Palm Sunday: The Veil

Palm Sunday 2024

The Veil

 

Today is Palm Sunday. Next Sunday is Easter Sunday – I prefer to call it Resurrection Sunday. Of course, Good Friday occurred between Palm Sunday and Easter.

 

Before I get into today’s Palm Sunday message, I want to first read a text that describes what Pilate did when he crucified Jesus on Good Friday. You’ll find it in John 19:17-20:

 

“They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. 

 

Pilate wrote the accusation against Jesus – the King of the Jews – in all the languages of the area. But notice that the text says many – not ALL of the Jews – read it. Some didn’t read the message, probably because they were at home, too busy taking care of children, taking care of sick loved ones, taking care of their own daily affairs, and for their preparation for the Passover celebration. They didn’t have time to see a criminal hang and die on a cross.

So, they missed the message – just like the Pharisees and Sadducees and the laity at the foot of the cross missed the message that Jesus told them when He repeatedly quoted from various messianic psalms. We talked about those psalms several times in the last few weeks. But they kept missing the message.

Which brings us to today’s message – to another text that describes an extraordinarily important event that occurred on Good Friday. Most of those in Jerusalem missed that message, too. Many STILL miss the message of the torn veil.

 

 
The event is recorded in each of the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And if you’re not careful as you read the account of the Lord’s final moments, you can miss it because it is mentioned so briefly.

 

I read now from Mark’s account, “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Mark 15:37-38)

 

“The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” We must not miss the eternal significance of that event. Certainly, the educated Jews of the first century IMMEDIATEY recognized that significance – but we must not miss it.

 

But first, I need to make sure we all understand what the veil of the temple was. As many of you might know, the instructions God gave Moses for the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness included the separation of the Tent into two parts – called the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The two rooms were separated by a thick curtain, called the veil. (see Exodus 25).

 

The furniture in the Holy Place consisted of a lampstand, a table for the 12 loaves of bread, and the altar of incense. The smaller room, called the Holy of Holies, held only one piece of furniture – the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was a wooden chest overlaid with pure gold. The lid of the Ark, called the Mercy Seat, was also lined with pure gold, and on top of the Mercy seat were two sculpted golden cherubim which faced each other. During Israel’s 40-yar trek through the wilderness, the Ark contained the tablets of the Law, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s almond branch. We don’t have time now to get into more detail than that.

 

Let’s pause here for a moment. It’s important to the point of today’s message that we understand that only the priests who were sons (or later progeny) of Aaron were permitted to enter the Holy Place to conduct their daily ministrations. Zacharias – the father of John the Baptist – was of the lineage of Aaron.

But only the HIGH PRIEST could enter behind the veil into the Holy of Holies. He did so each year on the Day of Atonement when he sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial animal on the Mercy Seat. The Hebrew word for ‘Mercy Seat” has the same meaning as the Greek word ‘propitiation.’ It means ‘to cover sins.”

 

We’ve seen that word, ‘Propitiation’ several times as we’ve studied the New Testament. For example, here is Romans 3:23-25 “[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation [a covering of sins] in His blood through faith.”

 

And now 1 John 2:1-2b “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation [i.e. the ‘covering’] for our sins.”

 

No priest had more religious authority than the High Priest. All other priests were subordinate to his authority. A modern analogy might be the authority of the Pope in Roman Catholic practice.

But back to the Tabernacle in the wilderness: The basic pattern of the wilderness Tabernacle continued into Solomon’s Temple and to the Temple as it existed in the days of Jesus.

 

The veil in the Temple of Jesus’ day was some 60 feet high, 30 feet wide, and several inches thick – it was that massive veil which served as a daily reminder that God was separate from His people – EVEN HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE. And it was THAT veil which God tore in two, from top to bottom, at the very moment Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”

 

Which now brings us to the whole point of today’s message. What significance – if any – does the torn veil of the first century have for us in 2024?

 

As I said, the veil served as a constant reminder that sin separates us from our holy God. It served as a constant reminder that only a special class of people could enter the holy place and represent the average person.

 

But – ALL OF THAT changed when Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” and the veil of separation was immediately rent asunder. That torn veil dramatically and visually demonstrated that the shedding of Messiah’ precious blood was the full atonement for our sins. That torn veil vividly fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah about the New Covenant which God would implement when He did away with the Old Covenant. You’ll find that prophecy in the 31^st chapter of Jeremiah and referred to in Hebrews 8.

 

When the Father tore that veil from top to bottom, He declared to all humanity that the way into the very Holy of Holies was now and forever open to all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile.

