The veil wasn’t just taken down, it was torn in two so that it couldn’t be used again. In making purple we mix two primary colours, blue and red. The implementation of what it all meant would take thousands of years, even to today. This veil is making access to forgiveness possible- we can now go directly to God for our forgiveness. When Matthew says, “they went into the holy city” (Matthew 27:53c), he indicates Jerusalem (cf. Sin had separated us, and only a blood sacrifice by the right person could fix it. There were steps leading up to the temple itself. Genesis 1:6). And surely that sudden, sharp tearing asunder of the obscuring medium, and letting the bright sunlight stream into every corner of the dark chamber, is for us a symbol of the great fact that in the life, and especially in the death, of Jesus Christ our Lord, we have light thrown in to the depths of God. Golden statues of two winged cherubim also knelt on the cover of the ark. The angelic guardians are disarmed, and reentry into the Edenic presence of God is again permitted for the first time since the fall. Rudy played two plays as a Fighting Irish football player after everyone told him he would never make it. This means that there is no longer a physical barrier to God, suggesting that the theological necessity of it is thereby removed. And the erthe schoke, and stoonus weren cloue; and birielis weren openyd, - Wycliffe Bible What do we receive because the temple veil was torn in two? What would life look like for you if you could disregard the shame that holds you captive. The meaning of the veil’s tearing is wrapped up in its old-covenant function to separate the Israelites from the direct presence of God. In Solomon’s temple, patterned after the tabernacle, there was a veil “of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it” (2 Chronicles 3:14 NIV). Shame is when you are afraid of someone else’s opinion about you, or something that you did. But before we look at what these events indicate about the significance of Jesus’s death, our next step is to examine what Matthew has already said about it. This means that the breaking of Jesus’s body at the crucifixion is the unprecedented means by which believers have access to the presence of God. With the centurion’s acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God, he too has received a revelation from the Father, an acknowledgement of the true identity of Jesus to which the miraculous events surrounding his death, introduced by the torn veil, bear witness. It is by his death on the cross — as a ransom that achieves the forgiveness of sins — that Jesus accomplishes his mission to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The veil was a physical, visible barrier indicating that access to God was strictly prohibited because of his holiness. That is, Matthew notes the earthquake, the rocks splitting, the tombs opening, and the dead rising — and, parenthetically, he notes that these resurrected people appeared to many in Jerusalem after Jesus’s resurrection on Sunday. 39:20b [MT=34b]). Since Jesus was without blemish, without sin, and kept the Law perfectly for us, His death was the propitiation … b. Ḥagigah 15a. Even while in transit, the veil was used to conceal the ark from sight, as it was the most sacred object of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:10–22), where the Lord spoke to Moses. Here the likely allusion is to Zechariah 14:4–5, where the Lord himself will come and split the Mount of Olives. Likewise, in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, there is to be separation of “the holy and the profane” (Ezekiel 42:20 NASB; cf. What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Jesus died? On the Day of Atonement, Aaron was to use the blood of the sin offering to purify and consecrate the altar (Leviticus 16:19). Jesus suffered to the point of death so that we might have access. The veil’s primary function was to separate the holy place from the holy of holies (Exodus 26:33). The prohibitive function of the veil — conveyed implicitly and explicitly in the Old Testament — underscores the restrictions placed upon Israelite worship based on the holiness of God. They were to be arranged in such a manner as to face each other (Exodus 25:20; cf. A split temple veil, earthquake, and the dead returning to life each confirmed the significance of Jesus' death. It may seem strange to readers that Matthew refers simply to “the” veil of the temple, without any explanation as to which of the many hangings, curtains, and veils in the Old Testament tabernacle and subsequent temple he had in mind. Matthew provides additional explanations to his readers than Mark does in his simple statement about the torn veil and the centurion’s statement (Mark 15:38–39), all of which teach something about the significance of Jesus’s death. The veil, then, was a physical barrier that both represented and enforced the separation from the holy presence of the enthroned Yahweh within from Aaron and his sons — the violation of which brought death (Numbers 18:7; cf. