2:16b

2:16b Through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

How is hostility put to death, killed outright, crucified as on a cross?

This world is full of hostility. I see hostility in politics, in the church, in families, in homes, in business, in tribes and clans – hostility everywhere. The prisons are overflowing and the courts can not keep pace with trying to resolve conflict.

Can it be that there is a conclusive cure for hostility, for conflict? Paul declares that people who identify with the crucified Son of God/Son of Man, die to hostility because Jesus died to hostility in his own body on Calvary. Or we might say, hostility was put to death in that Body. Our hostility is, there, put to death, killed!

I think this is one of the neglected benefits of the atoning work of Jesus. If I am like others, I want to protect myself, my family, my group, my nation, my culture. I am expected to do so and when I do, I am applauded. The world pronounces such hostility to be good. Jesus wants to slay it, crucify it in his body.

Jesus laid down his rights, nailing them to his cross for all to see. The Son gave himself to be the Lamb slain for sin. Is that what I must do? Lay down my rights and die to them in Jesus Christ? The answer is clear and compelling, there is no other way to have peace with Almighty God and certainly no other way to live with hostility toward none.