 

Entry into His Throne Room. Let’s look at that for a moment. You might remember the story of Queen Esther who was terrified when her cousin Mordechai insisted that she approach the Persian King to stop Haman’s plan to annihilate all the Jews. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, I urge you to read the short ten chapters in the Old Testament.

 

Anyway, Queen Esther reminded her cousin that there was only one law for those who entered uninvited into the king presence – and that was death, unless the king held out his scepter in invitation. If you know the story, God moved on the king to invite the queen to approach his throne.

 
So, the application to 2024?

 

Many Christians through the ages, especially those who were not very literate in biblical truth, many believed they had good reason to avoid directly approaching God. They thought – and many in church pews STILL think – that they needed to go to God through the intercession of another person, such as a pastor, a priest, or a Saint.

 

And Christians developed a variety of excuses that have kept them from coming close to God, such as, “God's too busy for me.” Or, “I’m not holy enough.” Or, “He loves others more than He loves me.” But each excuse is utterly unsupportable by scripture.

 

Let’s look at this point from another angle. Those of you who have had children in your home, wouldn’t you feel terrible if you knew your son or daughter felt uncomfortable coming to you because they felt unworthy? Or that you were too busy? Or you didn’t really, really love them?

 

Wouldn’t you take him or her into your arms and assure them they didn’t need to ask someone else to approach you on their behalf? And isn’t that what our Lord Jesus tells us? Didn’t He say to us: (Matthew 11:28) “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest”?

 

Is that not what the Father tells us through the Psalmist (27:10): Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me”?

 

Isn’t that what God tells us through Isaiah: (49:16) “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands? In other words, Our God always keeps us closely in His presence.

 

Christian, please hear this in the depths of your soul: You are engraved on Jesus’ hands. Do you really think the Father will not receive you directly into His Throne Room? To stay with the Esther illustration, do you really think the King of kings will not extend to you His scepter?

 

The veil has been torn. Don’t piece it back together again. You are His beloved son and daughter. Indeed, the Father loves you JUST AS MUCH as He loves Jesus. How do we know that? Jesus Himself said so. Listen to this portion of His prayer to the Father. You’ll find it in John 17 (verses 22-23): “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

 

The veil has been torn. The work of reconciliation between God and sinful men and women was and IS finished. There is nothing to add to it. Indeed, when we try to add our works – even our good works – to the finished work of Christ on that cross is to tell Jesus He didn’t do enough to complete the task.

 

Reconciled. Two parties who were enemies are now brought together in loving embrace. Listen to the Holy Spirit through St Paul: (2 Corinthians 5:17-18a) – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ . . . .”

Now listen again to Him in Colossians 1:19-22  For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

 

THAT is what Good Friday is all about!  Reconciliation. Please hear it again: The veil is torn. The Old Covenant under which the priests acted as a mediator between God and the people no longer exists – and I repeat myself for emphasis. Every child of God, adopted into His eternal family through their faith in Jesus the Messiah, now has direct access to the Throne of God – who is not only King of kings, but is ALSO our loving, merciful, gracious Father.

 

And so, God tells us through the writer to the Hebrews: (Hebrews 6:18b-20) “We who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil [of the heavenly Tabernacle), where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

We cannot take time now to discuss Melchizedek. You can read about him yourself in Genesis 14 and in Hebrews chapters 5-7. But the main point of all this is that under the New Covenant promised by God in Jeremiah 31—under the new covenant, Jesus is our High Priest. It is He who “is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

I’ll say it again: The veil has been torn. Don’t put it back together again. That’s why the Holy Spirit tells us in chapter 4 of Hebrews, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

 

Confidence to enter directly into God's Throne Room. No longer does any child of God through faith in Jesus need a parent or pastor or priest to bring us into the very presence of Almighty God.

 

And so, as I bring this message to a conclusion, we need to make personal application of this message of the torn veil.

 

Do you believe you have immediate access to your Father who art in heaven? If you are NOT a true Christian, then you do not have that right to enter His Presence. But if you have come to God through your baptismal and obedient faith in the finished work of Jesus on that cross, if you know you need His forgiveness and His power to enable you to live a godly, holy lifestyle, and if you practice confession and repentance as often as the Holy Spirit brings your need of both to mind – then I am here to tell you, on the authority of God’s word alone – you DO have immediate access to the Father when you come through the only mediator between God and man – the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

 

God Himself tore that veil asunder. He eliminated the Old Covenant with its tabernacle, its temple, its religious system of priests and sacrifices – and He established the New Covenant which centers around Jesus, our High Priest, who through the sacrifice of Himself makes us perfectly – PERFECTLY – acceptable to God.

 

“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

 

Please, don’t try to piece the veil back together again.