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. ↩, It is important to observe that events in the Bible can be both historical and symbolic (e.g., the exodus and passing through the waters of the Red Sea). Christ said that He is the only way to the Father, and the temple being torn in two is proof of it. Yahweh instructs Moses to make “two cherubim out of hammered gold” (Exodus 25:18 NIV), with wings spread upward and overshadowing the atonement slate. We asked Dan Gurtner, professor of New Testament interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, to explain the meaning of the tearing of the veil for our series of feature articles by scholars for pastors, leaders, and teachers. Presumably, they thought the event was clear enough to their original readers. Purple was for royalty, a mixing of heavenly God and earthly man. Leviticus 16:2). But Christ disregarded it. He paid the penalty for the sins of all people; His death atoned for our sins, therefore, there was no longer an innate separation between God and humanity. (niv). Thomas Edison failed over 9000 different times before he successfully created the light bulb…We can now enter the Holy of Holies because Jesus made a way where there was none. This is confirmed by the description of Yahweh’s presence with Israel as being “enthroned between the cherubim” (1 Samuel 4:4 NIV; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; 1 Chronicles 13:6; Psalm 80:1; 99:1; Isaiah 37:16), which, when coupled with a reference to God’s enthronement “in heaven” (Psalm 2:4 NIV), may support the notion that the holy of holies was thought to be a replica of heaven. 1 Furthermore, their coming out of their tombs (Matthew 27:53a) is directly from the prophecy of Ezekiel 37:12. The deliverance here, though, is of a different kind: the events anticipated in the future have occurred at the death of Jesus. Here is how each of the evangelists recorded the moment: And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Matthew 4:5–6), where they “appeared to many” (Matthew 27:53d), seemingly to indicate eyewitnesses to the event. It was torn from top to bottom…the hardest way possible. The crucifixion Psalm 22 quotes Jesus as saying – “I am a worm”. There were courts set aside for the women and the Gentiles. What has prompted Matthew to take his readers on such a whirlwind, and what are we to make of it? The Veil has been torn and you can now enter the Holy of Holies and obtain mercy by the blood of Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Answer Save Despite objections, Jesus truly was the Son of God, as claimed by God himself (Matthew 3:17; 17:5), affirmed by Jesus (Matthew 26:63–64), and even acknowledged by the disciples (Matthew 14:33; 16:16). Matthew 16:17; 17:22–23), albeit temporary (Matthew 17:9)! The “marvelous skill” with which it was made was rich in symbolism that depicted the elements of the universe. At the death of Jesus on the cross, the temple veil was torn into from top to bottom. Professor, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. What is it like? It hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. Matthew 27:33) to the temple veil in Jerusalem (Matthew 27:51a), then (presumably) to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 27:51b–53a), then into “the holy city” (Jerusalem) on Sunday (note “after his resurrection,” Matthew 27:53), and only then back to the scene at the cross (Matthew 27:54). What could it mean? Contempt for our brother and “us” and “them” thinking also violates the new covenant. Red was derived from an Eastern insect (worm) that infests certain trees. For example, white was typically a symbol of purity. Achsah’s name means anklet or adorned, but according to Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary it also means bursting the veil. The tearing of the temple veil is important because the veil was a symbol of separation between God and man. What could it mean? Each colour was made from a different process and meant a different thing. The word for veil used by Matthew (katapetasma) is a technical term that, in the Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint), is used for three different hangings in the tabernacle and temple. Listen in as Monte Judah answers questions on faith, scripture, and our walk as believers. We must constantly recall, however, that all of these features are immediately relevant to the primary subject matter of the passage — the death of Jesus. In this way, the veil was a barrier between heaven and earth, behind which divine secrets were kept, known only to God.4 The Jerusalem temple during the days of Jesus had been significantly renovated by Herod the Great (rule 37–4 BC).5 The historian Josephus, himself a priest, describes the structure, including the veil, in some detail.6 He says it was made of “Babylonian tapestry,” scarlet and purple, clearly