13 You were far away from God. But now, God has brought you near to himself, because you belong to Christ Jesus. That is possible because of Christ's death on the cross as a sacrifice.
2:12Israel's people, the Israelites, were the descendants of Jacob, who was also called Israel. Jacob's 12 sons became the ancestors of Israel's 12 tribes. The land that God gave to them as their home was called Israel.
14 It is Christ himself who has brought peace between Jews and Gentiles. He has brought those two groups together, to be one group. He has destroyed the things that made them separate. As a result, they are no longer enemies. 15 When his body died on the cross, Christ took away the power of the Jewish laws and rules. In that way, he made the two groups join together as one new group of people. As a result, he caused them to have peace. 16 As a single group, Christ brought Jews and Gentiles back to God. He stopped them from hating each other. He did this by his death on the cross.
17 When Christ came, he told people God's good news about peace. He told that message to you Gentiles, who were far away from God. He also told it to us Jews, who were near to God. 18 Now all of us have received the same Holy Spirit, because of what Christ has done for us. As a result, we can all come near to God the Father.
2:17God had given his Law to the Israelites. He promised to take care of them if they obeyed him. He promised to send his special Messiah to save them. So the Jews thought of themselves as God's special people.
