Transcription
What's up everyone? Welcome to episode 24 of Jesus Wins podcast. Today we're going to be uh discussing the topic of the veil that was torn whenever Jesus was nailed on the cross and was uh killed and then rose again 3 days later.
But you know, if if you've read the Gospels uh and and read the part where the exact verse where Jesus died on the cross, uh it it states that the veil was torn from top to bottom. And I just want to discuss and talk about what that actually means, the historical context behind it, uh the research into it, and um yeah, just hopefully try to explain a little bit better and give you a better understanding of of what um the veil being torn truly means.
So, to start off, I always start off with historical context. So, um get your your notes out, your Bible out, and just get ready to learn. Let's uh let's uh let's learn this this topic together.
So the historical context, the temple in Jesus' day was the second temple uh greatly expanded beautiful under uh Herod the Great beginning around 20 or 19 BC. Um it could be either or. It stood in Jerusalem as a center of Jewish worship, sacrifice, and national identity. For the Jewish people, the temple was not just a religious building. Um it it was a visible center of of covenant life. That that that's what it meant. It symbolized the covenant the Old Testament covenant that they had with God. Um and the structure reflected uh different levels of holiness. So you had the outer courts, the inner courts, most holy place and the most holy place or the holy of holies. It's either or and that is actually the holy of holies is where only the high priest could enter and blocking it was uh the veil that we are discussing today.
So the holy of holies was the most sacred location in Israel's worship system. In the tabernacle and later in the temple tradition, that innermost space represented the unique presence of God among his covenant people. And according to the law, uh only the high priest could enter and only once a year on the day of atonement or yam kapur. I don't know if y'all have heard of that um that term, but that's what that's what it means is day of atonement, yam kapur. uh so and only once a year on the day of atonement as described in Leviticus 16. So this means that the entire worship system taught one massive truth which is God is holy and sinful humanity cannot casually enter his presence. They did not have complete access to God as we have today because of Jesus.
So now let's talk about what the veil actually was. Right? So the veil is described in uh Exodus 26 31-33. Um and it says uh God commands that a curtain be made of blue, purple and scarly yarn with finally with finely twisted linen with excuse me with true rim skillfully woven into it. Uh and this was placed between the holy place and the holy of holies right in the middle. You had to go through this uh through the veil to get to the holy of holies which is where you had access to the presence of God.
So these these specific details matter. Uh why why cherubium? Because cherubium in scripture are often con connected with the guarding of God's holy presence. Um after Adam and Eve were expelled from uh Eden, Trubam guarded the way to the tree of life in Genesis 3 24. So in a sense the veil symbolized that humanity was shut out from uh direct access from God because of the sin of Adam and Eve. So you know the veil was not just you know a curtain uh architecture. This was like a you could say this was theology and fabric form. So, not just, you know, just a basic curtain that had no meaning behind it.
Uh, some ancient sources in later Jewish tradition described the temple uh veil in Jesus' day as extremely large and heavy. So, this wasn't just something you could like the wind could tear through if there was a lot of wind or or a human hand could just rip like that. It was this was, you know, very um thick. This was a thick fabric that was not easily torn. So, and they described it as extremely large and heavy. So, while the exact dimensions are debated, uh, this this is the point. This was not something that could easily be ripped by man. You know, this is not just a coincidence. When Jesus died, the veil was torn because hon the veil was actually torn from top to bottom, signifying that God struck it down into and tore the veil when Jesus died on the cross. Um, you know, this was a this veil was a massive and significant barrier in the heart of temple worship.
Now, let's talk about why the veil existed. The veil existed because sin separates man from God. That is what the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies was signifying. Only the high priest had complete access to the Lord. Under the old covenant sacrificial system, uh there's four things. priests ministered on behalf of the people. Sacrifices were repeatedly offered um for the atonement of our sins. Uh and access was restricted to everyone except the high priest. And then cleansing was necessary again and again because Jesus hadn't died and took on the the payment that we should have uh paid took on the cross that should have been ours because you know he hadn't done that by that time. And then you look in Hebrews and that Hebrews later explains that the repeated sacrifices showed that the problem of sin had not yet been fully and finally dealt with because Jesus hadn't come and washed us by his blood yet. But it was prophesied that he would come. The old system was real, holy, and very God orained. Um, but it was also temporary and and uh, you know, very anticipated. you you you could say it it pointed towards something or someone that that was coming which was Jesus. Um the veil preached a message every single day. You cannot come near God on your own terms like how we you know can today which is you know such this is this is why like so when I read this and I'm when I learn all about this uh to me it it really shows how grateful we should be to have complete access to God because that was not always the case. We um you know back then you couldn't always go directly to God. You couldn't just get on, you know, or have God's pre like presence where you are, right? You had to, I guess, really just be the high priest and have access to the Holy of Holies where God's presence was. So, it's come a long way, that's for sure.
