Beyond the Veil

 

BEYOND THE VEIL

Mary Ann Wray

It was the Feast of Passover. Lambs were slaughtered within the temple court in Jerusalem ceremoniously every year according to Mosaic law. This occurred repeatedly during the same Feast of Passover for nearly 1500 years. The Temple stood on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem: the same mountain Abraham led his son Isaac up for sacrifice approximately 2,000 years before. These Passover sacrifices occurred between 2:30-5:30 - just before sunset. The blood was caught in basins then poured out at the altar while Psalms were sung by the Levites. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, said over 250,00 lambs could be sacrificed during Passover to accommodate all the people.

But on this particular Passover, things would be completely different. The sacrificial system would be toppled once and for all. This “Good Friday” as Christians call it, before the sun set, God’s Only Son would become the final sacrificial lamb once and for all. He would be nailed to a cross, hung naked in shame, bloodied and bruised beyond recognition, by the Father’s Almighty Will. The Father used the hands of Roman Soldiers to scourge and crucify Him, but Adonai was the Master in Heaven orchestrating the killing. This seems unfathomable to the human mind:  that a father would kill his only son so that others might live eternally, but look at what Isaiah the Prophet said…

“Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53: 10-12

It was the unbelieving hypocrites that turned Jesus over to the Romans for ‘judgement’ but even Pilate washed his hands symbolically saying he saw no crime in this “man” called Christ. All of Jesus disciples were believing Jews. Only a small but powerful segment were His enemies. Yet, this was all prophesied and God used it all to fulfill His ultimate plan and purpose. His Only Begotten Son born of a Virgin, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, would be the eternal Sacrifice for sins once and for all (Exodus 12; 1 Cor 5: 7).  God chose to offer up His Son for the world to see on a wooden cross; not an altar of stone. Jesus Himself was the stone that the builders rejected-Israel’s religious leaders (Pharisees and priests). He became the Chief Cornerstone that many stumbled upon and still do (Psalm 118: 22; Matthew 21: 42).

Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham through faith (Galatians 3: 23-29), Yeshuah Hamashiach was the fulfillment of a Messianic prophetic act demonstrated by the father of faith Himself some 4,000 years ago. This patriarch’s willingness to offer up his only son, Isaac, birthed through Sarah the noblewoman, was but a type and shadow of what the Father would do some 2,000 years later. But God stayed Abraham’s hand while tightly clasping a knife, to sacrifice his son of promise, Isaac. It was a test. Yet, Abraham declared to Isaac beforehand, “God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering,” to reassure His son why they had no lamb in hand as they climbed Mount Moriah. And it was so. 

God had no intention of allowing Abraham to slay His son. Because this man would become the Father of Faith, he had to be tested severely. God Himself would and did provide a ram caught in a thicket (Genesis 22: 8). The thicket represented the law. Out of the law that was too cumbersome for man to adhere to would come the Messiah-the fulfillment of it. Once again prophesying of who and what would come as the final atonement for sins…His Only Begotten Son; not Abraham’s.

But when this spotless Lamb was slain something else happened that never happened before; the veil in the Temple was rent. The curtain was torn that separated the Holy of Holies from the common man. No man tore it in two. It was the hand of Almighty God that cut through the layers of darkness between man and God from top to bottom. The ceremonial system that had been in place for nearly 1500 years for the sacrifices of sin was no longer required. On that prophetic Day, man no longer needed a High Priest to offer sacrifice and pray to God for your sins as an atonement. You no longer needed a mediator to enter into the Holy of Holies and represent you before the Father hoping the sacrifice was acceptable to God. That prophetic day, Jesus paid it all.

All these centuries later, man still has within them the tendency to look to someone or something else to make amends for their wrong doings. But truth be told, when you look to another man or woman to be your high priest(ess), you insult the One who died on the cross for you. When The Messiah spoke “it is finished” it was done. He fulfilled all the requirements of the law and all the prophecies of the Old Covenant concerning the coming Messiah.  The sacrifice necessary for our sins was finally offered up, once and for all. There no longer remains another sacrifice for sin (See Hebrews 10). No other offering is needed. The Father’s requirement was fulfilled through His Only Begotten Son who He made Messiah for ALL humanity. You are not your own savior and Messiah as many different religions teach; not your good works, not your repetitive prayers, not your hymns of praise, not your trips to a spiritual Mecca or camp meetings, not your church attendance, and not your tithes and offerings. The sacrifices of God that are acceptable to him are a humble and contrite heart but the FINAL offering for sin was paid for by Christ Himself.

Then, and only then, are any sacrifices offered to Him in love and obedience blessed and accepted by Him. Why? Because you offer them out of gratitude to Jesus for cleansing your heart from sin and the penalty of it; you offer back to God, your gifts of love, not out of a sense of duty. You serve Him put of gratitude. You offer yourself back to Him because of Him; not because you are trying to earn favor with and appease Him.

It pleased the father to smite His Only Son and offer Him as THE sacrifice for our sins. This is a mystery hard for our prideful hearts and intellects to comprehend. It must be accepted by faith, not reasoned through human understanding. It doesn’t make sense to the natural mind. That is why Christ said that we must repent and become like a little child in our faith, in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. We must have childlike faith to even begin to understand His mysteries.

His grace is a mystery. His grace is divine. His grace is unmerited. His grace is unwarranted. His grace is His supernatural favor. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. We can only receive it when we repent and accept it by faith. It’s not something you can buy at any time. He gives grace to the humble but resists the proud of heart. Pride says “I can do this on my own”. Pride says “there’s more than one way to heaven.” Pride says “I don’t know Jesus and I don’t need him.” Pride says, “I go to church and I’m a good person.” Pride says, “I was sprinkled as an infant so I’m safe from the fire of hell.” Pride says “God understands me just the way I am.” Pride says “I don’t sin and I’ve never made a mistake that warrants me going to hell.” Pride says “I’m a good person.” Pride says “I don’t need the Bible; the Bible is for fanatics or preachers.” Pride says a lot of things, but it always starts with “I“. We need to check our own hearts to see who is King over it? Us or God?

The veil is rent. We have open access to the Father: no mediator is required any longer. We don’t need a saint, angel, Mother Mary, pastor, prophet or priest to open the curtain for us to come in. None of them can do it for you. It’s just Jesus. It’s just between Jesus and you…

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4: 14-16

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30