The sky was eerily and unnaturally dark when it should have been the brightest. Friday afternoon. Without auxiliary power, did the shop-owners close-down their market-place enterprises? Did birds return to their nests and bees to their hives? Did the nocturnal animals come out of their dens to begin their prowl? And then there was that echoing cry from the cross: “It is finished.” John 19:30. “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. And having said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:46
Matthew, Mark and Luke give us this fact:
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (39) And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:38-39
That’s the curtain! That’s the veil we are studying in this lesson. In Lesson #9, we learned about three strategically located curtains. Well, this is the third one – if you were moving from the outside to the inside. After the mobile worship center was replaced by more permanent structures like Solomon’s temple and later Herod’s Temple in Jesus’ day – a replica of this curtain was maintained. In fact, the one we just read about was a replica, and we can only rely on Jewish traditions for a description of what it actually looked like.
Here are a few details from non-Biblical sources regarding the curtain that was torn from the top to the bottom when Jesus died:
- 60 feet long and 30 feet wide
- Thickness of a man’s palm width – four inches thick!
- 72 squares sewn together
- So heavy that it took 300 hundred priests to lift and hang it all.
You can imagine the consternation in AD33 when the non-believing priests were routinely working in the temple around 3 PM Friday afternoon, preparing for the evening sacrifice, and it suddenly happened. The massive and thick curtain tore apart from the top to the bottom. An act of God, for sure! Suddenly, totally exposed to all their view was the inner chamber – the sacred ‘holy of holies.’ Previously, only seen and entered by the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement.
What’s the significance for us today? The writer of the letter to the Hebrews put it this way:
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, (20) by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh… Hebrews 10:19-20 ESV
Let’s look at the original curtain and its specifications, as found in Exodus 26.
“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. Exodus 26:31-34 ESV
Here’s the diagram again:
In this Tabernacle 101 study, there are things in these verses that we will not mention, and there are some truths for believers that we will not consider.
Obviously, this unique veil was designed to be a very deliberate and physical partition and barrier – separating the Holy of Holies (where the Presence of God dwelled) from the Holy Place within the Tabernacle. The regular priests never got to go behind this veil – not in their entire lifetime. They never were allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. Never! Only the High Priest himself went behind the curtain into the Presence-of-God chamber – and that was no casual or sporadic event either. Only once a year – on the Day of Atonement and only with blood to offer on the Mercy Seat for his own sins and for the sins of all the people.
If you read the above verses again, you will probably recognize the colours and materials. We’ve seen them before in other curtains and coverings.
BLUE – Christ came down from Heaven. Jesus said: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38 ESV
SCARLET – A bright red dye produced from the crushing of worms or grubs and a vivid reminder to us of the precious shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We “are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because, in His divine forbearance, He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:24-26 ESV
PURPLE – The colour of royalty – the Kingship of Christ! “Jesus was from the kingly line of David (Lk.1:32), born a King (Matt.2:2), mocked as a King (Matt.27:29), declared to be King at His crucifixion (Matt. 27:37), and is coming back as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev.19:16) to rule as King forever (Lk 1:33).” (1)
Did we neglect to look at the fine-twined linen into which the colours and design were woven? Once again, the white linen reminds us of the absolute purity, perfect holiness and righteousness of Christ. The fact that it was ‘finely woven’ suggests to us the fabric was totally free from faults and deficiencies. Check out 1Peter 1:19
Did you notice the impressive design on the image of the curtain above? Cherubim (plural for cherub) can be traced throughout the Bible. These beings seem to be angels of the highest order. They first appear at the entrance to the Garden of Eden after Adam sinned to protect the Tree of Life. (Genesis 3:24) They are mentioned in 66 other verses in the Old Testament and at least once in the New Testament. The imagination of artists as to the actual appearance of these beings has provided some variation. But one thing is for sure – as to their role – they have something significant to do with the Presence and the Holiness of God.
Given the separation between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies – it is not surprising then that the cherubim would have a prominent place in the tapestry of this curtain or veil. Like the cherubim guarding the approach to the Tree of Life in the Garden – the design of these holy beings on this curtain was a vivid reminder to the priests – “No further! This is a holy barricade.”
Think about the verse above: “…the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh… Hebrews 10:19-20 ESV. The veil in the tabernacle hid or concealed the scene and beauty of the glory of God in the Holy of Holies. Think of the incarnation of Christ. When He stepped into human flesh, God was veiled from the human eye. Yes, Hebrews 1:3 tells us that the Son was the radiance of God’s glory but Philippians 2:6-7 details for us that “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death….” For the most part, while He was here in human flesh, the unapproachable glory of God was concealed and hidden from view.
His flesh (the veil) was torn on the Cross – not so much the tearing of His skin by wicked hands. The same invisible Almighty Hand that administered the Divine ‘rending’ stroke upon Christ for our sins on the Cross – tore apart another veil in the temple. What message was God communicating when He tore apart the Temple veil, opening up the way, once-for-all into the Holy of Holies? By His death, Jesus inaugurated the new and living way for all us to have direct access to God. Not by another human being. Not by a priest or by a high priest of the tribe of Levi – but by Christ Himself.
As a Christian, you have discovered that by His death – the Just One for the unjust ones, you, personally, have been brought to God by the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus changed the veil from a barrier to a gateway. PTL!
(1) Levy, David M., The Tabernacle, Kregel Publication, pp.66-67