The Veil

For the past two weeks my pastor has been preaching through a series he titled Violent Grace. Many of the people in our church have said that the sermons have been some of his best.

This past Sunday, Pastor Aaron described the passion of the Christ in full detail. While he was explaining The history behind what had happened to Christ, he mentioned a very important detail that many Christians overlook when we think about the death of Christ: the veil was split in two!

Mark 15:38 says, "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." History records this curtain as being 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and the thickness of the palm of a man's hand. It's also said that this veil was so heavy that it would have needed 300 priests to manipulate it.1

This curtain (or veil) separated the "Holy Place" from the "Holy of Holies" in the temple. The Holy of Holies was the place in the Temple where it was said that the presence of Yahweh manifested himself. The high priest was only allowed into the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the people of Israel (Lev. 16:17). 

In order for the high priest to enter the Holy of Holies, he had to bathe and be dressed in pure lined garments as a symbol of purity (Lev. 16:4).2

The point is, that sin cannot be in the presence of a holy God (Rom. 3:23, Lev. 11:44 & 1Peter 1:16). If you have ever heard a preacher tell you that sin separates you from God, well...the veil in the temple was a physical picture of this truth. 

When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain that closed off the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom...the only explanation is that it was God himself who tore it in two. 

This is a beautiful picture of what God does in our salvation. Col. 2:13-14 tells us that our debt of sin was paid in full at the cross. Romans 8:31-39 tells us that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God. 

Why is there nothing that separates us from God anymore? Because when Christ died on that cross, he not only cleansed us of all our sin, but God imputed the righteous life that Christ lived to us (2Cor. 5:21). 

We are clothed with the blood soaked righteous robe of Christ's holiness, and therefore NOTHING separates us from the Holy of Holies.

As we remember the death of Christ today, let us remember that it was God himself who demolished the "barrier" that existed between us and Him FOREVER. 

Hebrews 9: 24-26 says, "For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Be Edified!

___________________________________________________________________________

1. Edersheim, A. (1896). The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Vol. 2, p. 611). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

2. Church, C. (2003). Day of Atonement. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (pp. 396–397). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.