The Tearing of the Temple Veil is God’s Open Door
A remarkable event takes place near the end of the Gospel account of the ministry of Jesus: the tearing of the veil in the Temple. Though it may seem like a minor detail in an otherwise momentous day, the importance of this dramatic moment cannot be overstated. This one act of God represents the spiritual transformation ushered in by Jesus’ sacrificial death. It also serves as God calling you to a deeper relationship with Him that is spelled out in the entirely of the New Testament. It is, therefore, crucial to understand this bit of sanctified destruction.
The Temple in Jerusalem stood at the very center of the Jewish world. It was the building built according to the instructions of the Lord specifically for His worship. The Bible tells you that the presence of God dwelt in the Temple from the moment of Solomon’s dedication. The Bible also says that God departed the Temple before the time of Jesus due to their rejection of His ways, but that did not remove it from being a wonder of the ancient world. The specific layout of the Temple was important.
It was arranged in a series of courtyards that surrounded each other. Walls served as dividers between each of the roughly rectangular courts and entrance to them became more restrictive the closer you came to the center of the Temple. The outermost courtyard, for example, was the Court of the Gentiles, where anyone could enter followed by the Court of Women, which was limited to only Israelites. The Court of Israel followed, which was limited to Jewish men, followed by the Court of Priests, where only priests and Levites could enter. The heart of the Temple was the Holy of Holies that was at its center. This was the holiest place in Jerusalem because it was viewed as God’s dwelling place and contained the Ark of the Covenant. Only one man, the High Priest of Israel, was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and he did so on one day per year. To get to God’s dwelling place, in other words and to His mercy seat, you not only had to pass through the various walls that kept people out of the courtyards, but you also had to be chosen by God to be an Israelites, to be a male, to be of the tribe of Levi, and to be the High Priest of Israel. It was a very exclusive club. This yearly visit of the High Priest took place on the Day of Atonement for the purpose of seeking atonement for Israel before the Mercy Seat of God in the Holy of Holies. Every other day of the year, even the priests were kept out of even this symbolic presence of God by a heavy linen veil or curtain that surrounded it. It was said to be 6 inched thick, covered in images of angels stitched into it, and hung from the ceiling to the floor of the Temple.
This veil literally and symbolically depicted man’s separation from God due to sin, even calling to mind the angels who God called to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden after the fall through the artwork on the veil. The sin and rebellion of man kept us from experiencing the same level of fellowship and peace with God as Adam and Eve in the Garden due to their rebellion. That is, until the completed work of the last Adam, Jesus:
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. 1 Corinthians 15
So What does it Mean?
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27
God Announcing Your Reconciliation
The tearing of the veil is a dramatic and vivid representation of the spiritual reconciliation between God and man. The angels first spoke of Jesus’ mission of peace when the Heavenly Host announced His arrival to the shepherds:
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2
Man declared himself in rebellion against God in the Garden and this led to our exclusion from the Garden. You and I were kept out by angels from Eden and the veil from the Holy of Holies. God’s plan to bring you back to Him culminated with Jesus dying on the Cross so you could come back to Him. As 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 states,
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” God tearing the separating veil from the floor down, in other words in a way that only He could, makes it very clear that the Good Shepherd’s mission to bring you back to the presence of the Father was successful.
Reclaim Rest in Christ by Rejecting the Expectations of Man
Go Boldly to the Throne of God
The tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus’ death also serves as God’s ongoing invitation to you. The barrier between God and humanity is emphatically removed by God Himself. Through Jesus’ sacrificial death, access to God’s presence is now available to all people, Jews, Gentiles, male, female, slave, or free and not just the high priest or a select few.:
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. Ephesians 2
As Hebrews 10:19-22 declares:
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
and Hebrews 4:
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The torn veil is like God opening the door to the His throne room. The only question is whether you respond to the invitation.
Your Invitation to Dangerous Discipleship
An End and a New Beginning
Additionally, the tearing of the veil symbolizes the end of the old sacrificial system and the inauguration of a new covenant. The veil stood at the very heart of worship as set up by the Mosaic Law. It is not a minor drapery. The piercing of that veil was the highlight of the religious year for ancient Israel on Day of Atonement. It was the moment that Israel was closest to God since their mediator, the High Priest, brought the sacrifice to God’s dwelling place and their sins were covered over. This step was peak Judaism. God’s ripping the showed the world that this old structure was no longer needed. What God destroyed, man could never repair. It also symbolized a new and better way. It signifies the beginning of a new era of redemption and renewal, where forgiveness of sins is found through faith in Christ rather than through animal sacrifices under the Mosaic law.
The tearing of the veil in the Temple at the moment of Jesus’ death is a powerful and multifaceted symbol of the profound spiritual truths revealed through His sacrificial death on the cross. It signifies access to God’s presence, reconciliation between God and humanity, and the inauguration of a new covenant of redemption and renewal. As you reflect on this world shaking moment, you may want to consider whether you have truly adopted the message for your life.
Do you still see yourself separated from God requiring highly structured religious rituals to get to Him? Do you only seek Him on one or two days a year? Do you see yourself as unworthy to enter into the Holy of Holies and try to go through someone more qualified? Are you working to make yourself worthy to enter into the presence of God?
The message of the torn veil offers so much better. “Come to ME”, Jesus invites you. Take advantage of all of the work of Jesus on the Cross and go boldly, daily, and securely to the Throne of Grace. The cost of your ticket in was too great to waste it.
