During the life of Jesus, the holy temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life. The temple was the place where animal sacrifices were performed and worship was faithfully followed according to the Law of Moses. Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that in the temple a veil separated the Holy of Holies, the earthly abode of God’s presence, from the rest of the temple where men dwelt. This meant that man was separated from God by sin ( Isaiah 59:1-2 ). Only the high priest was allowed to pass beyond this veil once a year (Exodus 30:10; Hebrews 9:7) to enter God’s presence for all Israel and make atonement for his sins (Leviticus 16). .
Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high ( 1 Kings 6:2 ), but Herod had increased the height to 40 cubits, according to the writings of Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian. There is uncertainty as to the exact measurement of a cubit, but it is safe to assume that this veil was about 60 feet tall. An old Jewish tradition says that the veil was about four inches thick, but the Bible does not confirm that measurement. The book of Exodus teaches that this thick veil was made from blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine twisted linen.
The size and thickness of the veil make the events that occur at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross that much more momentous. “And when Jesus had cried out again with a loud voice, he gave up the spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51a).
So what do we do with this? What meaning does this torn veil have for us today? Above all, the rending of the veil at the moment of Jesus’ death dramatically symbolized that his sacrifice, the shedding of his own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. It meant that the way to the Holy of Holies was now open to all people, for all time, Jew and Gentile alike.
When Jesus died, the veil was rent and God moved from that place to never again dwell in a temple made by human hands (Acts 17:24). God had finished with that temple and its religious system, and the temple and Jerusalem were left “desolate” (destroyed by the Romans) in AD 70. C., just as Jesus prophesied in Luke 13:35. As long as the temple stood, it meant the continuation of the Old Covenant. Hebrews 9:8-9 refers to the age that was passing while the new covenant was being established ( Hebrews 8:13 ).
In a sense, the veil symbolized Christ himself as the only way to the Father (John 14:6). This is indicated by the fact that the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. Now, Christ is our superior High Priest, and as believers in his finished work, we partake of his better priesthood. Now we can enter the Holy of Holies through Him. Hebrews 10:19-20 says: “We have confidence to enter the Holy of Holies through the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way that was opened to us through the veil, it is say, his body. Here we see the image of Jesus’ flesh being rent for us just as He was renting the veil for us.
The profound meaning of the rending of the veil is explained in glorious detail in Hebrews. The things in the temple were shadows of things to come, and ultimately they all point us to Jesus Christ. He was the veil of the Holy of Holies, and through his death the faithful now have free access to God.
The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin makes humanity unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated daily graphically showed that sin could not truly be atoned for or blotted out by mere animal sacrifices. Jesus Christ, through his death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we can approach Him with confidence and courage (Hebrews 4: 14-16).