Yesterday, we experienced the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus pleaded with the God to remove his cup of wrath. Christ submitted to the will of the Father.
Today, Good Friday, is when Christ was crucified. He experienced the very thing he pleaded for God to remove not even 24 hours earlier. The cross is where Christ experienced the wrath of an all-powerful God and fully atoned for our sins. He took it all. He drank every last drop. Nothing was left.
One aspect of the Crucifixion of Christ that has always fascinated me is when Matthew tells us that, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). This curtain hung in the Temple as a way to remind worshipers of their separation from God because of sin – no one could approach the Holy of Holies. It was sacred, and, according to the Old Testament, anyone who dared enter this holy place was to die (Leviticus 16:2).
Yet, Matthew tells us that the moment Christ died, the curtain that guarded the way to the holy place was torn in two. It was torn from top to bottom, not bottom to top, so that no human being could have done it – God himself tore this curtain to exclaim, “All are free to come because of the death of my Son! I alone have done this and accomplished salvation for my people. You can now draw near to me without fear.”
How blessed are we to have free and full access to the Father because of Christ’s death! As the book of Hebrews so beautifully admonishes us, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus tomorrow, we can rejoice with exceedingly great joy knowing that Christ alone has atoned for the death of our sins – this atonement is complete and final – and we have full and free access to the Father.
Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.
Who is the artist?
The curtain was 6” thick.