An Earthly Symbol of Heavenly Things
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Matt. 27:51
At the very moment that Jesus cried "It is finished" and died on His cross, the curtain in the Temple ripped in two. Here we find one of the great symbols of the meaning of His death.
That curtain separated the two apartments of the Temple. Only the officiating priests could enter the first apartment, designated the holy place. But the second was even more sacred. Into that Most Holy Place only the high priest could enter, and he but once a year on the Day of Atonement, the day of Israel's year-end judgment.
The Gospel writers carefully point out that the curtain was torn "from top to bottom." Given the fact that the curtain was approximately 60 feet in height, the directional description of its ripping signifies a supernatural act, since a human tearing would have been from the bottom to top.
The rending of that massive curtain signified several things. First, that the old system of ceremonies and sacrifices that pointed forward (Col. 2:17) to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was now a thing of the past. Because the real sacrifice has taken place in which the Lamb of God had died for the sins of the world (John 1:29), the ceremonial system has served its purpose. The ripping of the curtain signifies that even the Most Holy Place of the earthly Temple is no longer sacred. The scene of action will now shift to heaven, where Jesus will minister in the "true" Temple (Heb. 8:1, 2) as High Priest for those who believe in Him.
A second major significance of the tearing of the curtain is that believers now have direct access to the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus and through His post-resurrection ministry in heaven. As Scripture puts it, we now "have confidence to enter the sanctuary ["holies" in Greek] by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain." Because of that access we can "draw near" to God "with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:19-22, RSV).
The destruction of the curtain further symbolized the fulfillment of Jesus' saying that the Jerusalem Temple would be "forsaken" by God and left "desolate" (Matt. 23:38, RSV). The beginning of the desecration of the Temple took place with the tearing of the curtain. That event foreshadowed its complete destruction in A.D. 70.
Thank You, Lord, for not only providing Jesus as our Savior but for also opening up fuller access to Yourself through that event.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. Matt. 27:51
At the very moment that Jesus cried "It is finished" and died on His cross, the curtain in the Temple ripped in two. Here we find one of the great symbols of the meaning of His death.
That curtain separated the two apartments of the Temple. Only the officiating priests could enter the first apartment, designated the holy place. But the second was even more sacred. Into that Most Holy Place only the high priest could enter, and he but once a year on the Day of Atonement, the day of Israel's year-end judgment.
The Gospel writers carefully point out that the curtain was torn "from top to bottom." Given the fact that the curtain was approximately 60 feet in height, the directional description of its ripping signifies a supernatural act, since a human tearing would have been from the bottom to top.
The rending of that massive curtain signified several things. First, that the old system of ceremonies and sacrifices that pointed forward (Col. 2:17) to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was now a thing of the past. Because the real sacrifice has taken place in which the Lamb of God had died for the sins of the world (John 1:29), the ceremonial system has served its purpose. The ripping of the curtain signifies that even the Most Holy Place of the earthly Temple is no longer sacred. The scene of action will now shift to heaven, where Jesus will minister in the "true" Temple (Heb. 8:1, 2) as High Priest for those who believe in Him.
A second major significance of the tearing of the curtain is that believers now have direct access to the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus and through His post-resurrection ministry in heaven. As Scripture puts it, we now "have confidence to enter the sanctuary ["holies" in Greek] by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain." Because of that access we can "draw near" to God "with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:19-22, RSV).
The destruction of the curtain further symbolized the fulfillment of Jesus' saying that the Jerusalem Temple would be "forsaken" by God and left "desolate" (Matt. 23:38, RSV). The beginning of the desecration of the Temple took place with the tearing of the curtain. That event foreshadowed its complete destruction in A.D. 70.
Thank You, Lord, for not only providing Jesus as our Savior but for also opening up fuller access to Yourself through that event.
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