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Response
During Jesus’ lifetime, the holy temple in Jerusalem served as the focal point of Jewish religious life. It was where animal sacrifices were performed, and worship in accordance with the Law of Moses was devoutly observed. Hebrews 9:1-9 explains that within the temple, a veil separated the Holy of Holies – the earthly abode of God’s presence – from the rest of the temple where people resided. This symbolized the separation of humanity from God due to sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Only the high priest was allowed to go beyond this veil once a year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7) to enter God’s presence on behalf of all Israel and make atonement for their sins (Leviticus 16).
Solomon’s temple stood at 30 cubits in height “And the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.”, (1 Kings 6:2), but Herod had raised the height to 40 cubits, as recorded by Josephus, a Jewish historian from the first century. While the exact length of a cubit is uncertain, it is estimated that this veil was approximately 60 feet tall. An ancient Jewish tradition suggests the veil was around four inches thick, although the Bible does not specify this measurement. According to the book of Exodus, the thick veil was made of blue, purple, and scarlet material, along with fine twisted linen.
The dimensions and thickness of the veil are significant in light of the events that took place at the moment of.
Jesus’ death on the cross was much more momentous. “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51a).
So, what do we make of this? What significance does this torn veil have for us today? Above all, the tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus’ death dramatically symbolized that His sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It signified that now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile.
When Jesus died, the veil was torn, and God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with human hands «God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; », (Acts 17:24). God was through with that temple and its religious system, and the temple and Jerusalem were left “desolate” (destroyed by the Romans) in A.D. 70, just as Jesus prophesied in Luke 13:35. As long as the temple stood, it signified the continuation of the Old Covenant. Hebrews 9:8-9 refers to the age that was passing away as the new covenant was being established «In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.», (Hebrews 8:13).
In a sense, the veil was symbolic of Christ Himself as the only way to the Father «Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. », (John 14:6). This is indicated by the fact that the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies through th
The veil. Now Christ is our superior High Priest, and as believers in His finished work, we partake of His better priesthood. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.” Here we see the image of Jesus’ flesh being torn for us just as He was tearing the veil for us.
The profound significance of the tearing of the veil is explained in glorious detail in Hebrews. The things of the temple were shadows of things to come, and they all ultimately point us to Jesus Christ. He was the veil to the Holy of Holies, and through His death the faithful now have free access to God.
The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin renders humanity unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated daily showed graphically that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices. Jesus Christ, through His death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we may approach Him with confidence and boldness (Hebrews 4:14-16).
