What is the meaning of Mark 15:38? And • The little connecting word anchors the moment to what just happened: “But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last” (Mark 15:37). • Nothing stands between His final breath and this immediate miracle; cause and effect are seamless. • John records the same instant with “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Savior’s completed work triggers what follows. the veil of the temple • This was the massive curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:31-33). • Only the high priest could pass it, and only once a year, carrying sacrificial blood (Hebrews 9:3-7). • By design, it preached distance: God’s holiness on one side, human sin on the other. was torn • The verb signals decisive action done to the veil, not by priests or passers-by. • Luke confirms, “The curtain of the temple was torn down the middle” (Luke 23:45). • Hebrews later explains the symbolism: “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19-20). The tearing openly declares that the once-for-all sacrifice has been accepted. in two • The rip is complete, leaving no partial barrier. • A half-opened curtain could be closed again, but a veil split “in two” cannot be rehung. • Christ “has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). Access is permanently granted. from top to bottom • Starting at the top, well beyond human reach, shows the hand behind the miracle is divine, not priestly mischief. • Matthew agrees: “The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). • God Himself removes the separation, echoing Jesus’ promise: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Heaven initiates the welcome. summary Mark 15:38 records a literal, physical event in the temple that unfolds the instant Jesus dies. God tears the heavy veil—completely, top-to-bottom—making an unmistakable statement: through the finished work of Christ, the barrier between a holy God and sinful humanity is gone. The way into His presence stands open, not for one priest on one day, but for all who come through the blood of the Son. |
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