Temple Baptist Church - 4-5-2023
Mark 15:33-39
Introduction:
A. Almost 2,000 years ago on our Wednesday evening, at app. 9:00 PM, our Lord Jesus Christ died on an old rugged cross for the sins of the world. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
B. “On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross; the emblem of suffering and shame.” Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, died for you; He died for me; He died for whosoever will and also for whosoever will not.
C. When the sacrifice of God’s Son was completed, He cried , “It is finished” and “gave up the ghost.” It was over! God’s satisfaction was manifested through the rending of the Veil.
Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
D. Of all the wonderful signs which accompanied our Lord's death, none was more significant than the rending of the veil in the temple.
1. At midday, there was a darkness that could be felt that lasted for three hours. This must have must have been horrifying event for the people.
2. There was a tremendous earthquake that no doubt scared the people.
3. But the rending of the veil of the Temple, from top to bottom, which must have pierced the heart of every Jew. The veil, for the last 1500 years, had separated sinful man from a thrice holy God!
4. The way into the presence of God was something allowed to the High Priest one day a year as he placed the blood of Atonement on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. A place that no man or woman could every hope or want to be because of the penalty of death.
E. The rending of the veil became a quick and well-known fact by all! I promise you that the news of this mighty act of God, top to bottom, spread like wildfire.
F. The significance of the rending of the veil:
1. The end of Ceremonial Law that had ruled for 1500 years.
2. The end of the Aaronic Priesthood (the High Priest).
3. The end of the Levitical Priesthood.
4. The end of the Mercy Seat on earth.
5. The end of the sprinkling of the blood of bulls and goats. The end of the smell of blood and death, the bleating and death of innocent lambs
6. The end of the offering of incense by the priesthood.
7. The end of the lighting of the Menorah.
8. The end of the bread placed on the Table of Shewbread.
9. The end of the Brazen Altar and its myriad of sacrifices.
10. The end of the washings at the Laver.
11. Figures, shadows gone, and the type fulfilled in the antitype.
12. The satisfaction of God the Father in the matter of sin.
13. The beginning of the New Covenant through the blood of Christ once it was applied.
14. The end of separation and the beginning of reconciliation.
15. Salvation full and free to all who labor and are heavy laden!
16. The rending from top to bottom made manifest that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was both sufficient and accepted. The Way (John 16:6) eternally established.
G. The Veil played an essential part in the Jewish system of worship for over 1500 years. The Vail was first used in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and, later in the Temple of Solomon. When Zerubbabel’s Temple was built, which remained until 70 AD, the Veil was placed once again into it’s position between the Holy Place and The Holy Of Holies.
1. It is a type of sin – noted for its toughness and hardness.
2. It is a type of Christ’s flesh – taking on our sin debt and opening the way to God.
H. To fully understand the meaning of the Vail, I want to go to the beginning or the First Mention Principle of Bible Interpretation.
1. Blue is the color of Deity: God in flesh!
2. Purple is the color of Royalty: King of the Jews!
3. Scarlet is the color of the Blood: rejected and crucified!
4. Fine linen speaks of the Purity of Christ: the sinlessness of His nature, life, and righteousness.
5. Fine twined (the Veil was made of thread six times doubled and was four fingers thick) speaks of His strength, courage and steadiness.
6. Cherubims were the defenders of God’s holiness. (The Vail represents man’s sinfulness that separated him from the holiness of Almighty God.)
J. Four Things the Veil Demanded!
1. The Veil Demanded Separation – no one could just “walk in” when they desired. To just walk in way certain death! Sinful man was separated from a holy God and though the priests ministered daily in the Holy Place, they could not go into the Holy of Holies.
a. The Rending Of The Veil allows sinful man to be saved and have a personal relationship with God.
b. The Rending Of The Veil gave every child of God not only a daily access into the Holy of Holies but moment by moment access.
Numbers 4:20 But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.
2. The Veil Demanded Selection – Only one chosen man could enter in and then only once a year. The High Priest of that particular year carried out the priestly work of the Atonement.
The Rending Of The Vail allows each believer to take care of his personal sin through confession and repentance.
Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
3. The Veil Demanded Sanctification – the high priest must be both ceremonially an spiritually clean before entering.
The Rending Of The Veil allowed our Lord to become our Saviour and Advocate.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
4. The Vail Demanded Sacrifice – only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies and then only with blood.
The Rending Of The Veil gives boldness to the believer to come to God with his or her inner most desires and burdens. A personal relationship with a personal Lord and Savior.
Hebrews 10:19-20 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his
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