To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 10:39:10 -0500
Subject: HF041 - When The Temple Shuddered
Hebraics,
This is Bible Study HF041 - When The Temple Shuddered.
I thought it would do well to share a ministry that I presented to our
congregation Sunday morning. It had to do with that awesome moment when
Jesus breathed His last, and the veil of the temple was torn. There was
also an earthquake, and according to some sources, the very foundation of
the temple shifted. In this study I wish to concentrate primarily on the
significance of the torn curtain. Lets begin with a reading of Scripture.
Mark 15:33-38: "When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the
whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out
with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?', which is
translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'
"When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying,
'Behold, He is calling for Elijah.' Someone ran and filled a sponge
with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, 'Let us
see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.'
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil
of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the
centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He
breathed His last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God.'"
Darkness had filled the land from 12 noon to 3 o'clock. Whether
this darkness was just over the land of Israel is not known, but
perhaps it was. The ninth hour (3 pm) was the time of the incense
offering. A priest and his attendants would be in the holy place. The
priest would not have heard the voice of Christ on the cross, nor the
mockery of the chief priests and scribes, who were chiding Jesus, in
saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the king of
Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him."
(Matthew 27:42)
But this moment was the deepest of sorrows for Jesus. And it is
here that we hear the saddest words ever to be recorded by a
human pen, when Jesus cries out, "My God, My God, why have
you forsaken Me?"
Although the priest in the holy place could not have heard those
words, he may have known of the darkness. The holy place itself
was lit with the golden candlestick. But perhaps the priest was
nervous. At the moment of the cry, and as he was offering the
incense offering, what he saw must have left him quaking. Hearing
the sound of tearing, and looking up, the priest saw the vast curtain
beginning to rend, starting at the very top.
Before I go further with this, let me share some historical
background on both the curtain and the happenings in Israel during
the time of Christ. This would explain any nervousness that the
priest would have had.
First the curtain. The curtain was awesome in itself. The curtain in
Herod's temple was 80 feet high, and as thick as the width of a man's
hand. (This is according to Josephus and later rabbinic authorities.) It
took three hundred priests to wash it.
Another point of interest is that the curtain had changed in
appearance from the original pattern given Moses. The tabernacle
curtain had cherubim embroidered in it. But the curtain in Herod's
temple had the heavens themselves embroidered on it. It was like
looking at the sky. So when it began to tear, the priest would have
thought of the rending of the heavens. And this is truly what was
happening.
There is more. According to the Talmud and Josephus, strange
things had been happening during that time period. Josephus said
that the eastern gate, which was made of brass, and which took
twenty men to close, would open and close on its own accord. The
Talmud speaks of something similar. It says that forty years before
the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple doors would open and
close on their own, and you could hear voices coming from within.
Forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem was when Jesus
took up His Messianic anointing. The Master of the Universe
walked the land.
If these things are true, then the temple was becoming a scary
place. The priest would have reason to go about his duties with
some nervousness. But nonetheless, it happened. He look up and
the vast curtain began to tear, and the floor began to shift and
shake. It was as if God were saying, "This is it! No more! There will be
no more separation! No more blood sacrifices! No more!!!" It was as if the
temple itself was rending her garments. She shuddered.
What was happening? The temple was shaking at the death of its
Master. The old order of business was finished. The house would
be left desolate. But this tearing of the veil has an even deeper
significance. And this brings us back to the cry of, "Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?"
Jesus had earlier told the disciples that every Scripture must be
fulfilled. For us that simply means that everything written in our
Bible either has been fulfilled, or must yet be fulfilled. Take that as
your stand and you will know something of a true walk of faith.
But what of the, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"
For this we go to Psalm 22. David is speaking by the Spirit, but he
is speaking in what is called a 'prophetic perfect,' which means that
David was speaking with the feelings of the event. It were as though David
was there at the cross.
Psalm 22 records the horror of the cross. Read it carefully and
prayerfully. But when you reach verse 22, this Psalm picks up with
the ascended Jesus. To appreciate why those certain words were
spoken by Christ, however, we need to know something about
man's separation from God.
A great many believers yet have a problem understanding the issue
of sin. Sin does not simply mean to miss the mark, or to disobey
God. On the technical side that would fit. But sin itself means that we
are in league with Satan. And that was what happened in the sin of Adam.
When Adam chose to accept Satan's word above the Word of the Lord, it put
him is a state of sin. And so neither Satan nor sin has a place with God.
Paul explains this in his letter to the Ephesian believers. He says,
"And
you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
disobedience." (2:1,2)
And so the human race was placed in league with Satan. But that
did not mean that God stopped loving humanity. Never. The Bible is
a record of redemption. When the Lord separated Israel from the
rest of humanity, it was to prepare a people for His redeeming work
through Messiah. It was also to give people knowledge of the true
God. The Jew was entrusted with the oracles of God. (Cf. Romans
3:1,2)
But the Israelites were also sinners. And so God dwelt among
them in a tent. Once yearly the high priest enter behind the
massive veil with blood of the atoning sacrifice. The curtain of
separation stood as a silent witness of man's alienation from God.
And the tabernacle was a scary place. Sacrifices were made daily.
Blood everywhere. And yet the people longed to be near. God was
there.
But Messiah did come. And all the blood sacrifices spoke of Him.
When Jesus came into the earth, it meant that He had to leave
heaven with all its glory and splendor, and to come into a world that was
enshrouded in sin. Sin was our clothing. Did He come in anger? Did He come
with vengeance in His heart? No. He came with a heart full of the Father's
love.
And this is why John 3:16,17 will always be the key message in
the Bible. It says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to
judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."
But to enter into our world, Jesus had to be born as a human. And
so He was. Thus we have the mystery of the incarnation. Jesus
was the only human ever to walk this planet in whom Satan had no
power or authority over. Satan knew that somehow he must get
Jesus to sin. But it never happened. Jesus was perfect in all His
ways.
But we do have an oddity. In the temple sacrifices we see God's
truth and justice. The sacrifices had a message; sin and sacrifice,
sin and sacrifice, sin and sacrifice. So while the sacrifices were
continuing daily at the temple, Jesus was daily among the people
sharing the Father's love. He healed. He loved. He welcomed all
who were hurting. In the Person of Jesus we see God's mercy. The
Scriptures tell us that He is exactly what the Father is.
Yet the greatest healing of all was yet to come. Somehow mercy
and truth had to meet together. Somehow righteousness and
peace had to kiss one another. Somehow heaven and earth had to
be reconciled. Somehow there had to be the 'one' sacrifice that
would take away sin forever. And the sacrifice had to be so perfect
that it would remove all the sins of all of mankind, for all time. And
somehow, this sacrifice had to become the way for man to return to God.
The Psalmist also spoke of this. He said, "Righteousness will go
before Him and will make His footsteps into a way." (Psalm 85:13)
Thus we hear Jesus say, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)
Was Satan nervous? I think so. He remembered quite well the
message of the garden; "And I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you
on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15)
You see, Jesus could have went back to heaven any time He
desired. But He didn't. He walked in our sinful world. He put his
arms around sinful creatures. He rebuked the religious and gave
nothing but love and acceptance to the most sinful of us all. To the
prostitute, He said, "Where are they? Did no one condemn you? She said,
'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From
now on sin no more.'" (Get out of the business you are in. John 8:10,11)
There are two times where it speaks of the heavens opening. When
Jesus was baptized, it says the heaven opened. It open and then it
closed. But out of heaven came the Holy Spirit in the form of a
dove. The Lord's ministry had begun. The other time the heavens
opened is intimated by the tearing of the veil. Actually the same
Greek word is used. But in the tearing of the veil, the story is
somewhat different. This time the heavens would remain open.
What is the wonderful secret in all this? First of all the torn curtain
means that there is no separation between God and man. God has been
reconciled to all of humanity. He is not holding their sins against them.
Thus, every person on this planet, saint or sinner, has the right to call
on the name of the Lord, and be saved. Sin was dealt with in Christ. Not
simply the sins of the saints. All the sins of the whole world were taken
to the cross in Christ.
This is why God spoke through the prophet, in saying, "'This is the
covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days,'
declares the Lord, 'I will put My law within them and on their heart I
will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.'" Then
He goes on to say, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I
will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:33,34; Hebrews 8:10- 12)
The torn curtain also means that there is no longer a need for a
mediatorial office in the New Covenant, except that of Jesus Christ. The
torn curtain put religion out of business. No one stands between the
person and God Almighty. Every single child of God has direct and
immediate access to the very throne of heaven. Not only that, but every
sinner also has access, if he or she will call upon the name of the Lord
in faith and in repentance.
This does not mean that sinners are automatically saved. Whereas
God has been reconciled to man, it is now left up to man to be
reconciled to God. And this is the message we are given to preach.
The apostle says, "[God] gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to
us the word of reconciliation. He made Him who knew so sin to be
sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)
But the news becomes richer the further we explore. The torn
curtain means that every child of God has throne rights. We can go
in, and we can come out, and in this going in and out, we find
pasture. Finding pasture speaks of God's directed blessings upon
our lives. If the truth were known, many problems that
believers have is because they aren't using their throne privileges. Some
have the idea that if they can get 'so-and-so' to pray for them, surely
the answer will come. Sorry. It doesn't work that way.
Sure, you can have others pray for you, and it is well to do that.
But throne privileges are very personal. There is no veil of
separation. No other person is any closer to God than another
believer. Nor do you have to bombard the gates of heaven to get
God's attention. You were given His full attention at the cross. All you
need to do now is come boldly to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
Keep in mind the day the temple shuddered. The veil of separation
was rent. God says, "No more!" The welcome mat is out. But the
welcome mat is for sons and daughters. Because of Jesus, we can
now come to the Heavenly Father as His very own children.
Think about it.
The study is open.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)