THE TEMPLE VEIL

There are many theories to the size and thickness of the temple veil. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, said that it was four inches thick. Some say it was hung in such a way that in order for the high priest to enter the Holy of Holies, he had to work his way through "a maze-like" entrance way. Another view says that because the word "veil" is in the singular, it was a single curtain under which the high priest was required to kneel to enter. Because the Wilderness Tabernacle, Solomon's Temple, and the Herodian Temple of Jesus' day were not the same size, to speculate on the exact dimensions of the structure and the veil seems like a great waste of time. Suffice it to say, the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the structure was large enough to secure the Holy of Holies from the view of man. And it must have been thick enough to prevent those outside from hearing the high priest, necessitating the adding of bells to his garment (Ex. 28:33).

At the very moment that Jesus yielded up His spirit, a phrase indicating that He died, the veil in Herod's Temple was "rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matt. 27:50-51). Regardless of how thick or how high the curtain was from top to bottom, (estimates say that it was more than two inches thick, and about 45 feet tall), man was incapable of tearing it, let alone from top to bottom. It had to be God Who tore the veil. But why? Of all the things God could have done at that moment in time, why did He choose to tear the veil? While I feel totally inadequate in trying to explain the workings of God, I will, in my simple way, try.

Hebrews 10:19-20 tells us that the veil represented the flesh of Jesus. Prior to His death for us, only the high priest could enter to offer sacrifice for the sins of Israel. By giving His life for us, Jesus was removing the wall of separation between man and God; we can now enter into His presence boldly (Heb. 10:19). He had foretold that His body would be "broken for you" (Matt. 26:26), and the Apostle Paul wrote that the bread of the Lord's Supper pictures His broken body (1 Cor. 11:24). Of course, the breaking of the bread is a metaphor for Christ's body being hung on the cross. There is irony in the fact that like the temple veil, Christ's body was torn from top to bottom; the flesh on His head was pierced by thorns (Matt. 27:29), His hands were pierced by nails, and lastly, His feet were pierced by nails (Ps. 22:16).

Nearly everyone knows that it is sin that prevents man from being able to approach God. Sin is the "wall" that separates man from access to, and fellowship with, Almighty God. When Jesus' body was "torn from top to bottom" for us on the cross, it was because He had taken the sin of the world upon Himself; He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). The temple veil being torn by God is His way of saying, "Welcome home!"