Sin’s Barrier Destroyed

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 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; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” (Matthew 27:50-52).

The old priest sighed a little as he looked at the steep steps that would carry him from the Court of the Priests to the temple area itself, 12 feet above him. He was getting too old to climb them anymore. He had told Caiphas that very thing several days before, but his whines had fallen on deaf ears. It was his job to trim the wicks of the golden lampstand in the Kadesh, the Holy Place; and since the lampstand would not come down to him, he would have to go up to it.

As he finished the last step he turned to face the temple itself, constructed in a court within many other courts, each succeeding area more exclusive than the one that preceded it. One had to have been in the priesthood a long time to get this far; and even he could not go into the ultimate room, the Hakadesheem, the Holy of Holies. The high priest alone had that prerogative.

The temple facing was a massive porch that was 150 feet wide and high, and was 30 feet deep. At the entrance to the porch King Herod had placed a golden eagle, a Roman emblem, which deeply disturbed the religious Jews. In front of the entrance to the Holy Place hung a beautifully colored Babylonian curtain.

The priest walked briskly through the porch area and pushed past the drapery. He was glad to be inside because a storm was gathering. Even though it was still early afternoon, the sun had hidden behind black billows in the sky and a sturdy wind was echoing through the Judean hills.

The priest turned to watch the gathering storm for a moment and thought to himself that it was as horrible to contemplate as the bloody crucifixion of three men taking place about 3,000 feet away on the hill called Golgotha. Not wishing to view either hideous scene, the priest pulled the curtain back to completely cover the entrance.

This room was known as the Kadesh or the Holy Place. Only officiating priests were allowed in here. A large place, it was 60 feet long, 90 feet high, and 30 feet wide; very impressive. Three articles of furniture greeted the priest’s gaze; the table of showbread on the north side, the candlestick on the south, and the altar of incense in the middle.

In just a few hours it would be the Sabbath, and the priests would bring new showbread to the table on the right. He must hurry and trim the wicks and be on his way. But first the priest looked longingly on the great veil that separated him from the Holy of Holies. He did not dare look behind for fear of instant death. Behind that veil dwelt the presence of God. As a mere priest he could not have access to the Creator. Only the high priest could.

The veil was actually two curtains, with a space of several feet between them. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with his censer by going to the south side, passing between the curtains to the north side and thus emerging into the holiest place, yes into the presence of God.

What would it be like in there, the priest wondered aloud? He had heard that the room was quite empty now of all furniture. The Ark of the Covenant that graced the room in Solomon’s Temple had disappeared from existence with the invasion of Babylon. So there was nothing in there at all---except God’s abiding presence.

But that would be more than enough, the old priest thought. Think of it! To actually be in the same place as the God of the universe! It was more than his mind could comprehend, and he began to tremble. Wait a minute! No, he wasn’t---he was not trembling at all! The temple was! The massive lampstand began to sway near him, and the priest reached out to steady it. What could be happening here? He could feel the very foundation of the temple beneath him begin to shake---despite all the fortifications and wonders of Herod’s builders.

Through the clerestory windows above him he could see the rolling clouds now as black as a hundred midnights. He could hear the faint cries of the terrified citizens outside the walls. Judea had never known a day as fraught with danger as this one! It must be the end of the world.

Suddenly the priest became aware of a phenomenon so frightening that he thought his heart would burst! The great veil was tearing. Ninety feet above his head the fabric started to stretch tighter and tighter toward each side of the room, as if giant hands were ripping it asunder. And with a sound that jolted hell to its foundations that massive cloth was pulled apart, and the old priest found himself staring into the very presence of the living God!

Surely he would die! Surely swarms of angels would hack him to bits with swords of death. But instead the old man felt the most marvelous peace of mind and soul flood his innermost being, it seemed that he could hear the heavenly choirs chanting praises to the Almighty God. And the glow from the Holy of Holies---that his ancestors had called the Shekinah glory---now ravished his heart. It was the most exhilarating joy he had ever experienced!

He could not have known it, but he was the first of his race to experience grace that is greater than all our sins. At that very moment, the veil was rent in two, as just a half-mile to the west, Jesus Christ the Son of God could no longer endure both pain of body and pain of spirit as the sins of the world began to crush Him. And He voluntarily yielded up His life, gasping, “It is finished.”