So, now we can talk about what happened, what exactly happened at the crucifixion. And we're going to look, if you want to flip to Matthew 27 verse verses 50- 51. So turn to that. And then that verse says, "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn into from top to bottom." And that is a big- time detail. Was not torn from bottom to top, top to bottom. And this signified God striking down the curtain and and you know, ripping it, ripping the veil. The veil was torn, right? Um the gospel writers are making it clear uh this was not man reaching upward. This was God acting downward when he tore the veil. Uh so at this exact moment that Christ died on the cross, the barrier signifying restricted access between us and God's presence was completely gone. Now Jesus is made the high priest and we have complete access to the Lord. um you know this isn't uh like it's not a destruction of of holiness and you know and tradition right um this is actually the fulfillment of holy of holiness through a perfect sacrifice the the ultimate sacrifice right that you know this is why we live our life this is you know that's what gave us purpose uh Jesus right God uh you This is not Jesus uh you know making sin less serious. He dealt with it fully on that cross. Man that's heavy.
Okay. So now we can talk about Yam Kapur which is the day of atonement. The day of atonement connection. So to understand this moment you also have to understand Leviticus 16. And on the day of atonement four things I have four things if you want to bullet point them. First one is the high priest entered the most holy place or also known as holy of holies. Um he brought sacrificial blood. Uh that's that's pretty I was surprised by that. I didn't know that. And then he made atonement for himself and the people. So he spoke on behalf of us as well not just himself. That's an interesting fact as well. And this this yamap kapur day of atonement happened uh once a year. So once a year he going to the holy of holies where God's presence was um made atonement for the sins of himself and us and um brought sacrificial blood. So I guess this is where you get confession. Why why you see some people or I guess Catholics like go to the priest to um confess their sins and then he approaches God and makes atonement for himself and all of us as well. But you know, we don't have to do that anymore because the veil was torn and now we have complete and full access to the presence of God. We have him fully.
So this repeated ritual has taught and taught Israel that sin required blood, cleansing, meditation, and divine mercy. Um but Jesus is presented in the New Testament as as the greater fulfillment of everything that day represented. Four more things you can write down bullet points. Uh he is the perfect priest. He's also the high priest. He's the perfect sacrifice. He enters not an earthly copy only but the true heavenly reality. And his sacrifice is once for all not repeated annually. doesn't have doesn't have to uh die on that cross once a year. We don't have to um you know confess to the high priest and he has to make atonement for our sins with God. Um no, we have full access to God. We confess our sins to God directly on our hands and knees when we pray to him. We spend uh isolated and um real time with the Lord, right? It's it's an amazing thing. Reminder, God's quick to mercy, quick to forgiveness. Uh he loves you and desperately wants a relationship with you. Now I'm mad at you.
Hebrews chapter 9 and chapter 10 explain that Christ's death accomplished what animal sacrifices cannot accomplish because with an animal, you had to do it yearly. It had to be an annual thing to make atonement for our sins. Um so it's it's something that >> animals can never yo >> yo yo Sorry, my my boys my boys are over. Um, so actual cleansing of of conscious and uh decisive access to God.
Okay. Six. The veil in the flesh of Christ. That's funny. That's never happened to me, but I have some friends coming over in like 30 minutes. for having a Bible study with the team. So I guess I might have got here early. Um anyways, okay. Yeah. So number six, the veil in the flesh of Christ. Hebrews 10 19-20 says believers have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. Right? We're covered by the blood of Jesus. And it says by the new and living way that he opened us open for us through the curtain that is through his flesh. This is very deep line and very hard to understand. So the veil symbolizes Christ's body uh in the sense that his flesh was torn in crucifixion access was open through his sacrifice because through his sacrifice the veil was torn. got struck down the veil from top to bottom. And his death was not uh this was not just, you know, such it's a tragedy at the time, but it's not like just this tragic accident that happened, right? This is um God's word being fulfilled. Uh it was a substitutionary atonement. He bore wrath um fulfilled righteousness and opened the way for all of us to have complete access to God.
So the torn veil means four things, ready? Atonement has been made. Access has been open. The old covenant system has reached fulfillment in Christ. Christ came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. And God's people are no longer kept at a ceremonial distance or where the high priest has to come and make atonement to our sins for our sins and make a sacrificial uh offering to God. Um and you know we don't have to do through that same temple structure right with with all those the inner court outer court uh most holy place in the holy of holies. So we no longer have to come to God in that way.
So now we can talk about why was this so radical in first century Judaism. So to the average Jew in the first century, the temple was central. Priests, sacrifices, purifications and sacred boundaries were normal. Like this is a normal traditional thing, right? So for the veil to be torn at the death of Jesus was not just something small. This has been something that you know people learn about, they know about. This is their whole system of you know this is like how they have their relationship with God. So this was just not some small thing that happened. Oh the veil was torn. That's weird. know like this was like like groundbreaking news. Um you know for the veil to be torn at the death of Jesus was not just a symbolic flourish. This it was a direct announcement that the Messiah's death had changed completely changed the terms of access to God. We have him in full full access to God. That is the main point of this of this video.