depicting royalty. This is the “new and living way” (Hebrews 10:20) that Christ opened for us through the veil, which, the author says, is through his flesh. Many scholars believe that the curtain was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide and the depth of a man’s hand (roughly 4 inches), and that it took 300 priests to move it, wash it and hang it. The fact that it was torn apart from the top down indicated that the tearing was an irrevocable act of God in Heaven that gave people access to Him. . This tearing reflected the rending of Christ’s body on … Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:50–54), which most scholars presume expands on the parallel account in Mark (Mark 15:38–39), contains some unique features throughout in the immediate context (Matthew 27:35–54). This response resembles that of the disciples when Jesus is transfigured (Matthew 17:6) and suggests a supernatural display (cf. Answer: As far as I know there is not other written source confirming this particular event other than the gospels. The passive-voice construction “the curtain of the temple was torn” (Matthew 27:51) implies that God himself tore the veil. The Veil Is Torn Volume 1: A.D. 30 to 70 Pentecost to the Destruction of Jerusalem This 287-page volume recounts how a small rabble of Jews, followers of an executed leader named Jesus of Nazareth, planted the seed of a new faith called Christianity across the mighty Roman Empire. 1) Free and unrestricted access to God the Father through Christ. And all this occurs on Good Friday, where we see the goodness of God in Christ on display in anticipation of Easter Sunday. The veil was near the very center of the tabernacle, suggesting a rank of holiness that is also reflected in the quality of its construction. As we approach Easter, we recall and celebrate what Christ has done for us on the cross, and heed the exhortation to meet habitually in church for corporate worship and exhortation to hold fast to “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Scripture: Matthew 27:45 … God somehow took upon Himself a body of flesh and blood and then died, giving His life as a ransom for us all. It may be that Matthew is simply telescoping. Having seen what Matthew has already said about the death of Jesus, we can now look at what else he says about it in the tearing of the veil and the ensuing narrative. God was through with that Temple and its religious system and worship, and the Temple and Jerusalem was left “desolate” (destroyed by the Romans) in 70 A.D. just as Jesus prophesied it would in Luke 13:35 . This color, which required twelve thousand murex snails to yield only 1.4 grams of pure dye, was known for its association with both divinity and royalty in the ancient Near East, which lends itself to the notion that Yahweh was both the sacred deity and the King enthroned in the midst of Israel within the tabernacle. Zechariah 14:4–5; Daniel 12:2), though Matthew seems less concerned with identifying these people than he is with depicting their resurrection triggered by the death of Jesus. There are so many places that we can’t go. Imagine the priests hearing it, feeling the earthquake, etc. The most interesting part of this story is the reason why. because the sun was obscured; and the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two [from top to bottom]. The severity of this punishment primarily concerned the holiness of God himself and the sanctity of objects directly related to worshiping him (cf. This veil, described first and most fully in descriptions of the tabernacle, was made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman (Exodus 26:31; 36:35). John 19:30. There were a few legends about the veil of the temple in the days of Jesus. Even Moses was forbidden to see the face of the Lord, “because man may not see my face and yet live” (Exodus 33:20 author’s translation). The whole story is a fulfillment of prophecy, and each of the details makes something right that was wrong. Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. This is exactly what we find at the crucifixion of Jesus and the tearing of the temple curtain (or veil) immediately after his death. The curtains were violet — or, as some suggest, blue-purple or a darker purple compared to the lighter purple. The veil being torn in two speaks of the body of Jesus Christ being broken on our behalf to make access to Him possible. Matthew’s many uses of “and behold” (Matthew 27:51) typically introduce something surprising in the narrative (e.g., Matthew 2:13; 3:16–17; 17:5; 28:20). Only her feet covered … Only a high priest who was ritually pure and without defect could approach Yahweh without being put to death. The tearing of the veil is profoundly significant and provides a pictorial foundation for how we can approach God today. Being alive to Christ is a real experience, just like being dead to God is a real experience. Is there any historical evidence that this actually happened: Either in some Jewish texts or some other credible writing outside of the New Testament? Matthew is explicit that Jesus’s death is for the purpose of the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28). The Veil was Torn. What has changed, then, is that the atoning death of Jesus on the cross has provided the appropriate wrath-bearing sacrifice, one which the bulls and goats of the old … In the temple, there was a veil. Matt 27:51 – Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. So much of the story of Easter and the cross is about Jesus redeeming things that had been wrong. What is the veil and what was its purpose? This, coupled with the priesthood of Christ (Hebrews 10:21), forms the basis of the author’s exhortation to believers: draw near to God (Hebrews 10:22), hold unwaveringly to our confession of faith (Hebrews 10:23), stir one another up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), and continually meet together to encourage one another in the faith (Hebrews 10:25). Notice that while Mark mentions only the centurion at the cross, Matthew draws attention to the plurality of witnesses: “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus . It is imperative to remember that the holiness of God remains unchanged from all eternity — even after the veil is torn. Its temples, we are told, are holy places where God dwells and where the same sacred ordinances of the biblical pattern are performed. Blue representing heaven and red representing blood indicates the nature of the priesthood being chosen by God to represent himself here in the earth. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead…but the power of Grace had already been released. One is to believe closeness to God is our achievement. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn … The reason the veil was torn is so that we could have access. It grants us peace with God (Romans 5:1), redemption and the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). Again, it can’t be proved that this did not happen, but let’s just look carefully here… All the synoptics say essentially the same thing here: “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” – Matthew 27:51 Until Jesus, the priest would enter through the veil to submit the sacrifice to God for the sin of the nation. The Torn Veil book. The veil has been torn and we can be forgiven! His death, like John’s, is that of an innocent prophet inaugurating the restoration of “all things” (Matthew 17:11–12; cf. What was the meaning or purpose of the veil being torn? When he cries out in a loud voice (Matthew 27:46), his quote from Psalm 22:1 (Hebrew Eli, Eli) is confused by the bystanders with Elijah — who has already come in the person of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:14). The veil speaks of the body of Jesus Christ as testified in the writings of the New Testament which says that we can enter by the blood of Christ “through the veil, that is, His flesh,” right into the holy of holies. Yet Matthew’s presentation of these events is done as commentary — historical commentary, of course — on the significance of the death of Jesus. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. There are lots of examples over history, and in our stories of places that people can’t go, and end up creating a breakthrough so that they can get there. There was a brazen altar upon which sacrifice must be made. Elsewhere, the cherubim are present at man’s meeting with God (e.g., Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89), and they are the winged throne upon which God sits or mounts to fly (2 Samuel 22:11; Psalm 18:10). The author of Hebrews expounds on this very clearly: “we have confidence to enter the holy places” (Hebrews 10:19), and this is accomplished by the blood of Jesus. White, red, blue and scarlet. The veil being torn in two now also means that the temple is obsolete, animal sacrifices are obsolete, Levitical priests are obsolete, and the unlimited access to God the Father is now a tangible reality due to the sacrificial death and the spilled blood of Jesus on the cross. Yet the man entering must be the high priest and may not enter “whenever he chooses,” says the Lord, “for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover” (Leviticus 16:2 NIV; Numbers 7:89). How this bears out in Matthew is evident in the response of the centurion and those standing there: “they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54). . Add to this the fact that Mark describes Jesus’s death as a kind of baptism (Mark 10:38–39) and the literary connection becomes clear. But there is more! Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. Jesus removed that obstacle and cleared the way, so that we could come into the presence of God at any time, anywhere, and without going through a priest or any other intermediary. Kept us from being able to and I wanted to show it because it was?... 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