Ephesians 2:13

The Uniting of Jew and Gentile Through the Cross. The Establishing of the New Israel.

‘But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ.'

Now all is changed. In the Christ Who died for them all these benefits are theirs. They have been brought near to God, the invisible God proclaimed by the Jews, through His shed blood. Through His sacrifice of Himself for sin, which cancels out the old ordinances, He has removed the barrier of sin, making them ‘holy' and righteous so they can approach Him without fear.

‘Made near.' In Ephesians 2:17 the Jews are ‘near'. Thus in Christ Jesus and through the blood of the cross the believing Gentiles are, in being ‘made near', united with the believing Jews in their ‘nearness'. They are reconciled both to God and to each other (Ephesians 2:16). The implication is that physical circumcision has been replaced by being united in His death.