying in Ephesians. Let’s look at all that we’ve learned and make a list about Jesus’ blood. Included is my note for the cross references as I found them, and the subsequent list I made as I studied.

Let’s take a moment and marinate in what we’ve discovered about the impact Jesus’ blood has.

Reflection

As I’ve sat here in my living room with my beautiful coffee, my fire, the pre-sunrise making a gradient on the horizon of blue/purple/pink, causing the snow-capped mountains to stand starkly white amidst the hues, and studying about the power contained in Jesus’ blood, even before he died… Letting the realization wash over me anew even in the serene environment that envelopes me, it causes my heart to be stirred with affection for Jesus.

As I’ve said before, good study causes good worship. Have you had a chance to ruminate on the nibbles of truth we’ve assembled here? Without singling one out as more important (all of them are equally true, all the time), is there one that resonants in your heart today? We remember that we are not applying the passage yet, but we can and should reflect on the goodness and grace that is our Savior in a general sense.

Imagination in Its Place is Useful

Allowing my divine imagination to enter the Upper Room where the Last Supper occurred, I picture our Savior and his friends enjoying this meal together. I hear jokes and laughter and ribbing one another in holy banter. I see good food including meat, gluten, dairy and good wine shared. I envision colorful cushions and beautiful workmanship in a crafted table with rustic and hearty pottery as dinnerware.

No, this isn’t found in scripture, but if we can place ourselves in the scene, with practice the text will become alive. If we let ourselves, we might even have an opportunity in our mind’s eye to experience the wonder of actually being with the Savior. Are you with me in the Upper Room?

“Take and eat. This is my body.”

We haven’t studied about what it means that Jesus offers his body as food, but we can know that there is great sacrifice involved. You can’t eat flesh without there being a death involved. What a realization that must’ve been for the disciples when they looked back at this occurrence and recognized that he knew the horrors that were in front of him. That Jesus freely offered his body before it was broken in their place. It was the plan for the fullness of time.

Then holding up the hand-crafted pottery goblet, he gave thanks for the wine and told them,

“Drink of it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant. It is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

His blood of the covenant. The blood that was the means for the fulfillment of the promise that the disciples would’ve known about since they were wee lads. Even though they didn’t understand what was happening at that pinpoint of time, every point of time subsequent would have been colored by that truth once they had their minds illumined. The hope they had in Christ is the definition of a good plan.

Most of them died because of that blood. And they died gladly, knowing that the promises were true.

Are your affections for Jesus stirred? Does your heart sing and dance with joy because of the power that is in the blood? What is true in that Upper Room remains true today. “It is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Can we say we are numbered among the many?

Hoping that you are beginning to feel comfortable in your own study, perhaps you can get a head start on one of those other points from the plan I showed you on my blue sticky note.

Wrap Up

Our Bible Study Bite today is having a plan is a good plan. Because hope is not a good plan, we want to formulate in our minds a firm intention of what we will do. Whether that is being able in six months to perform 10 excellent pushups or sitting with our study tools for 20 minutes, 4 days a week for this week, a plan will help us achieve our goals.

Mountain Biking!

Our plan for the ride was to do two laps of a portion of the trail that we knew to not be as muddy. Sadly, we’ve been in mud season for the entire winter. In my mind, I braced myself for the possibility that Jeremy might not want to go a second time around. If my beloved riding partner didn’t want to ride it twice, that was a great reason to adjust the plan and only ride the first 6 miles.

In my world, my plan is firmly established unless circumstances call for an adjustment. If it’s too muddy the first time around and we are damaging the trail or our equipment, the plan needs to change. If my riding partner is tired and is no longer having fun, the plan needs to change. Unless there is a reason that the plan should change, I typically stick to my plans.

You might do things differently. That is great! However, what you do to make your plan and then accomplish the plan, try not to allow yourself to sabotage the plan and the achievement of the goal.

Past, Present, Future

Jeremy has told me about how he thinks about his plans. He has a Past Self, Present Self, and a Future Self. If he knows his Future Self will want sweets in the evenings (Future Self usually does), his Present Self asks his wife to make sure there are lower calorie fruity popsicles available in the freezer. When he gets to the evening, the Present Self will be able to utilize the plan his Past Self made and be more successful.

I think about that often. When making a biking plan, my Present Self planned for my Future Self. Unless trail conditions or my riding companion needed the plan adjusted, my plan was in place. I would ride for the full 12-something miles.

Bible Study!

In our Bible Study scenario above, I planned to study those 5 aspects I laid out. Unless a circumstance requires a change to that plan. Like our Bite would be so big that we would choke. The Bite was so big that we would’ve choked. So I changed the plan. But we still studied. We still learned. And the adjustment of the plan is that we will visit those in another Bite. Or in multiple Bites…

If we don’t make a plan in order to get to our goals, saying “I hope I can learn how to study the Bible better” will be of little value. My prayer is that our time together here at Bible Study Bites is helping you achieve your goals to be in the Word more, get to know our God better, and cause you to worship him more.

1. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Je 31:34). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.