And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two,
from top to bottom.
Matthew 27:51
No small miracle was performed in the tearing of so strong and thick a curtain; but it was not intended merely as a display of power -- many lessons were contained in it.
The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out garment, torn and set aside.
When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because they were fulfilled in Him; and therefore the place of sacrifice, the temple, was marked with a clear sign of this change.
With the curtain torn, all the hidden things of the old dispensation became apparent: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleaming above it.
By the death of our Lord Jesus we now have a clear revelation of God, for He was "not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face."
Life and immortality are now brought to life, and things that have been hidden since the foundation of the world are displayed in Him.
The annual ceremony of atonement was also abolished.
The atoning blood that once every year was sprinkled inside the curtain was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolic act was finished.
No blood of bullocks or lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered inside the curtain with His own blood.
Therefore access to God is now permitted and is the privilege of very believer in Christ Jesus.
It is not just a small opening through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the tear reaches from the top to the bottom.
We may come with boldness to the throne of heavenly grace.
Is it wrong to suggest that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvelous way by our Lord's expiring cry was signifying the opening of the gate of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion?
Our bleeding Lord has the key of heaven; He opens and no man shuts; let us enter in with Him to the heavenly places and sit with Him there until our common enemies shall be made His footstool.
The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
-- Psalm 110:1
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