The Veil Was Torn

In the last post I shared with you many prophecies and fulfillments that took place during Jesus’ death. If you have not read it, you can read it here. Here I want to look into one specific event that happened when He died, and that was the veil was torn. This is one of my favorite parts of the Bible so hold on, I am a little excited. There are a lot of mind-blowing things I am about to share with you. Well, at least I think so.

The Veil Was Torn ~ Matthew 27:51-53

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”

~Matthew 27:51-53

Read the scripture above. Read it twice. Did you catch all that happened at the moment Jesus took His last breath? The Earth shook, the rocks split, and tombs broke open. The bodies of holy people were raised to life. Can you even start to imagine this scene? As bazaar as all of that is I want to focus on the very first sentence in this verse, “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom.”

This is one of those scriptures that you can easily read over and completely miss a magnificent thing that has happened. As I mentioned in a previous post in this series, Jesus died for us, to gain forgiveness.

A Little History Of The Sin Offering

Before Jesus died, only the priest had access to God. Everyone else had to bring their prized possessions to the temple. Their best sheep, goat, lamb, farmed goods, and more. They would travel long distances to make it to the temple to give their offerings to the priest, who would then offer the sacrifice on their behalf.

If you want to read more on the sin offering, you can find it in Leviticus chapter 4. This is more specifically about when a priest would sin and the offering he was to give. He would offer a bull and have to spread its blood in several places, one being in front of the veil.

“He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.”

~Leviticus 4:6

The Day Of Atonement

Once a year on the day of atonement. The high priest would go into a place in the temple called the Holy of Holies. Others in the temple would tie a rope around the priest’s ankle just in case the presence of God was so strong, and he died they would be able to pull him out. This high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the people. Atonement means being forgiven.

To sum all of this up, the priest would go before God with blood from the offering to gain forgiveness for the people. The average person had no direct contact with God. All prayers, sacrifices, and offerings were made through the priest on a person’s behalf.

The Veil Was Torn

Here is where it gets good. When Jesus died, the veil (we would call it a curtain) of the temple was torn from top to bottom. This was the veil that was at the entrance to the Holy of Holies. At the moment the veil tore, we gained direct access to God.

The veil was torn from top to bottom so that no one could doubt that it was torn by God and not man. God timed it to be during the evening sacrifice, knowing the priest would be there to witness the event. In that moment of the tearing, we gained direct access to God. No longer was a priest necessary to go to God on our behalf because Jesus shed His blood and became the great high priest.

We can now pray to our heavenly Father directly through Jesus. This is why we say “In Jesus Name” at the end of our prayers. Do you find all of this as amazing and awe-inspiring as I do?

As if this were not jaw-dropping enough, I want us to take a little deeper look at a few more facts that surround His death. According to Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Christ died at the same time the priest would have made the evening sacrifice, which was also the same time of the day that Daniel was visited by the angel Gabriel, (in Daniel 9:21,24) and prophesied the messiah’s coming. I love digging deeper into the Word and finding this little tidbits that are so extraordinary.

If you would like to read more into this scripture from the same commentary click here. There is much in these scriptures that is so powerful.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain,  that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

~Hebrews 10:19-25

Challenge

In the scripture above, the author encourages us to spur one another on towards love and good deeds and to not give up meeting together. As I challenged you previously in this series to disciple someone I want to encourage you again to do this.

You can read here, in the challenge segment, my suggestions for getting started. Taking the time to pour into another person will be a blessing to them and grow you. If you already started to disciple someone, plan to meet with them again. I would love you to share below your experience or what you did to give other readers suggestions. If you have not started, what are you waiting for? God will be with you as you step out of your comfort zone to help someone else grow in their faith.

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Want to go deeper? This is one of my all-time favorite Bible studies,

“A Woman’s Heart” by Beth Moore.

“Explore the fascinating account of the building of the Old Testament tabernacle, the significance of its intricate design, its pivotal role in God’s eternal plan, the grand fulfillment of its purpose by Jesus Christ, and its variety of meanings for your walk with God today.  ~ from the description on Amazon.

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