Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:50-51)

When considering the events that surround Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, the tearing of the veil in the Temple stands out as one of the most profound miracles. The veil in the Temple represented the barrier between sinful man and a holy God. Once a year, the High Priest would enter behind the veil to present the blood of an innocent sacrifice to God. This was done on behalf of the nation and if received by God, their sins were covered and forgiven, as well as, the covenant between God and Israel was extended for yet another year. This foreshadowed the promise that one day a Redeemer would come and His sacrifice would end all sacrifices.

When the last breath left Jesus’ lungs, immediately, the veil in the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom. Just as the veil in the Temple was torn to open a way into the very presence of God, so the veil of Jesus’ flesh was torn so we could approach God and enter into a relationship with Him. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we no longer need a mediator to represent us before God. Now anyone can come into the presence of God at any time to fellowship with Him and make request of Him.

The veil in the Temple was a very large and heavy curtain measuring sixty feet high and thirty feet across. It’s thickness was measured as the width of a man’s hand. No one person would have been capable of accomplishing such a feat, nor would they even try as to do so would be considered a sacrilege. It was the hand of God Himself that tore the veil from the top to the bottom. God wanted it to be known that the barrier of sin, represented by the Temple veil, had been forever removed. God wanted us to know that through the sacrifice of His Son, every man would now have complete and unfettered access to Him. The torn veil in the Temple made a profound statement … our sins can no longer keep us from God.

We have a standing invitation to come to God at anytime we wish or need to come to Him. The torn veil in the Temple is God’s invitation … “Whosoever will may come!”