At the Cross: The Curtain Torn in Two

“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:37-39) 

What is the significance of the curtain being torn in two? Symbolically, the curtain separated a holy God from sinful people. The act of tearing the curtain announced to the people that Christ had opened the way for sinful people to have full communion with God.  

This also brought an end to the rituals of altars and sacrifices. God’s people no longer had to shed the blood of an animal in order to atone for their sins. Jesus became the final sacrifice, and his blood washes us white as snow. In God’s eyes, we are justified. Jesus, as the Son of God, was able to take humanity’s sin and bear it on the cross. His death brings us life, as Colossians 2:13-14 reminds us: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” 

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross brings us freedom! We are no longer bound by our sin and we are welcomed into the loving arms of the Father.