45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
THE MIRACLE OF THE VEILTo understand this miracle, we must first know something about the presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament, the heavenly being had a "no admittance" sign hung over the gates of heaven except at the very beginning. Why? Let's go back to the garden of Eden. Here we see God walking in the garden with the sinless new prototype human beings. Creation was capital G Good. Things were perfect. The perfect holy God walked with His first innocent creations. But something happened that changed that relationship between God and humans. Sin happened. And at that very moment the "no vacancy" sign went up as the garden doors slammed shut.
Throughout the Old Testament and into the days of Jesus, God had the Israelites put a very thick veil in the temple that separated the holy place where only priests would perform their duties and the Most Holy Place, where it was the place of God's presence. But God still loved humans and promised to make a way where God and humans could walk together again and the veil would be removed.
When Jesus died on the cross, it was God's way to open wide the gates for humans to once again enter into His presence. The miracle of the veil is God's message to the world that THE WAY happened at the very moment when Jesus breathed his last. Sin was defeated for us.
Remember what Jesus said of Himself, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He was answering the question posed by the disciple Thomas, "Lord, how can we know the way?" John 14:6
But... another veil exists. It's the veil of self. You and I still get to choose to either accept or reject Christ. Upon choosing to accept, we acknowledge that Jesus is our Saviour. And as we remove the veil within ourselves, we open the doors of our hearts with a welcome sign for Jesus to enter and we are graced by a series of miracles. By His shed blood, He forgives us. He invites us into the Holy presence of God. He begins to heal us and transform us to become what we were created to be in the first place.
On a personal note... I never again want to take what Jesus did for me for granted. By His amazing grace, he has made a way for me to personally know God.
Good Friday Prayer. Dear Father, thank you for Your Son, Jesus, my Lord and my Saviour. Fill me today with Your Spirit that I may know you better, that I may feel Your healing touch deep within my soul, and that I will never, ever, take for granted that you love me and want me with You forever. All praise and glory be Yours. Amen.
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