All three synoptic Gospels report the same event. The veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple in Jerusalem was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died.
Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38 report the rip occurred at the time Jesus died. Luke 23:45 says the veil was rent in two during the crucifixion.
The entire New Testament, in fact, the entire Christian faith attributes a common meaning to the event. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary’s cross, God was doing a new thing that superseded what the veil represented.
For centuries the veil had played an essential part of Jewish worship. Exodus 25 begins the story of the tabernacle, a word that means “dwelling, habitation or abode.” The tabernacle also was called the “Tent of Meeting,” for God had promised He would meet His people there (Ex. 25: 22).
Altar of Incense
The tabernacle was divided into two parts. The larger part contained an Altar of Incense on which offerings were presented to the Lord each day. Beyond the altar shielded from view by a veil of fine twined linen was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant rested.
It was within the Holy of Holies that God promised to meet His people (Ex. 30:6). But access was limited. Numbers 18:7 indicates that only priests could enter the sacred space. Evidently that quickly changed to only the High Priest who could enter and then only on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:2).
When Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem to be the House of God, the basic design of the tabernacle was preserved. There was a portico or vestibule followed by the Holy Place where priests offered daily sacrifices on the Altar of Incense. And behind the Altar of Incense, separated by a huge blue, purple and crimson colored veil embroidered with cherubim, was the Holy of Holies.
It is estimated the veil was about 30 feet high and 60 feet long as it was gathered on acacia wood poles, fastened with gold clamps and stretched across the 30 feet of open space between the sidewalls. The same design was used in Herod’s Temple at the time of Jesus.
Like the tabernacle, the temple symbolized the presence of God with His people. And like the tabernacle, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and then only on the Day of Atonement when an annual sacrifice was made for the sins of the people.
Practically speaking, the veil concealed the mysteries of God from His people. It was a symbol of an old covenant that focused on ceremonial cleansing. But in Jesus Christ, God was doing a new thing. As the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:19: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.”
God was taking the initiative. He took the initiative in Jesus as the High Priest who offered the sacrifice for sin to the Father. God was taking the initiative in Jesus as the spotless sacrificial Lamb — “One who knew no sin was made to be sin that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
God was taking the initiative in Jesus to make Himself known to all peoples everywhere. No longer would the mysteries of God be hidden from view behind a veil. No longer would the meeting place with God be open to only a few. God’s new thing was to make His mysteries known to Jew and Gentile alike. That mystery, according to Colossians 1:27 is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
The veil that shielded the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom, the Bible says. It was not torn by human hands but by an invisible power. Again God was taking the initiative to offer free access to the “mercy seat” of forgiveness and that access was through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
The writer of Hebrews uses the words of Jeremiah 31:31–34 to point to Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection as God’s new promised covenant with His people (Heb. 8).
Hebrews 9 compares what God did through Jesus Christ and to the Holy of Holies, the work of the High Priest, to the sacrifice itself.
Verse 11 contrasts Jesus’ “tabernacle” — His body — to the earthly tabernacle. Jesus was more perfect than any man-made structure because He was God incarnate. He was fully God and fully human. His conception was unlike any other for He was born of a virgin who had been “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit. He was truly unique. There was none like Him.
Verses 12–14 compare the offerings. The Jewish High Priest offered the blood of goats and calves. Jesus offered His own blood. Again this is the Jesus who is fully human and fully God, the One of whom Paul wrote, “That God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” Is it an over-stretch to say God was offering His own blood to pay the price of sin as He took the initiative to provide a new way of salvation?
Eternal redemption
Verse 12 also calls attention to how often a sacrifice for sin was made. The Jewish high priest offered the sacrifice of atonement annually but Jesus entered the holy place “once for all” because His sacrifice obtained eternal redemption.
Verse 24 contrasts the high priest entering into the Holy of Holies with Jesus entering into heaven itself.
Finally the writer compares the efficacy of the sacrifices. The sacrifices of the Jewish high priest could gain ceremonial cleansing. Jesus, as sacrifice for sin, was offered “once to bear the sins of many.”
No wonder the writer asked rhetorically in verse 14, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
One cannot serve the living God without access to Him. That is the symbol of the torn veil. The old covenant had come to an end. Now, through Jesus Christ, God provided new access to Himself that “whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.”
Now humankind could come “boldly” into the “holiest” — the presence of God — through the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19).
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