Tiferet Yeshua Congregation
Tel Aviv
The Gospels tell us that, immediately after Yeshua’s last breath, the veil in the Temple separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was torn from top to bottom. Even though the Gospels do not explain the significance of this event, we view it as a declaration by God that every believer is now allowed into His holy presence, whereas beforehand only the High Priest was allowed in once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Apostle Paul describes it in this way:
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:19-20, 22)
Since I first became a believer, I saw the rending of the veil as an expression of God’s mercy towards us, the outcome of Yeshua’s last words, “It is finished.”
Just recently, however, God gave me a glimpse into His side of the story.
As I was pondering the outline of a teaching for Tiferet Yeshua Congregation, I came to the part of the torn veil, and God gave me a vision of a cemetery. I saw a family burying a loved one (something which is tragically frequent these days due to the many soldiers and civilians that have lost their lives in the war). In the vision I also saw one of the cemetery rabbis make a short cut on the shirts of the immediate family, from top to bottom, according to the customary Jewish symbol of mourning in Jewish cemeteries to this very day.
Kriah, the tearing of one’s clothes as a sign of mourning, is more than just a tradition. This unusual practice is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. When Jacob, the patriarch, thought his son Joseph was dead, he tore his garments (Genesis 37:34). David and his men rent their clothing upon hearing about the deaths of King Saul and Jonathan (II Samuel 1:11). Job, grieving the death of his children, stood up and tore his robe (Job 1:20).
I realized that the rending of the veil in the Temple which we see as a sign of God’s mercy towards us for access into the Holy of Holies, was also God tearing His “clothes” as a sign of mourning for His only Son. In that moment, God lost a part of Himself; and, though He knew it would not be for long, I saw it was His time to grieve. As the prophet Daniel prophesied, God the Father experienced having His own Son cut off from Him (Daniel 9:26).
We remember Yeshua’s death as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. Let us also remember the unbelievable cost God had to pay to grant us forgiveness and access into His presence.
