Good Friday
A series of events took place as Jesus breathed his last breath. There was darkness over the earth; an earthquake struck, tombs of dead saints were opened, Jesus cried out and...
“the curtain of the temple was torn in two,
from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).
In the story of Israel, the priests were allowed to regularly enter the Holy Place, but only once a year could the high priest pass through the inner curtain and into the heart of God's presence (Exodus 26:33–35; Leviticus 16:2).
There were two exceptions to this:
In the book of Revelation, John describes how when Jesus' eternal kingdom comes, the heavenly temple will stand open (Revelation 11:15). The ark of the covenant—God’s throne in the Most Holy Place—will be seen by all (Revelation 11:19) and no curtain will block the way.
During a series of apocalyptic events, the curtain “was torn” from “top to bottom.” God himself tears the curtain that guards his presence. Although there were other curtains (Greek, katapetasma) which adorned the temple, the New Testament writers highlight this particular curtain (see Hebrews 9:2–3).
But what did the tearing of this curtain accomplish?
Firstly, the tearing of this curtain was part of a sequence of events which signaled the temple was losing its place as the heart of worship. The tearing of the curtain was a symbol that the earthly temple had reached its expiration date. The curtain was a kind of metaphor for what was blocking entrance into God’s presence: the empty externalism of going through the motions. Ironically, the only observers of the curtain-tearing would have been priests tending to the sacrifices in the Holy Place. These priests witnessed the undoing of their vocation, as the man they rejected was sacrificed outside the city.
Secondly, the tearing of the curtain pointed to the fact that all believers now have unparalleled access to God. The curtain at the heart of the Jerusalem temple was part of a chain of barriers to entry, each of which Jesus removed. The outer court of Gentiles was cancelled out by Jesus’ drawing of all nations by faith. The court of women was cancelled out by Jesus’ making male, female, Jew, and Greek equal heirs of God (Galatians 3:28). The priestly courts were cancelled out by Jesus' consecrating of all Christians as a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Throughout his ministry, Jesus demolished the barriers which were symbolic in the temple. The inner curtain was the last one to be demolished.
God no longer dwells in a physical structure. God now dwells in a church made up of men and women from all walks of life. Through their union with Jesus Christ, these people have unhindered access to God's acceptance and blessing.
The writer of Hebrews presents it this way—
He shed his blood on earth (Hebrews 13:12).
He rose again and ascended to heaven (Hebrews 4:14).
He entered the heavenly sanctuary to present himself before God (Hebrews 9:23; 10:12–14).
In doing so, he penetrated the heavenly “inner place behind the curtain” (Hebrews 6:19–20).
His own flesh, torn on earth, has now opened a “new and living way” through the curtain and into the heavenly places (Hebrews 10:19–20).