Read: Matthew 27:32-55
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. (v. 51)
Two hills rose above the Jerusalem skyline. One, blood-steeped Golgotha where Jesus breathed his last on the cross (v. 50). The other, the temple mount where the curtain of the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom (v. 51). Two mountains of meeting where the veil was cast aside once and for all.
The mountain where Jesus died is a rude contrast to the mountains of the Old Testament. There on Sinai, Carmel, and Horeb, God descended in power and glory. But here, on this mountain, the place of the skull, the God who descended allows himself to be so degraded that even the Father turns his back (v. 46), and those who gaze at him are repulsed. It must have made no sense to those gathered there.
But even as Jesus yields up his spirit, a deeper story is being told. The veil that protected the Most Holy Place, the holiest part of the temple reserved for the high priest to enter only once a year, is torn in two, allowing God’s presence to rush unhindered into the world. No longer must God descend to the mountaintops to reach his children. Now, by the Holy Spirit, we are the priesthood, we are the Most Holy Place, we are walking Edens just as he promised. Now, through the church, the nations will flow to the holy city of God where death is not the end, and where, like Christ, the grave will fade into resurrection life.
As you pray, thank God that his presence is now accessible to us all.
Justin Kuiper is a student from Holland, MI, studying English literature at Hope College. His own writing explores the many intersections of faith, storytelling, and the created order. Justin is a life-long soccer fan and plays on the Hope College soccer team.
