by Doug Ward
By divine design, a curtain or "veil" separated sacred areas within Jerusalem's Temple, patterned after a curtain in ancient Israel's tabernacle in the wilderness (Exod 26:31-33; 36:35). The only person allowed to enter through the curtain from the Holy Place into the Holy of Holies was the high priest, and he did so exclusively once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16).
The Gospel of Matthew reports that at the time of Jesus' death on the cross, "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom" (Matt 27:51).
Along with the torn curtain, many other remarkable phenomena accompanied the crucifixion including darkness at noon, an earthquake, and the resurrection of many saints (Matt 27:45-54). The obvious implication is that God was responsible for these signs, including rending the veil asunder. If so, what lessons can we learn from this holy history?
The event has captured the imagination of the Church for two thousand years resulting in many ideas written about its significance and symbolism. (1) Starting this month and concluding in April, I'll survey some of the most meaningful interpretations, with the goal of promoting a deeper understanding of the lessons conveyed by the torn veil. All this in hopes of inspiring our faith in and faithfulness to King Jesus as we follow him in our various vocations.
The earliest recorded comments on the torn curtain's meaning appear later in the New Testament, in the Epistle to the Hebrews. The author of Hebrews expounds on the implications of the torn veil to encourage disciples of Jesus:
"Therefore, brothers (and sisters), since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, ... ." (Heb 10:19-22)
The author of the epistle sees the curtain as symbolic of Yeshua's torn body. Accordingly, the tearing of the curtain points to a remarkable result of his sacrificial death; Christians—no longer cut off from their Creator—can come freely before His throne of grace in heaven to find mercy and forgiveness (Heb. 4:14-16).
Viewing the curtain as Yeshua's body is, however, not the only possibility. The unique wording of Matt 27:51 suggests further symbolism. Scholar David Daube observes a connection between Matt 27:51 and 2 Kings 2:12, where the prophet Elisha rips apart his cloak in mourning when his mentor Elijah is taken away from him in a whirlwind. (2) Daube notes that the Aramaic word for the temple curtain can also denote a tunic, giving a linguistic basis for associating the curtain with a garment.
Linking Matt 27:51 and 2 Kings 2:12 also makes sense given the context of chapter 27. Matthew relates that when Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 on the cross (vv. 45-46), bystanders thought he was calling for Elijah. Someone jeered, "Let's see if Elijah comes to save him" (v. 49). The ripping of the curtain in this setting could be saying, "Jesus is a prophet even greater than Elijah. If Elisha grieved Elijah's departure by tearing his mantle, how much more is Yeshua mourned by the tearing of the veil in the holy temple."
According to Daube, additional meanings are possible when we consider the ancient custom of rending a garment as a sign of mourning. A rabbinic tradition based on 2 Kings 2:12 and 2 Samuel 1:11-12 says that it is appropriate to leave a torn garment unrepaired when intentionally damaged for certain special reasons. According to the Babylonian Talmud (Mo'ed Qatan 26a),
"These tears on the garments are not to be sewn up again: he who makes a tear for his father or his mother, his master who taught him wisdom, a patriarch, a principal of the court, for having bad news, for having heard blasphemy, when a scroll of the Torah has been burned, for seeing the ruined cities of Judea, the holy house, or Jerusalem."
Several of the items on this list resonate with the crucifixion. Not least is that of mourning over the death of a great Torah teacher who conveyed wisdom to his disciples. Since Jesus, with tears, prophesied the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (Matt 24:1-3), the tearing could also be understood as a confirmation of that impending tragedy. In the Clementine Recognitions, a text from the early centuries of Christianity, we find just such an interpretation, "the veil of the Temple was rent, as in lamentation for the destruction impending over the place" (Book 1, chapter 41).
Another interpretive possibility is that the rending of the curtain was an answer to the high priest Caiaphas, who tore his clothes in response to what he saw as blasphemy by Jesus (Matt 26:65-66). It's as if the torn veil was responding, "Here is the real blasphemy, that Israel's Messiah was betrayed, sentenced to die as a criminal on a Roman cross."
In this article, we have been engaging in a type of midrash. Midrash is a Jewish mode of interpretation that explores multiple facets of truth by examining a biblical text from various positions, much like inspecting a diamond. When done in accordance with the whole counsel of Scripture, this method provides powerful glimpses into the multi-dimensional work of God. The veil-rending action in Matt 27:51 is, without a doubt, an announcement of the open access to God made possible by the work of our Savior on the Cross. From another vantage point, it serves as a lament over the coming destruction that Yeshua foretold. Likewise, in the death of a Torah teacher greater than Moses and a prophet greater than Elijah, the torn curtain is a symbol of deepest sorrow and mourning.
We will continue our exploration next month. Blessings!
Footnotes:
(1) Dr. Daniel M. Gurtner summarizes the many interpretations of the torn curtain's meaning in the first chapter of his book, The Torn Veil: Matthew's Exposition of the Death of Jesus, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
(2) The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism, University of London, Athlone Press, 1956, pp. 23-26.
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