Access Granted

Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 

Luke 23:44-46

Things were definitely different the day Jesus arrived on Earth as the Baby King.  And it was no different the day He died.

The Book of Luke tell us that some significant things were happening, as Jesus was dying on the cross at Calvary. First, the earth was completely dark. This happened at what is believed to be from noon to 3.00 p.m. in Jerusalem, and the Word says that the entire earth was completely darkened. (Matthew 27:45) This was certainly an unusual occurrence, not seen every day.

The Book of Matthew also records a great earthquake at the time of Christ’s death, which caused rocks to break open, and interestingly, graves broke open too, and the bodies of saints who had died earlier were resurrected. (Matthew 27:51-53)

But, perhaps the most meaningful occurrence (other than the death of the Christ) was when the veil of the temple was torn in two. This is significant, in that it was a supernatural, physical act, demonstrating that the death of Christ opened man’s way to God. The veil, which covered the Holy of Holies in the Temple, had always prevented anyone from entering to meet with God. Only a Levitical priest who had gone through a cleansing period and had followed the rules and regulations set out in the Book of Leviticus could enter the Holy of Holies once per year to atone for the sins of the people. He entered on behalf of the people, but the people had no direct relationship to God. The tearing, or renting of the veil, changed all that: It opened the door for all to enter. That all could “therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

You may say, “Really, did these things really happen?” Graves opening, no sunlight for 3 hours across the land, a veil ripping on its own … I can understand the skepticism, as it all sounds rather fantastical. But, when viewed from the perspective that the God Man was dying at the hands of man, at the hands of the very people whom He came to save, you can perhaps accept a bit of supernatural. After all, isn’t it incredible simply to believe that One Man would die for you? That One Man would come and be hated, beaten, despised, yet He still would choose to die, that we might be saved?

Let’s consider the testimony of someone who was there and who saw all of these supernatural occurrences. The Gospels record the words of a centurion at the death of Christ:

“So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:38)

If this centurion, who was not a follower of Christ before, could see all of the fantastical events of the day and claim that Christ is the Son of God, then why is it hard for us to believe it?

May we see the Lord in everything, knowing that He is working, sometimes in small ways and sometimes in fantastical ways, but always for our good. May we recognize the amazing events that occurred the day our Savior died – not just what was happening on the earth but what happened in Heaven. We received full access to the throne of grace. May we now access that throne in full confidence in Christ.