Beyond the Veil

Matthew 27:45–54 KJV 1900

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

We’ve been going through Matthew verse by verse, and we’ve made it all the way into .

[JESUS IS ON THE CROSS]

Matthew 27:45–54 KJV 1900

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

matt 27:

[BEYOND THE VEIL]

— But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

I. Broke the Barrier

A. What we were:

1. Sometimes = before. This is where we all were before the work of Christ.

2. Afar off = a long way off. This is how far from salvation we were.

3. We were completely without hope, cut off from any relationship with a perfect and holy God.

— That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

4. We were lost in our sin, wandering aimlessly.

— Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

B. What we are:

1. Are made nigh — an act that we did not do, we were made near to God by someone else, Jesus Christ.

2. This is something that we can take no credit for.

– For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Where is boasting? We did nothing to deserve this act of mercy!

— The World’s religion always finds a way to glorify man’s works — the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives credit only to God!

3. The cost was high — the blood of Christ

— Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

— In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

— Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

— And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

— And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

ILLUSTRATION: Berlin Wall

At midnight on August 13, 1961 — what would later become known as “Barbed-Wire Sunday” East German police and combat groups closed the border between East and West Berlin. Over the next several decades that border became more and more formidable, with concrete sections reaching 12 feet high, observation towers, kill zones, dog runs, bunkers, and so forth.

The wall was not built as a fortification against enemy invaders, or as a deterrent to those that would immigrate into East Germany. It was built to keep East Germany’s occupants in East Germany — effectively holding captive the occupants of that communist territory.

That wall became the symbol of the division between the Free Western World, and the Eastern communist states.

Overnight citizens were separated from their families, many were cut off from their jobs, and those behind that Iron Curtain literally had liberty walled off from them.

Politicians, musicians, and other celebrities protested its existence. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan demanded freedom and prosperity be allowed back into East Germany.

Finally, in November of 1989 the border was ordered open, and the wall was demolished over the next three years.

SIN separates us from a Holy, Righteous, Perfect God. And no politicians, no policies, no posturing, no protests, no president or prime minister or pope could ever break that barrier for us, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

God, in His mercy, and in His love, saw our sin, knew my every wicked part, and sent His Son to break that barrier down. Jesus Christ bare our sins in his own body on the tree. God showed His love for us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

No matter who you are, or what you’ve done, there is no barrier between you and a righteous, Holy God, who loves you so much, values you so much, that He sent His Son to die, to tear that veil in two, to break that barrier for you, so that through Jesus Christ you may have open access to the Almighty, Infinite, Creator God of all the Universe!

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

4. The Open Access to Almighty God

TURN TO AND READ – Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

— Boldness before God!

This is what nearness does for our relationship with God. Are we near to Him?

[THE TRAGEDY OF A LOST SINNER]

[THE TRAGEDY OF A LOST CHILD]

Transition:

Secondly, in thinking beyond the veil, that gap that Jesus bridged for us — He did not just break down the barrier of sin, He gave us peace with God.

[The fall of the berlin wall did not resolve all the tensions between the Western World and Communism]

II. Bore Our Shame

A. What we were

1. We were enemies of God and of righteousness.

— Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

— And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.

2. We were separated from His promises

3. We were condemned by the Law.

B. What we are

1. Friends and Children of God.

— For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

— He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

2. Completely at peace with God

— He himself is our peace.

— And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

3. Completely made new

TURN TO AND READ – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

— Aren’t you glad that you have been made new?!

— Have you been made new?!

— Are you living your life as a new creature?

Conclusion:

— But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

King James Version Chapter 27

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;

What Victories did Jesus accomplish on our behalf on the cross? There are many; but tonight, aren’t you thankful for nearness and for peace?

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;

Jesus paid a great price, just to bring us beyond that veil. I wonder how many in this room are still separated from God, because you’ve never put your trust in Jesus Christ for Salvation.

I also wonder, how many, having full access to God’s presence, and complete peace with God through Christ, spend little to no time in His presence, and show little to no sign of being conformed to the image of His Son.

Christ accomplished an incredible feat on that cross — He broke that barrier of sin, and bore our shame for us — won’t you allow Him to accomplish something incredible in your life today??