Torn In Two

“Therefore, brothers, 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, His flesh…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” - Hebrews 10:19-22

On October 14, 1947, a B-29 took off high into the California desert. Attached to the belly of the bomber was the Bell X-1 experimental plane. At 25,000 feet the X-1 dropped from the fuselage, fired its engines, and ascended. As the plane approached Mach 1 it began to shake violently. As it hit Mach 965, the speed indicator went haywire. The G-Force blurred Chuck Yeager’s vision and turned his stomach. Just as he thought he was about to die, there was a loud sonic boom followed by this beautiful, eerie silence. As the plane crossed the sound barrier, at 761 miles per hour, the air pressure shifted from the front of the plane to the back. The shock waves that had almost torn the cockpit apart turned into a sea of glass. The unbreakable barrier had been broken.

Almost 2,000 years ago another unbreakable barrier was shattered by grace. For centuries there had been a barrier between God and people. This barrier is called sin. From the first Tent of Meeting that God instructed Moses to build in the wilderness, to King Solomon’s magnificent temple in Jerusalem, this barrier existed. The presence of God dwelled behind a thick curtain – called the veil. The veil was a physical reminder of the separation between God and man because of sin. God told Moses that if the high priests crossed this barrier, they would die (Leviticus 16:2).

Then, one dark and stormy afternoon, everything changed. The sun’s light faded and an eerie silence descended. On a hill outside Jerusalem stood an old, rugged cross. There hung Jesus, God’s precious Son. As He willingly gave up His life and the final excruciating breath left His holy lungs, the ground began to shake and the rocks split apart. Within the walls of the Temple – in the holiest of places – that centuries-old veil that stood between God and His people was ripped from top to bottom. “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split,” (Matthew 27:51).

On that day, Jesus opened for us a new and living way to enter God’s presence. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” Jesus said in John 14:6. Through faith in Christ, we can now confidently come to God in prayer, without fear or hesitation.

Father, thank You for ripping the barrier of my sin with the life of Your Son. May I never take for granted the privilege of being in Your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.