02 - The Message Of The Veil By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Mercy Triumphs

Part 2

"The Message of the Veil"

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51a).

During the lifetime of Jesus, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life.

It was in the temple where Simeon and Anna first beheld the Christ Child and prophesied...

It was in the temple where the 12 year old Jesus was found debating with the doctors...

It was in the Temple where Jesus overthrew the tables of the money changers and drove them out...

It was in the Temple where Jesus was charged with crimes He had not committed.

The temple was the place where animal sacrifices were carried out and worship according to the Law of Moses was faithfully followed.

And of course, the Temple was utterly destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

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The Temple was divided into three parts:

The OUTER COURT, which was open to everyone...

The HOLY PLACE, where the priests had daily access to burn incense and trim the lamps...

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And then there was the HOLY OF HOLIES, the sacred place where only the High Priest was permitted to go once a year on the Day of Atonement.

The HOLY OF HOLIES was the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—only there did the shekinah glory of God manifest itself.

Inside the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant...

Within the Ark were the tablets of stone containing the 10 commandments...

The lid of the ark was the beautiful, wing shaped mercy seat made of gold.

Only the high priest was permitted entrance to the HOLY OF HOLIES...

The Bible says, "But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed..." (Heb. 9:7)

But the blood of an animal did not fully cleanse away the stain of sin....

The Bible says, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4).

This is why it had to be repeated over, and over, and over again every year!

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So the Holy of Holies experienced activity only once a year!

If the High Priest entered on any other day than the Day of Atonement, he would be struck down.

If the High Priest came without the blood of a goat, he would be struck down.

Everything about the whole system screamed, “Stay away,” “Don't come near,” “You aren't qualified to enter on your own.”

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In order to make this crystal clear, God had ordered that a thick curtain be hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place....called THE VEIL.

Now, when we think of a curtain or veil, we imagine something like our living room drapes.

The curtain in the temple was nothing like that.

Exodus 26:31 describes it as “a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.”

Jewish writers say that it was 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, woven to the thickness of a man’s hand, requiring 300 men to lift it up.

Such a curtain could never be torn in two by the hands of man.

Only God could tear apart a curtain like that!

That’s why the Bible tells us that the curtain was torn “from top to bottom,” testifying that God had done what only God could do!

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So, what the veil between the holy place and holy of holies signified was that man was separated from God's Presence by sin.

Isaiah the Prophet wrote, "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" (59:2).

The veil was a daily reminder of this!

When you think about it, it was as if the veil was a giant roadblock, making sure that no one could come into God’s presence uninvited.

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Now, both Matthew, Mark, and Luke record that when Jesus was dying, He "cried out with a loud voice..."

So piercing was the cry that a Roman centurion standing nearby was moved to say, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39)

And at the very moment this loud cry of the dying Christ rang over the heads of the awestruck multitude, that imposing veil of separation was laid hold of by a pair of giant hands and torn asunder from top to bottom!

The Bible says, "At that moment the curtain (of separation) in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart..."

The word "torn" here is from a Greek word meaning "ripped with force."

It happened quickly and forcefully as if God were saying, "I've hated this separation as much as you!"

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Now, the veil being dramatically ripped in two by God Himself was the physical symbol of three powerful spiritual truths.

First, it tells us that:

I. A door was opened

Hebrews 10:19-20 says "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place."

Christ’s body was “torn” on the cross, just as the veil was torn in the temple, providing an open door to heaven through His blood!

I love four of the words in that verse: "We can boldly enter."

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I see in my mind's eye a door with writing on it that once said, "Because of sin you cannot enter."

Beyond that door was heaven, relationship with God, the Presence of the Holy Spirit, the blessings of the Lord...

But we couldn't walk through it....it was padlocked, chained, and bolted.

But when Jesus died on the Cross, His shed blood provided the only KEY available in the universe to open that door.

Now we see written on that door the message, "Through His blood you CAN enter!"

The door once locked and bolted is now wide open through faith in His name!

This means that, through Jesus' blood, we are no longer blocked by the curtain.

We have been escorted through the curtain into the very holy of holies where God's glory is manifested!

So first...A door was opened; And secondly...

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II. A road was paved...

"By his death, Jesus opened a new and living WAY through the curtain into the Most Holy Place" (Heb. 10:20).

This is the road Isaiah talked about when he wrote, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a road through the wilderness" (Is 43:19).

The wilderness he speaks of was our total inability to come to God based on our own good works....

We were LOST in the wilderness of sin!

But now, God has paved a road right through that wilderness into His Presence!

Now here's the deal: A DOOR provides access, but a ROAD provides the means of reaching a destination.

"A new and living way," means "a road, a pathway" into His Presence has been paved for us.

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Jesus said there are two roads in life--a BROAD road that leads to destruction, and a NARROW road that leads to life.

The NARROW ROAD is the road that His blood paved for us...

It is the ROAD into God's Presence, the ROAD of right living, the ROAD that leads us home...

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And Jesus claimed that HE HIMSELF is both the DOOR and the WAY!

He said, "I am the DOOR for the sheep. Those who come in by way of the DOOR will be saved and will go in and out and find green pastures" (John 10:8-9).

And He also said, "I am the WAY"---the road, the pathway that leads to heaven.

He is both the DOOR and the WAY!

Now through His blood we can go directly to God anytime....the intimidating VEIL has been torn away...

The DOOR of access has been opened and the ROAD leading to heaven has been paved.

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A DOOR was opened, a ROAD was paved, and there's one last thing...

III. Our Hope was Confirmed

Not only is a door opened and a road paved, but the tearing of the veil means that our hope of eternal life has been confirmed by God himself....HE TORE THE VEIL!

Hebrews says, "This hope (of being saved) is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest..." (6:19-20)

These verses tell us in plain language that we have an anchor for our soul that cannot be moved because it is founded on Jesus Christ Himself!

ILLUS: Anchor and boat fishing

We have an anchor that cannot be moved, the Lord Jesus, who as our high priest, has opened the DOOR and paved a ROAD into the presence of God.

Because he cannot be moved, we cannot be moved!

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In 1834 Edward Mote wrote the words of a poem that became a famous gospel song called "The Solid Rock."

The first verse says:

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Then, the second verse uses words borrowed from Hebrews 6:

When darkness seems to hide his face,

I rest on his unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

And the chorus declares the glorious truth that there is no other ROCK to anchor yourself to:

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

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So the DOOR to heaven is open to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

The ROAD into His Presence has been paved for us!

And our hope of eternal life has been confirmed by God Himself!

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Perhaps today you feel such a great weight of sin that you wonder if Jesus can receive you.

You think your sins are too great, your transgressions so many that even Jesus cannot help you.

But there is a message for you from the torn curtain in the temple.

Fear not! Don't let your sins keep you away!

God has opened the door to heaven.

God has paved a road into His presence.

It is Jesus Himself! LET'S PRAY