–George Sheffield “The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”--Mt 27:51 The moment Jesus died on the cross some strange things happened. The first thing was the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
This veil was 60 feet high, 30 feet wide, some 4 to 6 inches of thickly woven material. It was so heavy that it took 300 priests to handle it for cleaning.
No human strength could have torn this veil in two, yet it was ripped in two, not from bottom to top, but from top to bottom.
The hand of God Himself tore this veil at the moment His Son died. When Jesus died, the perfect sacrifice for sin was completed and done. And the veil that had kept humanity from having access to God because of sin, was torn in two.
When the veil tore, God was inviting all to come to Him. The death of Jesus opened the way to God.
And God was telling us that the old covenant of animal blood was finished. No more need for priests and sacrifices. The temple had served it’s purpose. The ceremonial laws of Judaism were done. A new covenant had begun. The blood of Christ had fulfilled all the law’s requirements for sin atonement. God tore the veil away, opening direct access to Him through the shed blood and broken body of Jesus.
