Entrance into the very presence of God is available to all believers, yet not everyone experiences this fantastic reality. In an extraordinary and seemingly unrelated event recorded in Matthew 27:52, the moment Jesus breathes his last breath on the cross, the Temple Curtain rips from top to bottom showing the way into His presence and our need to pass through the curtain to get there.
As Jesus is dying on the cross, according to Matthew 27:51, Matthew gives us descriptions of a most unusual set of linked, parallel events: the first being that the curtain of the temple is torn in two from top to bottom. The significance of this event and its what it still means for us today are not always evident to 21st-century eyes, but a little digging in the bile yields a fantastic harvest.
The Curtain of the Temple
Moses’ Tabernacle was actually a complicated tent, with multiple layers covering and dividing two rooms. A curtain separated these, the outer room being twice the length of the inner room—a proportion which was used in future structures.
When this portable, divine meeting place was found a fixed location by Solomon in 1 Kings 6:2–38, the curtain which separated the outer room, the holy place, from the inner room, the holy of holies, was replaced with a panelled cedar wall. This isn’t mentioned clearly in the biblical description, but when you read that the entire inside of the temple was covered with carved panels of cedar (1 Kings 6:18). Then there were olive wood doors (1 Kings 6:31) that opened into the inner sanctuary. It seems clear then that the two rooms were divided with a wooden partition. Both rooms were panelled with cedar, but the inner had its panelling overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:20).
When the ancient Jewish historian Josephus describes Herod’s temple – that is the third temple building: after Solomon’s and Ezra’s – at the time when the Roman General Titus was besieging Jerusalem (the same temple that was standing in Jesus time), he describes an almost identical design. However, this design has a curtain in front of the doors, the same height as the doors, which were 55 cubits high (26.5m) (Wars of the Jews 5.212). Historically, this was the curtain that Matthew was referring to.
In Moses’ Tabernacle, the curtain existed to separate the two rooms of the sanctuary from one another. This prevented accidental access to the holy of holies, by ordinary priests who have valid things to do in the outer room (the holy place): changing the bread of the Presence every Sabbath and to looking after the oil in the lamp (Leviticus 24:1–9). But only the high priest was allowed to enter the holy of holies, and only on one day of the year: the day of atonement (Leviticus 23:27; Hebrews 9:7).
God gave the curtain as a precaution to prevent unholy people from accidentally entering His presence. God’s covenant through Moses allowed only Aaron and his sons to enter the tent (Numbers 18:1–7). This scripture describes all the Levites as being guards against unauthorized access into the Tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons as being guards against unauthorized access to the Holy of holies itself. So, the purpose of the curtain was to separate the holy place from the holy of holies; and the tent of meeting, the Tabernacle, was to separate the place of sacrifice (within its walled compound) from the holiness inside the tent.
A Place of Presence
The Tabernacle is called the tent of meeting over 500 times (e.g. Exodus 27:21), as it was the place where the Lord met with people: Moses (Leviticus 1:1), Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:14), the priests and those offering sacrifices (Leviticus 14:11). Though the Lord specifically describes Himself as presencing Himself above the ‘mercy seat’, between the cherubim (Exodus 25:22).
The Tabernacle then (and by implication, the temples that followed it), was God’s physical symbol of His actual presence among His chosen people. It had multiple boundaries preventing people from accidentally accessing parts of the temple which they shouldn’t, resulting in their death (e.g. Numbers 3:4). This punishment is best understood in the light of the holiness of God and people’s sinfulness meeting, which would result in the death of the unholy person (Cf. Isaiah 6:5).
So, we seem to have a conundrum: The God who wants His presence to be clearly made known in order to be deeply understood by His people is fatally holy to those same people. So, He makes a design decision in the structure of the Tabernacle. The height of this design is the curtain, which separated the holy of holies from the rest of the tent; and this is the curtain that was ripped at (and by) Jesus’ death.
Top to Bottom
Matthew also mentions the direction that curtain ripped: from top to bottom. As the curtain was over 26m high it could not have accidentally been ripped, and certainly not to such a length. The direction also appears to be significant, as if it was God’s initiative. The result though is that the curtain no longer prevents access to what is behind it, the holy of holies, suggesting that we now have access because of Jesus death (Hebrews 6:19).
Hebrews tells us that the tear in the curtain is actually the body of Jesus (Hebrews 10:20). The tear in the physical curtain of the temple was a symbol of the reality that is opened up in Jesus own body. Just as His body was crushed because of our sin (Isaiah 53:10), so now, by faith, there is a way through His body into the very presence of God. This may seem like a gory image, but it highlights both the seriousness of our sins and the humility we needed to receive His forgiveness.
All this is further wonderfully worked out in the book of Hebrews. However, it is worth observing that the curtain has not been removed!
Bold Entrance
Hebrews 10:20 tells us that we can now have the boldness to enter into the holy of holies in the Tabernacle, into where neither the Levitical priests nor the people were allowed to go. Of course, the temple that we have access to is neither Moses’ Tabernacle nor Solomon’s Temple. Both of which were shadows of the real temple which Hebrews tells us is in heaven (Hebrews 8:5), to which we have access.
We need boldness, though, in order to press into the very presence of God himself.
Pressing into the Presence
While the boldness that we have has no strings attached, the means of access that Hebrews describes does. The way is available to us, into the very presence of God, and remains so as a ‘living’ way! We have a daily, living responsibility to push through the curtain into the presence of God. and every time we do so, we need to abandon formulas and mechanical approaches, coming before Him with honesty and integrity.
It is also significant that this sign accompanying Jesus’ death did not cause the curtain to fall, or burst into flames, or be removed – the curtain remains. This highlights our responsibility to press into His presence. God’s presence is available to those who trust in Jesus, but it is not automatic – the curtain remains. It requires boldness to enter.
His presence is hidden behind the curtain. There is still a need for faith; that certainty of what we do not see to be exercised boldly in order for us to actually experience what is behind the curtain: he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6, CSB).
The Boldness of Faith
Our boldness is in making an effort to go through the curtain into the very presence of God. A boldness that puts our faith in the effect of Jesus’ death into action. This is the only kind of faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).
It is possible, therefore, to live as a Christian without ever pushing into His presence – passing through the curtain, into the intimate presence of God – even though the way is open to us. It requires intention on our part: a deliberate choice to go through the curtain, through the body of Jesus, into the presence of God, for the sole purpose of being in His presence.
No Accidental Access
The curtain still separates us all from accidental access to God.
For those who do not know Jesus, the curtain is a display of the patience of God. It prevents entrance to His presence without the blood of Jesus, which cleanses all sin, and enables people to stand in His presence without condemnation.
Likewise, for those who have believed, it is an opportunity to exercise faith in approaching the throne of grace with a boldness based on the effectiveness of the finished work of Christ to worship, fellowship, and regain an eternal perspective on existence.