The Rent Of The Temple’s Veil At The Hand Of God Almighty

Matthew 27: 50 And Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent. 52 And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city and appeared to many.

Absolutely nothing is more of a profound expression of love for the whole of mankind than the riping of the temple curtain in half at the hand of God Almighty at the precise moment of His Son’s death . . . there is no greater repudiation of Judaism by God, or is there a more representative symbol of His New Covenant with all of mankind.

For the uninitiated I will first explain what the temple veil was and the veil’s significance; and then venture to explain why God found it necessary to destroy it.

The temple in Jerusalem was the center of Judaism during Christ’s brief presence on earth. In the temple the blood sacrifices of animals was a common occurrence as an atonement for sins. At the temple during Christ’s time a corrupt version of The Laws of Moses (God’s covenant with the Hebrews) was faithfully practiced by the Herod-Edom-Jews that came to dominate Judea and the Hebrew faith.

The temple veil (temple curtain) was not some flimsy piece of cloth hanging from a curtain rod. Josephus stated in (“B. J.” v. 5, §§ 4 et seq.) that . . .

it can be seen that in the two succeeding Temples both the Holy and Holy of Holies were divided by curtains of byssus.

Merrian-Webster Online defines byssus as . . .

. . . 2 [New Latin, from Latin] : a tuft of long tough filaments by which some bivalve mollusks (as mussels) adhere to a surface

Josephus also tells us that . . .

the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart. The book of Exodus teaches that this thick veil was fashioned from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen.

It is a good guess-tament that the temple curtain was around sixty feet high. Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high (1 Kings 6:2), but Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits, according to the writings of Josephus. There is uncertainty as to the exact measurement of a cubit, but it is safe to assume that this veil was somewhere near 60 feet high.

Obviously, the physical characteristics of the temple veil lent itself to being a formidable barrier.

Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that in the temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies—the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—from the rest of the temple where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7) to enter into God’s presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins (Leviticus 16).

The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin renders humanity unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated daily showed graphically that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices.

To this day there are Jewish sects that twirl chickens over their heads in an effort to atone for their sins. In no uncertain terms, such actions were relegated to pagan idolatry, by God, when he tore the temple curtain in half at the precise moment of Christ’s death. No longer was the sin offering by the Jewish High Priest on an annual bases, and countless other animal blood sacrifices repeated daily acceptable to God the Father . . . no longer was mankind separated from God and denied to be in the presence of God by a curtain or a High Priest . . . no longer did sin render mankind unfit to be in the presence of God . . . the old covenant between the Hebrews and God was totally and completely proclaimed null and void and replaced with the New Covenant between God and all of humanity through the blood and sacrifices of Lord Christ Jesus.

In a sense, the veil was symbolic of Christ Himself as the only way to the Father (John 14:6). This is indicated by the fact that the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. Now Christ is our superior High Priest, and as believers in His finished work, we partake of His better priesthood. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him. Hebrews 10:19-20 says that the faithful enter into the sanctuary by the “blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the veil, that is, through his flesh.” Here we see the image of Jesus’ flesh being torn for us just as He was tearing the veil for us.

The veil being torn from top to bottom is a fact of history. The profound significance of this event is explained in glorious detail in Hebrews. The things of the temple were shadows of things to come, and they all ultimately point us to Jesus Christ. He was the veil to the Holy of Holies, and through His death the faithful now have free access to God.

For a truly enlightening writing with regard to an essential element to the complete understanding of the polar opposite nature between Christianity and Judaism . . . GO HERE.