Lesson Two • The Veil
Cameron Aldrich
It is painful and saddening to think about all the trials that Jesus dealt with that led to His crucifixion on Good Friday. Just as those many struggles came into play for Jesus on that Friday morning, we have all had unexpected problems come about at some point in our lives. Those issues that we cannot foresee or anticipate are often the most thrilling to take on. When they happen, we often find ourselves scrambling to try to make everything work out. If we do not act quickly in those circumstances, we may not be able to avoid the consequences or negative outcomes that could be produced by not acting.
Have you ever found yourself in a stressful situation where you realized that the only possible solution is to ask someone else for help? That has happened to me many times. Of course, we ask for assistance from others in those times with the hope of either reaching a peaceful outcome or making things easier and less stressful for us. Normally, as long as lending a hand would not drastically inconvenience the helper, most people would be inclined to assist those in said situations.
However, imagine yourself in that needy circumstance – except it is far more drastic, requiring much more time and energy, something that you will need help with every day for the rest of your life. I suspect that most people, regardless of their relationship with you, would not be willing to drop everything and give all of themselves up day in and day out in order to put you and your never-ending issue at ease.
Yet, what about our sinful human nature that has been with us since birth? I find it relieving to think about the significance of one of the miracles that took place right at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross. It is when the holy veil was torn in the Jewish Temple. When that happened, what specifically changed for God’s people and how they dealt with their sinful situation?
Before Jesus’ death took place, there was a separation between God and man as Isaiah 59:1-2 mentions. This was symbolized within the Temple as the dwelling of the presence of God was separated from the remainder of the Temple where men could dwell. This separation was the enormous, valuable, and thick veil. Furthermore, not anyone could pass through this separation, especially not whenever desired. In fact, the high priest in the Temple of Jerusalem was the only person allowed to pass through the veil to enter into the earthly Holy Place with the intent to atone for all of Israel’s sins through the offering of a blood sacrifice. This happened just one day per year (Hebrews 9:7).
Needless to say, a direct connection to God was not yet established for God’s faithful people. The pathway to the presence of God was very limited and restricted. Thankfully, that changed for good when Jesus died on the cross.
At the moment of His death, when the veil was simultaneously torn from top to bottom, two things were dramatically symbolized. First, Christ’s sacrifice was the one sufficient and final atonement for the world’s sins. Second, the pathway into the presence of God was now permanently open for all of God’s people to enter in. Thankfully, this pathway no longer involved a human priest and a man-made temple.
Once the old path to the Father was destroyed, a new and superior path was established through Jesus Christ. In a way, the tearing of the veil helped signify the fact that Jesus is now, and will always be, the only way to the Father, just as He stated to His disciples in John 14:6. As long as we believe in Christ as our living Savior who died and rose again, we are able to enter into the presence of God and rest in the arms of our ultimate refuge, peace, and comfort amidst our trials.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, the Father’s heart was displayed for us. When it comes to our worst, never-ending problem of sin that we cannot rid of without help, the Lord of lords is the only One who possesses the ultimate love and compassion to step in, dwell with us, and take on that trouble without a second thought. He is able to do this because His Son paved the way for His presence to be within us by means of the Holy Spirit.
We can lean on a great instruction stated in Hebrews 10:19-22, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”