The Curtain Torn In Two

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” —Mark 15:37–39

Remember that the curtain in the temple was not a flimsy little veil; it was heavy and thick, almost as substantial as a wall. The curtain separated the holy of holies, where God’s shekinah glory dwelled, from the rest of the temple—it separated the people from the presence of God. And remember that only the holiest man, the high priest, from the holiest nation, the Jews, could enter the holy of holies—and only on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur, and he had to bring a blood sacrifice, an atonement for sins. The curtain said loudly and clearly that it is impossible for anyone sinful—anyone in spiritual darkness—to come into God’s presence. At the moment Jesus Christ died, this massive curtain was ripped open. The tear was from top to bottom, just to make clear who did it. This was God’s way of saying, “This is the sacrifice that ends all sacrifices, the way is now open to approach me.” Now that Jesus has died, anybody who believes in him can see God, connect to God. The barrier is gone for good. Our trajectory has been permanently redirected toward God. And that’s only possible because Jesus has just paid the price for our sin. Anybody who believes can go in now.

Keller, Timothy. Go Forward in Love : A Year of Daily Readings from Timothy Keller, Zondervan, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=31518558.
Created from liberty on 2025-03-28 22:23:33.