Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:50-51)
Again, the supernatural surrounds the cross. The Temple curtain separating off the place known as the Holy of Holies is torn from top to bottom. How did that happen? Well, we aren’t told how it happened. I know of no explanation other than some giant, unseen hands ripped it.
Was it torn out of heavenly sorrow? Anger at sin? Or as the preachers have always said, the separation between God and man has been removed—and commoners, not just the high priest, can now come into the Holy of Holies?
Regarding this specific event, Scripture does not provide details on the how and the why. But we do know that this place of holy, mysterious separation is now flung open. The curtain is torn from top to bottom. I wonder what that ripping of very heavy cloth sounded like?! I wonder who heard it and saw it happening! It must have scared the willies out of them.
As we add up the human, natural elements of the brutality of the disgusting acts of crucifixion, we cannot get away from or sidestep the sudden reminder of the presence of God. While Jesus has expressed his aloneness in the midst of this horror—and as one writer said, he must have been a disgusting sight on that cross—the hand of God, above the natural, man-made means of torture, takes over. The earth covers in darkness at mid-day; the veil tears from top to bottom; (continuing on in Matthew’s account), the earth shakes, rocks split, graves open, people arise and walk. All of it, in history, adds up to something never before seen. The death of this particular Jew is unlike the death of any other person. This is not normal. And it’s not just one little ‘non-normal’ here and there, but a whole bunch of non-normals are suddenly adding up.
An interesting part to me is that while that curtain was ripping from top to bottom at that exact time, Jesus wasn’t watching it. Unlike the total eclipse, which he experienced while hanging on the cross, he was physically far away from the temple. Or when the graves were opened—he didn’t see that either, as he had just expired. God the Father was at work, but Jesus wasn’t able to see it.
Key point: the hand of God was present in power. God was making himself known, even in ways that His Son could not see at that particular time. He was sending a very clear signal to a whole bunch of people, including the one who wrote this all down: in the midst of this horror, I’m here, and I’m at work. Above all, I’m still in charge. I’m not nervous, out of control, or having a panic attack due to the death of the Son of God. I’m the One to run to, not from.
The words of the Psalmist come to mind from Psalms 27:13: “I am confident I will see the goodness of the Lord.”
“Father, we are reminded that you were not absent during the crucifixion, but orchestrated events to show your presence and power such as when the curtain tore from top to bottom in the most holy place of the Temple.”
Copyright 2019, Freddy Boswell. From the book, Torn Curtain.
Freddy Boswell 