Betrayal, denial, sorrow, loneliness, arrested, falsely accused, mocked, crucified – all within one week and the last 3 chapters of Mark!
The Good News is that we also read that after being buried, Jesus rose from the grave and then ascended to Heaven.
Why did this all happen and what was the purpose?
Mark 15:38 (NIV), although a short verse, gives us a why. Let’s unpack this verse: “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
This curtain or veil covered the entrance way into the Holy of Holies. It was approximately 60 feet high, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick. The book of Exodus tells us that this thick veil was made from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. It was very heavy and made to be in place for a very long time! It is said to have required 300 priests to move it or hang it.
Yet, as Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed for the last moment, this curtain was supernaturally torn. Not from the bottom, so that someone could say it was done somehow by a man. No, it was torn from the top to the bottom.
Why is this significant? Once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies, to atone for the sin of the people. It was the place that represented God on earth. The priest was making an offering to make us acceptable to God and purify us.
In one moment of time, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice. He died that you and I might be free from the debt of sin. He died so that our relationship with the Father could be restored. He took all our sin to the cross, He carried it and as he breathed his last breath, the curtain that separated man from God was totally destroyed.
No longer just one day a year for atonement. Instead, permanent atonement once for all.
In John 14:6 Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.
He is the way. He made a way for us to be in relationship with the Father. He made a way for our sin to be forgiven. No more division, represented by this curtain, instead Jesus removed this barrier. God is not behind a curtain, unattainable to everyone but one. No, He is available to each one of us now.
If Jesus wasn’t betrayed and led to the cross to die for us, then there would be no salvation for anyone.
This is the Good News that Jesus died for you and for me. The story doesn’t end there, He rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven.
And as we step into Romans we will discover that when He died, I died, when He rose, I rose and when He ascended, so did I.
Ephesians 2:6 tells us: And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Today, you can have a relationship with Jesus because of the ultimate price He paid and you too can be seated in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Join me in the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I know that I have lived my life without you that I have sinned. I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for me and rose again to give me new life. As my first step in this new relationship, I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour. Please give me a new heart, a new life and your Holy Spirit. Please come and live in me. Thank you for saving me. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, contact us through the contact form on gochurch.cc, we would love to welcome you into your new relationship with Jesus.
Claire Morton
Founding Pastor
GoChurch Global