The Torn Curtain

The torn curtain

Mark 15 verses 33 to 47 and Hebrews 10 verses 19 to 25

At the very moment our Lord breathed his last, God began to speak in the unmistakable language of supernatural wonders. All of the Gospel writers mention this. There were other miraculous signs – earthquakes, tombs opening, rocks splitting and raising of the dead. This was a marvellous commentary on what he just done. The Jews speak of catostrophs when famous rabbis died as Greeks did of famous people. The miracles spoke of Jesus’ uniqueness. The torn curtain is the first miracle Matthew and Mark speak of.

What was the curtain like? We can read of it in Exodus 26 verse 31. There were two curtains or veils. The outer one covered the entrance to the outer court of the Temple. The second one covered inner temple – see the reference in Hebrews to the inner sanctuary. The curtain means it divides, separates and hides. The curtain hid he Holy God from the sinful world. To enter the curtain means entering the Holy of Holies, this is described in Exodus 36 verse 31. It was made from twisted linen – blue (Heaven), purple (royalty), red (blood) and gold (majesty) thread. It was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, as thick as a hand. It was 72 squares joined together. It needed 70 priests to move it. The cherubim embroidered onto it reminded people of angelic guardianship of a jealous and holy God. It was beautiful, awesome, thick and heavy.

What was designed to say? Important people are kept separate to show honour and uniqueness. We can see parts of Buckingham Palace but not the Queen herself unless she chooses to see us. In the Forbidden City in Beijing and the ancient Persian Court, you were not allowed to approach the monarch on pain of death. All this was designed to exalt and separate royalty from ordinary people. The Old Testament temple had boundaries set, people could not come close on pain of death. The temple had a Gentile court, Outer court and inner sanctum, only the High Priest entered. Hebrews 9 verse 7 tells us this was once a year and then only with blood for the sins of the people. There was special preparation outlined in Leviticus 16 verse 2. It was designed to tell people that if they came to God it had to be on his terms. The High Priest would die if he disobeyed this. God was not to be trifled with. The curtain said ‘go away, come to God as he said you must come.’ The cherubim was a reminder of the expulsion from Eden. Adam and Eve had disobeyed the one command God gave them. We have inherited our sinful nature from them. The cherubim prevented them returning – it blocked the way to the tree of life and God’s presence. The curtain reminded people of the need to restore their relationship with God.

What happened to the curtain? At the exact moment his soul was severed from his body, God tore the curtain, we could gain access to the presence of God. It could not be torn by an earthquake or by human hands, it could not be ripped by man. It was an unseen hand. It made a tremendous noise as it happened, it would have shook the priests. It exposed the Holy of Holies. There would have been thousands of people there for the Passover. Word would have spread all over Jerusalem, it was a mysterious sign from God. It was Passover, the priests would have been knee deep in blood. There was no more need of sacrificial lambs.

What God said by destroying the curtain.
a) The primary meaning is that Christ has opened forever the approach to God. Jesus opened this way.
(i) God accepted the perfect sacrifice of his son. Ever since Adam and Eve’s sin had been a barrier between men and God. God made Jesus a sin offering. Sin does not just vanish, it cannot be removed. When Christ died, sin was dealt with – see Hebrews 9 verses 24 to 26. He entered God’s presence with his own blood. Sin is a crime which God cannot just leave, it needed a perfect sacrifice. That debt to God is too great for us to pay ourselves. Jesus paid this debt for his people, we receive forgiveness if we believe in him. The moment we acknowledge we need forgiveness we are forgiven.
(ii) God says Jesus’ death means all God’s people have full rights of access into the divine presence – see Hebrews 9 verse 8. It is a wonderful thing to have access to God, we can talk to him in the name of Jesus. We can bring our concerns and needs to him. We do not need a priestly hierarchy or mediator. We no longer no longer need to approach God with dread, reverence yes, but we can come to him.
(iii) God says that we can come to him with boldness by the blood of Jesus – see Hebrews 10 verse 19, we can find grace in our time of need. We can know our prayers will be heard. Do we do this? We are too ready to pour our troubles out to others but we can come to God with confidence. We often feel miserable failures and we are silent out of guilt but God tells us we can come to him boldly. He is a forgiving God and he knows we are frail and weak.
b) The destroyed curtain said that the special dwelling place of God is no longer restricted to a small nation in Palestine – see Malachi 1 verse 11. The death of Jesus has worldwide significance. Under the Old Covenant God’s grace was restricted to Israel. Now after Pentecost it spread to all nations. The Jews’ rejection and murder of Christ had serious repercussions. In AD 70 the temple was sacked and destroyed. Matthew 27 verse 40 shows the Jews mocking Jesus, but subsequent events showed that God had swept away the need for the temple. There will be no rebuilding of the temple by God, it is done forever.
c) The destroyed curtain said the Jewish system of ritual and ceremony had been superseded and ended by Christ. These things were shadows of what Jesus came to do. The mass is blasphemy. We do not need priests, God has dispensed this forever.
d) The destroyed curtain says to everyone, without exception, ‘Come and be reconciled to God’. This alone will make you peaceful, happy and holy. We can live for God joyfully and lovingly, as an old chorus says: There’s a way back to God, From the dark paths of sin, There’s a door that is opened. And you may go in.

This is the message of the torn curtain, we have an accessible God, he wants to be our father and friend. He does not want us to be orphans and strangers. He wants us to come to him and have eternal life so we can walk with him as Adam and Eve did.

Do we know this? Are we experiencing this?