A Curtain Torn in Two

#40: “A Curtain Torn In Two” by Brendon Wahlberg

At the moment of Jesus’ death on a cross, a strange and miraculous event occurs. A large curtain in the Jerusalem Temple is suddenly torn down the middle. This event is mentioned in all three of the synoptic gospels. “Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38) “Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:50-51) “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land* until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed;* and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:44-46)

What was this torn curtain, and why was its tearing such a significant event? The entrance to the innermost room of the Temple, the Holy of Holies, which once contained the Ark of the Covenant, was covered by a very large and thick curtain. This covering is described in Exodus. “You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver. You shall hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the Ark of the Covenant * inside, within the curtain; and the curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy. You shall put the mercy-seat* on the ark of the covenant * in the most holy place.” (Exodus 26:31-34)
Only the High Priest was allowed to enter beyond the curtain, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Beyond the curtain was the actual presence of God, and the High Priest had to take various precautions to avoid seeing God and dying as a result. The High Priest came with blood to offer for the forgiveness of the sins of the entire people, as described in Leviticus. “Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy-seat* that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.* [...] He shall slaughter the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy-seat* and before the mercy-seat.* Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins...” (Leviticus 16:2-16)
The gospel writers recorded the tearing of the curtain as a literal and symbolic event happening at the moment of Jesus’ death. Jesus died, and as a direct result, the curtain tore. There are several meanings to be understood from this.
Christians understand Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of all sin, an event analogous to the sacrifice of blood offered by the High Priest once a year. Unlike the High Priest’s sacrifice, which had to be repeated every year, Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all. After Jesus, the yearly sacrifice was no longer needed. The curtain tore because the sacrificial system had come to an end.
The curtain was a partition separating Man from God, and access to God through the curtain was extremely limited. But Jesus’ death opened a way for people to come directly to God, to know God and be forgiven, without a Priestly intermediary. Jesus’ death atoned for sin, making us right before God, allowing us to come before God and not die. The curtain tore because the barrier between God and man was removed. Because the huge curtain was torn from top to bottom, the symbolic implication is that God did the tearing.
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews discussed the meaning of the torn curtain at length, giving us a full understanding of what it means for us. “Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:19-25) Entering beyond the torn curtain is just the beginning. This privilege must bring changes in our lives befitting our new status.
“Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:23-28) The torn curtain is not the end of the story, either. We are promised that our savior’s work is not finished.
“We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)