As Christ’s chin touched His chest, earth’s reaction was swift. “The earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of dead saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection…and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:51-53). Even the watching centurion was awed by it all. He stared at the lifeless form on the Cross and gave the ultimate witness, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

How much Jesus suffered, I cannot say. A blanket of thick blackness shrouded our planet so earth does not know. God, who could not look upon sin, turned away from the sin bearer, so heaven does not know.

Only our Lord Jesus knew and felt the unendurable, knifing pain of hell that surged through His heaving breast that day on which a cross of shame became the emblem of earth’s greatest glory! Once and for all He tore down the partition that had for so long separated us from the Father, God.

And while the demons shook uncontrollably, Jesus entered the spirit world and walked the burning corridors of the damned. He reached out the freshly pierced hands to take the sting from death and robbed the grave of its victory. Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and David---and all the other Old Testament saints rejoiced to see that day when Jesus led captivity captive and climbed the glittering stairway to the stars.

At last, with the golden pavements of heaven beneath His riven feet, Jesus mounted His throne, once again lifted His everlasting scepter, and acknowledged the plaudits of eternity’s citizens. He had accomplished His eternal mission---that of providing a way past the partition, by providing a remedy for man’s burden of sin.

Now, my friend, this whole story touches directly upon you. There was an untouchable barrier between you and God. The barrier was your sin. It was the partition, the wall that separated you from your Creator. There was nothing you could do to remove it. All of your best efforts, no matter how laudatory they may have been, could not remove that veil.

Only Jesus could do it, by His substitutionary death on the cross. That’s why He proclaimed, “I am the way…no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Why would He even say such a thing? Because the veil had to come down; it had to be removed. There is no other way. My salvation---your salvation---starts with our personal relationship with Jesus.

Second, prior to Calvary, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. Now any person may do so who comes by the way of the Cross. That means that we have been made priests to God. With the partition removed, with the barriers eradicated, I now have a new standing with my creator---that of priest and king.

I can tell you now that Satan offers you no such standing. He extends to you no lofty position of merit; the reason? Satan hates you; God loves you. And now you have to choose which one of these two you will serve.

Amazingly, many still select Satan. They prefer the bondage, the chains, and the pain of sin and moral slavery to the freedom Christ offers. It is my prayer that you are not such a person who turns your back on the brilliant light of God’s presence in order to fall even more deeply into sin’s darkness.

You have probably heard John Newton’s classic hymn:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

You have a chance to enter that divine presence today. The Bible tells us that, in God’s eyes, we stand in one of two positions; in His presence or out of His presence. In sin or in righteousness. There is no neutral position.

As surely as the Bible declares man’s sinfulness, even so vehemently does it set forth the fact of a holy God. It is the doctrine of separation. It means God’s absolute isolation from evil. He is holy. He delights only in purity and sanctity.

The holiness of God separates us from His presence. But because He loves us, He longs for our fellowship. So He has devised a means of keeping His banished from being expelled from Him. And that means was Calvary; the Cross, the nails and the thorns. The blood-spattered dust of Golgotha, the rent veil, the shattered partition; yes, you have access now to God’s presence. But, having that access and doing something about it are two different things, aren’t they? You have to choose to enter into this blessed fellowship. And that means kneeling at the foot of the cross to accept Christ as Lord and savior. The partition has been removed. That gives you the privilege of access to God. The question is, “Will you take this open door of salvation, provided to you at such dreadful cost?

You and I live on the positive side of the veil. There is nothing between God and us except our sin. And that sin can be washed away in these moments by the blood of Jesus Christ. God is offering you fellowship fit for a king---that is a king and priest unto God. I believe that you would like to accept that offer. You say I am not worthy.” Nor I. But the blood of Christ makes us worthy, and so we come. There is room at the cross for us.

Would you join with me for the prayer? “I praise you, Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord for removing that high veil. I could never have been with You, never to have shared daily prayer, never to have told you all of my burdens and heartaches with that thick veil in place. But Jesus died for me, and His death removed the veil once and for all. And if I don’t come to you---it’s only because I choose not to, for there is nothing barring my way. But we have decided that we will come. Certainly we will come into your presence with thanksgiving and joy. In your presence there is fullness of joy. And we love you so very, very much. Wash away our dark sins with Calvary’s fountain and make our lives over anew today. Thanks to Calvary, I am not alone any more. In Jesus name, Amen.