I’ve lived in Florida my entire life, so hurricanes are something I’m very familiar with. A few years ago, category 5 Hurricane Irma was headed towards Florida just a couple weeks after Hurricane Harvey had absolutely devastated the state of Texas. In the days leading up to her landfall, the models projected that the storm would hit our area. Because we lived near the coast at the time, we were ordered to evacuate due to the potential of flooding.
Our family boarded up our windows, packed up our most valuable items, and drove to a friend’s house that was just outside of the evacuation area. After seeing news coverage of what Harvey had done to Texas, I was scared about what might happen to us, and I didn’t sleep much the night that Irma hit. But, by the grace of God, the storm weakened and moved east, and the worst damage we saw near our home was debris on the roads and some uprooted bushes.
Natural disasters, though scary, are natural, and we almost expect to witness at least a disaster or two during our lifetimes. There’s a natural disaster in the Bible, though, that seemed rather unnatural, and its results were likely frightening to those who lived in the area at that time. The cause of this unnatural disaster was the crucifixion of Jesus.
As Jesus died on the cross, chaos erupted. In his gospel, Matthew writes,
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,” Matthew 27:51-52, ESV
At the moment of Jesus’ death, an earthquake shook Jerusalem, and it was so powerful that it opened sealed tombs. But this earthquake was far from natural. People who had died and been laid in these tombs were resurrected, and Matthew later comments that these resurrected people appeared to many (Matthew 27:53). It’s scary enough to live through a powerful earthquake but seeing someone you know died and was buried walking around the city would be absolutely terrifying.
Matthew mentions another result of this unnatural disaster – the curtain of the temple was torn in two. To understand the significance of this, we must go back to the Old Testament to discover this curtain’s purpose.
Before there was a temple, there was a tabernacle, which was originally constructed in the wilderness after Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 26-27). The purpose of the tabernacle (and later the temple) was to worship God by offering different kinds of sacrifices. The curtain in the tabernacle separated a place called the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. The Holy of Holies is where the Ark of the Covenant resided and also where the presence of God dwelled (Hebrews 9:3-4). The only person allowed in the Holy of Holies was the High Priest of Israel, and he was only allowed in once a year on the Day of Atonement, when he would make a sacrifice to atone for all of Israel’s sins (Leviticus 16, Exodus 30:10, Hebrews 9:7). If anyone else attempted to enter the Holy of Holies on any other day, they would be killed by God because their great sins could not coexist with God’s perfect holiness (Leviticus 16:2).
And this was the purpose of the curtain in the temple. It separated the holy presence of God from the sinfulness of man. Matthew makes another comment in his account of the event that aids in the understanding of the significance of the torn temple curtain. He says that the curtain was torn from top to bottom. It is estimated that the curtain was sixty feet high and was about four inches thick.[1] Because of its height and thickness, it would have been impossible for someone to tear this curtain, especially tear it from its top to its bottom. This comment, though seemingly insignificant, points us to a very significant truth: it was God who tore that temple curtain.
But why would God tear the curtain? Isn’t He still perfectly holy? Aren’t we still sinful creatures? Yes, God is holy, and yes, we still sin. The temple curtain was torn because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The book of Hebrews tells us,
“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12
Jesus, our great high priest, offered the ultimate sacrifice to pay for all our sins. He lived a perfect life on this earth and died on a Roman cross to offer us an eternal redemption. The separation between holy God and sinful man is no longer necessary because Jesus has imputed His righteousness and holiness on us so that we may confidently approach our Father in heaven (Hebrews 10:10, 19-20). When discussing the significance of the torn temple curtain, a GotQuestions.org article stated,
“The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin renders humanity unfit for the presence of God… Jesus Christ, through His death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we may approach Him with confidence and boldness.”[2]
Christian, you were once dead in your sins and separated from our holy God. But Jesus paid the price and sacrificed Himself, once for all. You are no longer separated from God. You can boldly and confidently approach Him in prayer, and you can look forward to the day when you will eternally be in His presence. Until then, you will still sin, and you will still mess up and make mistakes. Praise God that we can confidently ask Him for grace and mercy whenever we need it-
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
[1] “What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Jesus died?” Got Questions, accessed February 9, 2021, https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-veil-torn.html.
[2] Ibid.
