Come One Come All

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Matthew 27:51

Just as our Lord Jesus expired, at the time of the offering of the evening-sacrifice, and upon a solemn day, when the priests were officiating in the temple, and might themselves be eye-witnesses of it, the veil of the temple was rent by an invisible power; that veil which parted between the holy place and the most. They had condemned him for saying, I will destroy this temple, understanding it literally; now by this specimen of His power He let them know that, if He pleased, He could have made His words good.

1. It was in correspondence with the temple of Christ's body, which was now in the dissolving. Death is the rending of the veil of flesh which interposes between us and the holy of holies; the death of Christ was so, the death of true Christians is so.

2. It signified the revealing and unfolding of the mysteries of the Old Testament. The veil of the temple was for concealment-but now, at the death of Christ, all was laid open, the mysteries were unveiled.

3. It signified the uniting of Jew and Gentile, by the removing of the partition wall between them, which was the ceremonial law, by which the Jews were distinguished from all other people (as a garden enclosed) were brought near to God, while others were made to keep their distance.

Christ, in His death, repealed the ceremonial law, canceled that handwriting of ordinances, took it out of way, nailed it to His cross, and so broke down the middle wall of partition (as two rooms are made one) Christ died to make all His one. John 17:21

4. It signified the consecrating and laying open of a new and living way to God. This was the great day of atonement, when our Lord Jesus, as the great-High Priest, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy Place.

He died, to bring us to God, and, in order thereunto, to rend that veil of guilt and wrath which interposed between us and Him-to open the way to the tree of life. We have free access through Christ to the throne of grace. The rending of the veil signified that, when Christ had overcome the sharpness of death, He opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. (Matthew Henry)

Wow, who knew that one little verse could hold so much! The temple had a veil that nobody but the high-priest was allowed to go behind and even that was once a year. When Christ died, the temple literally was split in two, and figuratively this held a much deeper meaning. No longer are we bound by the law of the Old Testament in which one would have to offer sacrifices to be in touch with God.

The death and resurrection of Christ removed the restrictions and all are able to come to Christ. I liked the analogy of two rooms being made into one; all mankind are on equal footing. We each have the same opportunity to receive Christ by simply accepting Him--no goats required!