The Tear

The Tear

Luke 23:44-46, NLT

By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

John 19:31-35, NLT

It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. 32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. 33But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. 34One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. 35(This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also can believe.)

Setting the Scene

The Temple curtain being “torn in two, from top to bottom” symbolized what Christ had finished on the Cross (Matthew 27:50-52, NLT). The Most Holy Place in the Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant and could only be entered once a year on the Day of Atonement, and even then, only by the high priest (Leviticus 16:1-34). Symbolically, the curtain separated holy God from sinful people. By tearing the curtain in two, God showed that Christ had opened the way for sinners to come to God directly.

In committing his spirit to the Father, Jesus died. He did not faint or become unconscious—he “breathed his last.” John presents more evidence for his death. Because the Jewish leaders did not want to desecrate their Sabbath (Deuteronomy 21:22-23) by allowing the bodies of three crucified Jews to remain hanging on crosses overnight, they asked Pilate to make sure the victims were dead so “their bodies could be taken down.” Breaking the legs would assure death because this would stop the crucified person from using his legs to lift his body in order to take more oxygen into his collapsing lungs. When the soldiers came to Jesus, however, they found that he had already died.

Getting Personal

With his death on the cross, what barrier did Christ remove between you and God?

How should the fact that you have direct access to God affect how you live?

What keeps you from using more often the privilege of going directly to the Father?

In an effort to deny the Resurrection, some say Jesus didn’t actually die. They say he only appeared to do so and was revived later. But Jesus’ death was confirmed by the Roman soldiers, Pilate, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the religious leaders, the apostle John, and the women who witnessed his death and burial. Jesus suffered actual physical death on the cross. And he gave his life; no one took it from him.

God was in complete control of our salvation to the last detail. Jesus’ sacrifice was complete and effective. And because of Jesus’ death on the cross, the curtain has been torn; we have direct access to God.

Talking to God

Confess to the Lord that sometimes you act as if his door were closed to you, even though Christ’s death has given you direct access to God. Ask him to give you a hunger for time with him and that he would deepen the bond of relationship between you.