Symbols are very powerful things. A flag draped casket. The picture of a soldier greeting their child with open arms. The Twin Towers in flames. A wedding ring. The title “Married.” A red cross. The Washington Monument. The Eiffel Tower. The Great Wall of China. The Statue of Liberty. The Berlin Wall. The “I” in IPhone, and IPad. The Nobel Prize.
Some symbols represent hope. Some remind us of tragedy. Some of life, some of death, some of openness, some of oppressive restriction, some of freedom, and some of intellectual achievement. Symbols have the power to capture our imagination and carry us to another place and time. They can carry our hearts to a different feeling and conviction. They can motivate us to action and swell our chests with pride. Symbols have power because we give them power.
There is a symbol in our text today, a symbol that has lost its meaning to most people, even most people who read these words. What’s the big thing about a torn curtain? What was that curtain’s purpose? Why was it there?
When we look at the history of God’s presence here on earth, especially and specifically His interrupting presence in the corporate life of the Jewish people in ancient history, we see a vacillation between closeness and distance. Let’s take a look at some of these points in time.
The LORD has Moses lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Along the way the LORD demonstrates His presence in a pillar of cloud and fire. This pillar kept the Egyptian army at bay. It also let the Jews know that the LORD was present with them, protecting them, guiding them, saving them.
When the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mountain to receive the Law, He entered that cloud. The people weren’t even allowed to step on the mountain under penalty of death. And when Moses came down, his face radiated with brightness, the radiance of the LORD. In the end, he put a veil over his face so the people wouldn’t have to look at the glory fading.
When it came time to set up the Tabernacle, the central structure in worship of the LORD, there were a series of cloth walls and tents, each one with more restrictive access than the previous. The outermost curtain separated ordinary life from the gathering place for worship. This curtain showed where living, loving, commerce, community, cattle, and kettles took place. Most of life was spent outside these walls. For a select few, the Levites, their lives bridged these two realms. They worked inside the walls, but lived outside. Ordinary folks could enter on certain occasions.
The second curtain stood at the entrance to the Tabernacle. It was where most of the ritual acts of worship took place. Only Priests could enter that space. It was hidden and mysterious to most people, since they could never enter that space. They had heard what would take place inside there, but never could experience it for themselves. A few dozen people would be in there every day performing the prescribed worship activities.
The final curtain separated this worship activity building from the Holy of Holies, the place where God’s presence dwelt. There were times in history when the base of the pillar would come and rest inside this small area. The Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat were inside this area and the Chief Priest only entered this space once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day the blood that represented the sins of the people would be sprinkled on that seat, standing between the commandments inside the Ark and the presence of the LORD in the cloud.
The curtain that stood at the entrance to this most restricted area was 3-4 inches thick. It was what protected all of life from the burning presence of the LORD. It kept people away from His forgiveness. It created distance between people and their God.
And it is this curtain that was torn when Jesus gave up His life. This symbol of restricted access, only the High Priest, only once a year, only with the proper pedigree and sacrifices. Now the curtain is torn. This access is open to all regardless of background, regardless of sin, regardless of time and place. God’s presence, His forgiveness and redemption is open to all. The very thing that held the LORD at a distance is destroyed.
And it started in heaven and reached to earth. It was torn from top to bottom as though the LORD’s hands had reached down and ripped it Himself. We can have access to Him because Jesus gave up His life. Sin no longer restricts us. We are free to enter God’s presence.
Jesus is open for business.
The Arnold Journey 