Tearing the Curtain Down

Posted by: Jenny Baker | Monday, September 23rd, 2024 ( 9:00am)

We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."—2 Corinthians 6:16

There are so many moments in the Bible that leave me thinking, “Wow. That’s powerful.” From Creation to Revelation, God has revealed not only who He is, but who we are. And He has given Christians a very special role to fill as He restores the world around us.

Prior to Jesus, the formal place to worship God was the Temple, but access was limited. Only Jews were allowed to enter, and its inner-most chambers were reserved exclusively for High Priests who had to undergo a series of cleansing rituals to become holy enough to be in God’s presence. Those who were not part of the Jewish community — the Gentiles — were forbidden from entering the Temple all together.

In other words, there were a lot of conditions to meet before someone could even come close to being worthy enough to approach God.

But Jesus changed everything.

After hanging on the cross in excruciating pain for hours, the Bible tells us that “darkness came over all the land” and “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” — which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” A few hours later Jesus “gave up his spirit” (Matthew 27:45-46, 50).

That image alone is incredibly moving, but it’s the very next verse that makes my heart skip a beat.

“At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51).

While I can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been when this occurred, the significance of the curtain tearing is mind blowing. That’s because right then and there, after Jesus breathed his last, we no longer had to be separated from God. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can access Him through Jesus. Jew, Gentile, clean or unclean, none of it mattered anymore; Jesus removed the barrier of sin that prevents each one of us from being in relationship with Him now and forever.

But it doesn’t stop there. Jesus not only gives us access to the Temple, but we become the Temple since the Holy Spirit abides within every believer. And as the Temple, we no longer need to wait for people to come to God; we can bring God right to them. Jesus even commands us to do so; “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Just think about that. What an amazing gift and purpose we’ve been given as believers! The Holy Spirit no longer resides in a building, He lives within each of us, and we are tasked with sharing the good news that, through Jesus, God is accessible to everyone. We no longer must wait behind a curtain hoping we have done enough. We can approach God boldly, knowing Jesus has done everything.

This truly is such “good news” we get to share with people. So, let’s bring the Temple to everyone who has yet to visit it.