Okay. So now we can take What time is it? What do we got here? Okay, we're good on time. All right, I have I have five biblical lessons. Five this is biblical lesson we can take from this topic of the veil being torn. Um God's holiness is real. Uh sin truly separates us from God. Jesus fulfilled what the temple foreshadowed. Um believers now have access through Christ alone, through his through him, by his blood. We're covered by him. Now we have complete access to God. And access is costly. It costed uh the most perfect man to ever walk this earth, our Lord and Savior Jesus. Costed his life for us to have access to God. So it's not something we should take lightly when we go to God.
So for the first one, God's holiness is real. The veil existed for a reason. Uh, access to God, like how I just said, it it's never casual. It is a a real thing, a real relational thing with the Lord. Uh, second, the second thing centrally separates. And you do not understand the cross unless you understand the barrier which was the veil that thick fabric that separated us uh from having access to the presence of the Lord. Um third thing Jesus fulfilled what the temple foreshadowed uh he is he's the greater priest. So that you know for us that means he's the high priest now like we don't have to go to a high priest anymore and him go to God for us. He's the high priest, the greater sacrifice and the true mediator. Fourth thing, believers now have access through Christ alone. Uh so this is not through how we act um through our you know performance in a sport uh through the good deeds we do um not through tradition not through ritual but through and by the blood of Jesus. That's why we have complete access through Christ alone. And the fifth thing, access is costly. Now, the veil was torn because Christ was crushed and killed and murdered on that cross. But it's good news cuz he rose again 3 days later.
So, I have I have a few things that we can apply to our lives that we can use this message and apply to our lives. So I would say, you know, all the the scripture I read, don't just hear from me. Like actually take time to study it and maybe you have a different understanding of it than I do. So I want you to read Exodus 26. Okay, write that down. Leviticus 16, Matthew chapter 27, and Hebrews um what was it? Hebrews, what was it? It was Hebrews chapter 9 through10. And you just read those together all in order.
Uh okay so second thing the way we can apply this to our lives is stop treating the cross like a like just you know a motivational thing like a motivational symbol it's a lot deeper than that uh see it as the fulfillment of atonement right atone made atonement for our sins now we are we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus our lord and savior um like how I said you know when you approach when you approach the lord it's not casual but also come to the lord in boldness, right? You have complete access to God, the creator of the universe, creator of everything. Come in boldness to the Lord. Let him know that the desires of your heart, the things on your mind, things you're struggling with, God wants to hear from you. He wants a deep connection and relationship with you. Approach him boldly, but never casual. And fourth thing, let prayer become personal and serious because Christ opened the way. Kind of what I said on the third thing.
And then here are three discussion questions uh that you can use in your Bible study. Like do this after every video. Um just some things that you can ask your friends. Um yeah, use in a Bible study, anything like that. Just cool things to discuss and reflect on. Uh first thing is why did God structure worship with so many boundaries under the old covenant? Second thing, what does the torn veil teach us about Jesus's death? And lastly, do you live like you actually have complete and full access to God? That's a really good one. I would love to hear answers from y'all.
Um but yeah, um that's all I have for today. If you have any more questions, any topics you'd like me to discuss, uh anything like that, just um put it in the comment section. Like, subscribe. I really appreciate you uh watching, taking time out of your day to understand this topic of the veil being torn because not a lot of people understand, you know, like um it's really a good conversation to have with Catholics. Um so yeah, I mean that that's pretty much why, you know, we don't follow like the Catholic tradition or Catholicism is cuz the veil is torn and now we have complete access to God and we don't have to go through someone else or confess to someone else uh our sins. you know, we have full access to God. So, we get on our hands and knees and we confess to the Lord uh our sins and our transgressions against them. And then he is quick to mercy, quick to forgive, and you move forward in your walk with the Lord.
So, my closing line is the veil was not torn to make God less holy, right? Not not at all. It was torn because Jesus satisfied holiness and opened the way for us to have complete access to him. All right. Well, that's it. That's it for today. This is episode 24. It's called the veil is torn. So, let's bow our heads and let's pray.
Dearly father, thank you, Lord, for for today, God, just for your mercy, Lord, for for waking us up, God. Thank you Lord that you sent your only son, the most perfect man to ever walked this earth, our Lord and Savior to die and experience the most um the most excruciatingly painful death on that cross that you know he took the our position. We we should have been on that cross, God. But he went on on that cross and endured uh everything for us, God, and we were washed by his blood. And now because of him, Lord, we we have complete access to you, God. And we're just so grateful. And we want to acknowledge um the severity uh and the deepness uh of how real uh that is, God, and and just how grateful we are for it. Lord, I pray for anyone watching who's struggling with anything, God, with anything in their life that has been on their mind, their heart, um any habitual sin cyclist. I ask that you would uh I ask that you would destroy those worldly desires in them and replace them with heavenly desires. Help them keep their eyes and their mind, their thoughts and their desires focused on you. Uh continue moving in them, God, and bless them with the desires of your heart. And I ask you to have favor over them. Thank you Jesus for everything you've done for us. We pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen.