The Veil Was Torn

Mathew 27: 51

⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Have you ever crushed a Coke can? I can remember as a kid crushing aluminum cans. I would try real hard to crush those cans with one flex of my hand. It looked cool if you could do that. My kid hands were not large enough, but over time I could crush a can no problem. How about ripping fabric? You know the scenes where a strong man rips his shirt off and makes his shirt look like tissue paper? Or maybe just using your strength to rip a rag in two pieces or bend a piece of steel rod? Strength, in order to be cool, has to be shown in front of witnesses.

The Parochet Curtain, or better known as the veil that separated the Holy of Holies, was first introduced in Exodus. Moses got complete instructions from the Lord on how to build the temple. This temple would serve as the place where the Lord would come down and talk with Moses and Aaron at the time. Then Moses and Aaron would pass those instructions along to the people of God, the Israelites. The Holy of Holies was the place only the high priest could enter. They had to be ceremonially clean before they entered the Holy of Holies. They were required to tie a rope around their waist that had bells on it. This rope and the bells would serve as a sign for the priests outside the Holy of Holies to see if the high priest was still alive by the ringing of the bells. No bells ringing meant the high priest was dead, and they would drag him out rather than go into the Holy of Holies. Needless to say, it was a very holy place, and only a very select few could ever enter into this place. When the Lord showed up, this place was full of the glory of the Lord. If you did not follow the law’s instructions before you entered, you would die. This was a big and scary deal, for obvious reasons.

In Matthew 27, we read about what happened when Jesus finally died on the cross. One of the things that happened was that this curtain was split into two pieces from the top to the bottom. I have ripped plenty of curtains in my day on accident, as well as shirts, so what is the big deal about this curtain being torn from top to bottom? This was no regular curtain. Josephus, an early historian, tells us that the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart. Plus, it was interwoven with fine linen. Linen is super tough to tear even when it is thin. This veil, this curtain, was over 60 ft tall and must have weighed a ton. This was the veil that was torn into two pieces from the top to the bottom.

What this represents is God removing the veil between Him and His creation. His Son, by dying on the cross, paid the price for sins once and for all. No longer did you have to be ritualistically clean in order to get close to God, now Jesus made a way to get to the Father. Jesus tells us in John 14:6, “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” The veil was torn. Jesus bridged the gap between sinful man and a holy God. He restored the closeness Adam and Eve had back in the garden with God. Now we can be filled and covered, baptized, with His Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in us. Romans 8:11 informs us, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” You are a new creation in Christ, and His Spirit lives inside of you just like it did in the Old Testament (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Today, sit back and recognize that Christ is the only one who ripped that veil in two pieces. If horses could not pull it apart, man could not either, but God did it. He ripped the veil so everyone could see that His Holy Spirit now lives in us as believers. Get to know your new heart tenant, the Holy Spirit. He wants to show you all the Word has to say about you and the victory you have now in Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank you for tearing the veil, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from your people. Now you live on the inside of all of us as believers. I pray that we get to know you and walk victoriously in the power of your Word, the Bible. In Jesus’ name, amen.