The Dividing Wall

In the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Gentiles were not permitted to enter the inner courts; they could only move within the area designated as the “Court of the Gentiles.” Between the Court of the Gentiles and the Jewish “Court of Israel,” there was a high dividing wall with four entrances and steps. At each entrance, warnings were carved into the wall stating, “No foreigner is to enter within the balustrade and enclosure around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” Thus, Gentiles could only operate within the Court of the Gentiles outside this wall. If a Gentile wished to learn about worshipping God, they could do so only in the Court of the Gentiles.

 When the Ethiopian eunuch went up to Jerusalem to worship, he too could only be in the Court of the Gentiles. This court also had Jewish rabbis who served as consultants for Gentiles learning to worship, and hand-copied Jewish scriptures were sold there (Acts 8:26-40).

 When some Greeks went up to Jerusalem to worship, they were also in the Court of the Gentiles. They wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus was within the Court of Israel, so they could not see Him directly and spoke to Philip instead (John 12:20-23).

On one occasion, Paul took several Jewish men to the Temple to perform rites of purification. Some Jews who opposed Paul, seeing Trophimus, an Ephesian Christian, with him in the city, mistakenly thought that this Gentile had entered the Temple’s Court of Israel with Paul. This led to a great uproar (Acts 21:26-30). In reality, Trophimus could only be in the Court of the Gentiles.

When Jesus was crucified, the curtain in the Temple, before the Most Holy Place, was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This miracle signified that the “barrier” between God and humanity had been removed, and this veil of the Temple, which was very significant, had also been torn by God. Therefore, the author of Hebrews states, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us” (Hebrews 10:19-20). However, this event only indicated that the relationship between God and humanity had been reconciled; the cultural and psychological barrier between Jews and Gentiles still existed. This is why Peter even pretended and refused to eat with Gentiles (Galatians 2:11-14).

It was not until 70 AD, when the Roman general Titus led his troops to destroy Jerusalem, that the Temple was demolished and defiled, and even the dividing wall between the Court of Israel and the Court of the Gentiles was torn down. Christ fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17), brought it to its full meaning (Matthew 5:21-48), and brought an end to the case of sin for the old creation, thereby removing these divisions. The “old humanity” are descendants of Adam, unable to live in peace with God and divided by origin and background, thus unable to live in peace with each other. To be reconciled with God and with others, one must live in the “new humanity.” Believers are already “one in Christ,” collectively built into the body of Christ, the church, and from now on, there is no longer any separation between Jews and Gentiles. The Lord Jesus, in Himself, created one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and through the cross, He put to death their hostility, reconciling both to God in one body.