“And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mar 15:37-39)
Journal,
When Jesus breathed His last, the veil of the temple was torn. There was also an earthquake, and according to some sources, the foundation of the temple shifted. In this entry I wish to concentrate primarily on the significance of what happened in the temple during the crucifixion of Jesus.
Before the torn curtain, darkness had filled the land from noon to 3 o’clock. The ninth hour (3 pm) was the time of the incense offering. A priest and his attendants would be in the holy place.
The priest would not have heard the voice of Christ on the cross, nor the mockery of the chief priests and scribes, who were chiding Jesus, in saying,
“He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the king of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.” (Mat27:42)
But this moment was the deepest of sorrows for Jesus. And it is here that we hear the saddest words ever to be recorded by a human pen, when Jesus cries out,
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
At the moment of the cry, what the priest in the temple saw must have left him quaking. Hearing the sound of tearing, and looking up, the priest saw the vast curtain beginning to rend, starting at the very top.
Historical background
Let me share some historical background on both the curtain and the happenings in Israel during the time of Christ. This would explain any nervousness that the priest would have had.
First the curtain – The curtain was awesome in itself. It was 80 feet high, and as thick as the width of a man’s hand. (According to Josephus and later rabbinic authorities.)
Another point of interest is that the curtain had changed in appearance from the original pattern given Moses. The tabernacle curtain had cherubim embroidered in it. But the curtain in Herod’s temple had the heavens themselves embroidered on it. It was like looking at the sky. So when it began to tear, the priest would have thought of the rending of the heavens. And this is truly what was happening.
Strange things happening
There is more. According to the Talmud and Josephus, strange things had happened during that time period. Josephus said that the eastern gate, which was made of brass, and which took twenty
men to close, would open and close on its own accord.
The Talmud speaks of something similar. It says that forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple doors would open and close on their own, and you could hear voices coming from within. Forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem was when Jesus took up His Messianic anointing. The Master of the Universe walked the land.
Evidently the temple was becoming a scary place. The priest would have reason to go about his duties with some nervousness. But nonetheless, it happened. He looked up and the vast curtain began to tear. The floor began to shift and shake.
It was as if God were saying, “This is it! No more! There will be no more separation! No more blood sacrifices! No more!!!” It was as if the temple itself was rending her garments. She shuddered.
What is the wonderful secret in all this? It was all about God and man. God has been reconciled to all of humanity. Thus, every person on this planet, saint or sinner, has the right to call on the name of the Lord, and be saved. Sin was dealt with in Christ. Not simply the sins of the saints. All the sins of the world were taken to the cross in Christ.
When love walked the earth
Through the fall of Adam, the human race came into league with Satan. But that did not mean that God stopped loving humanity. The Bible is a record of redemption. It is also the story of God’s love for humanity.
When Jesus came into the earth, it meant that He had to leave heaven with all its glory and splendor, and to come into a world that was enshrouded in sin.
Sin was our clothing. Did He come in anger? Did He come with vengeance in His heart? No. He came with a heart full of the Father’s love.
And this is why John 3:16,17 will always be the key message in the Bible. It says,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
Jesus had to be born as a human. And so He was. Thus we have the mystery of the incarnation. Jesus was the only human ever to walk this planet in whom Satan had no power or authority over. Satan knew that somehow he must get Jesus to sin. But it never happened. Jesus was perfect in all His ways.
The message of the garden
Oh yes, Satan never forgot the message of the garden —
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (Gen3:15)
Jesus could have went back to heaven any time He desired. But He didn’t. He walked in our sinful world. He put his arms around sinful creatures. He rebuked the religious leaders for their hardheartedness, and gave nothing but love and acceptance to the most sinful of us all. It still works that way today.
But all this wasn’t entirely new. God’s plan of redemption had been laid out by His holy servants of old, the prophets. In fact the Bible unfolds around God’s Son and the work of the cross.
Hear what the prophet David had to say…
When mercy and truth met together
Somehow mercy and truth had to meet together. Somehow righteousness and peace had to kiss one another. Somehow heaven and earth had to be reconciled. Somehow there had to be the ‘one’ sacrifice that would take away sin forever. And the sacrifice had to be so perfect that it would remove all the sins of all of humanity, for all time. And somehow, this sacrifice had to become the way for man to return to God.
The Psalmist also spoke of this. He said,
“Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.” (Psa 85:9-13)
Listen to the words —
‘Truth springs from the earth.’ This is Jesus born of a woman.
‘Righteousness looks down from heaven.’ The voice from heaven said, ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
‘Righteousness … will make His footsteps into a way.‘ The footsteps of Jesus took Him from the cross and to His rightful place in heaven. His footsteps are now our footsteps.
There is so much more to be said.
But then, maybe this song pretty much says it all.
Take time to listen to John Starns, ‘Love Grew Where the Blood Fell.’
In Christ always,
Buddy
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