DAY 12
Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Exodus 26:31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
Consider:
In some cultures, a bride arrives at her wedding ceremony wearing a veil. The veil hides her face, separating her face from the view of her groom until the appropriate time when the veil is removed and the two, once-separate individuals pledge their lives together in a new, one-flesh union. In a similar manner, the Lord ordained that the Old Testament tabernacle and subsequent temple be constructed with a curtain veil separating the place of the presence of God (the Most Holy Place) from the rest of the temple where the priests regularly served and from the people whose unatoned sin prevented them from living peacefully in the full presence of God. But like a wedding veil, the temple veil had an expiration date. When Jesus Christ, the sinless son of God, died on the cross, his blood paid in full the sin-debt for all who would believe in him. Consequently, the veil—pointing to the separation of a sinless God and a sinful people—was torn in two as the death of Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament and made the way for God and man to be united in peace.
Point to Ponder and for Prayer:
Easter tears down division and raises up reconciliation hope.
Jon Canler
