Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
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. (Matthew 50-51)
That moment when the Son of God died in our place on the cross all of creation groaned in mourning. The earth shook from its depths. Rocks were split, and an important temple curtain was torn in two. It was 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide, it was thick enough to completely block the area of the Temple, called the Holy of Holies. In this most inner holy room, sat the mercy seat, the ark of the covenant and where God would dwell with his people.
Only during the most holy of festivals, on Yom Kippor, the Day of Atonement, would the High Priest enter this holy area behind the temple curtain. God had promised to show His glory with fire and smoke, which He did for centuries there in Jerusalem at the Temple. The mercy seat which is also called the Ark of the Covenant, held a jar of manna, Aaron’s staff, and stone tablets of the Covenant. It is in this Holy of Holies that the High Priest would enter to make atonement for the people of Israel.
The significance of the temple curtain being torn, was that the LORD would not only reside there alone any longer, He was going to send His Spirit to the four corners of the world, to share the Gospel of Christ with people from all tribes and nations. Jesus is the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah who is the Savior of all mankind, not just of the Israelites.
Through the offspring of Abraham, all the world would be blessed. That blessing would come through one man, Jesus Christ; Who would fling open the gates of heaven to every true believer who looked to Him for their salvation. Good Friday is when the world lamented the death of the Son of God. Easter Morning is when all of creation’s trajectory would be renewed in hope of the resurrection of the dead, and God’s Kingdom coming to remake the heavens and the earth on the Last Day when Christ returns victoriously.
Christ’s death and resurrection confirms that God will not let anything come between us and Him again. To know how much our Heavenly Father loves us, all we have to do is look at the cross of our Lord Jesus, to realize that God’s love and grace are truly unconditional and everlasting.
Have a blessed Easter Season, singing praises of our Lord’s great victory.
In His Peace,
Pastor Ryan Honeycutt
