Why the Temple Veil Tore — Matthew 27 Explained

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, good to have everybody back. And again, we want to welcome our television audience and all of all people here in the studio. And during break time, I guess Helen put the things on the board with regard to our Oklahoma classes. Now I have to specify that that's Oklahoma, because you'd be surprised how many people are calling from other states wanting to know where I'm having classes. And of course, that goes back to the little canned announcement, you know, that if you want to be interested in a class in an area, now you have to realize that when we began this program, we never dreamed of being on longer than six months. We never dreamed of going beyond the area right around Tulsa. But now that we're reaching out over coast to coast on that satellite and various other cities as well, people are calling and asking, well, where do you have a class in our area? So I have to qualify that these classes that we're talking about are only here in eastern Oklahoma. And Helen has got them up here on the board. And if you can find your time to come and join us, we have a ball in these classes. We have a lot of discussion. We have a lot of questions. A lot of times we don't get further than maybe half a verse, but we just have a good time and fellowship. I remember one dear old deacon, I guess he was, he's long gone to be with the Lord, so I can share it now. And at that time we were still meeting in one of the colleges here in Oklahoma, just a plain old wooden floor and wooden student desks. And he said, you know, Les, he said, there's sweeter fellowship in this college classroom than I've ever enjoyed even in my own church. And he said, I love my church, I love my pastor. But he said, we just don't have the fellowship that we have in these classes. Well, I like to think it's because when you have a weeknight class like we do, and there's no loyalty to a local organization such as a church or anything like that. And if they come out on a weeknight, it's because they love the book. It isn't because they want to hear me, but they're hungry for the Word. And when you get believers into the book, you're going to have fellowship, and it's just part of it. And so we always encourage people, if you're in the area, yes, join us for one of these weeknight classes because we do have a good time. All right, let's pick right up then where we left off, and that was in Matthew 26 in our last program. And we're going to come right down to where we stop with Judas in verse 50, where he now betrays him, and that huge number of soldiers that have come with him have tried to arrest him. And one of the other accounts, of course, makes it so plain that they were all stricken backwards just simply from the power of Christ's voice. But anyway, I'm going to move on now through chapter 26, through his mock trial, and of course to Peter's denial. But I think I want to check on one other verse. I just had it before the cameras started going. Yeah, it'd be in chapter 27. I was afraid I was going over it. But after we cover Peter's denial and the cock crowing, then, no, there was a verse. I knew it was. Back in 26, I'm sorry. I knew I was overlooking it. Back in chapter 26, they're still there in the garden, and Jesus is speaking. Drop down to verse 55 and 56. And in that same hour, said Jesus to the multitudes, are you come out as against a thief, with swords and staves, for to take me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple. You laid no hold on me. But all this was done, now Jesus is still speaking remember, but all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Everything that had been written previously had to be fulfilled, otherwise the Scripture would lose its efficacy. But now the next statement is what I wanted you to see. Then all the disciples, what, forsook him and fled. Did you get that? Ran scared like rabbits. But, now here's the point I wanted to make, and that's why I wanted to be sure I didn't go by it. These same men, after the resurrection, had no such fear. What made the difference? The power of resurrection. Now if you don't remember anything else from this half hour, remember that. It was the power of his resurrection that transformed these men from scared rabbits to men who stood up against Rome, they stood up against the rulers of Israel, all because of resurrection power. Now we'll be coming to that probably in the next program when Paul writes to the Philippians in his little letter, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. And you see that's where it's all at in this age of grace. Now before that you see, the resurrection has not even been mentioned, it's not a part of that Kingdom Gospel, but it becomes the very foundation of where we are today. And when people tell me, well I heard a fellow, or I've had a Sunday school teacher, and you'd be surprised how often I hear this, that they can believe His earthly ministry, they can believe His miracles, they can believe His crucifixion, but they have problems with His resurrection. Well now beloved, if you have a problem with the resurrection, you're going to have a problem getting into glory. I'll just put it plain, because unless you can believe the resurrection, you have no salvation tonight. Now that may be exclusivist, but I'm not, it's the Scripture. But it took the power of the resurrection to transform these men. Now if you come with me to chapter 27, they've gone all the way through these night time hours with His mock trial, and now they bring Him up to verse 11 before the governor, the Roman authorities. And Jesus stood before the governor. Now think about that, just think about that for a moment. Who is He? He's the Creator, and this is what I want to emphasize. Here we have the Creator of the whole universe, we have the Creator of these very men who now are sitting in judgment over Him. And there He stands, meek as a lamb, doesn't say a word, what could He have done? One word and He could have just annihilated the whole city of Jerusalem with one word. But there He stood before that governor. Now when you realize a satellite goes from coast to coast, you never know who may just accidentally tune in. And if some great government leader would happen to just stop at this program at this moment, you know what I'd like to impress upon them? Here Jesus stood before that Roman authority, but one day that same Roman authority is going to stand before Him, as will presidents and kings and senators, corporate heads, the great men of this world. Let me take you back to Revelation. Revelation chapter 20. And we're living in a day of such gross unbelief where they scoff this book, not knowing what they're scoffing. They just don't realize how meticulously, and this is what I've tried to show as I've been teaching all the way up from Genesis, how that this whole book has been so supernaturally put together that human intellect could have never done it. And yet they refuse to consider this. But here it is now in Revelation 20 beginning at verse 11, and this will be at the end of time and the human experience and as we're ready to usher into eternity. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, there was found no place for them. And of course the person on the throne is Christ. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. Do you see the reversal now? Back here in Matthew God was standing before that Roman governor. Now don't ever lose sight of the fact that Christ was God, He never laid aside His deity, He laid aside His glory, but never His deity. And so God the Son stood before that Roman governor, but oh one day unless that governor was saved, and we don't know about it, but otherwise He someday is going to stand before that same one. Only this time He's going to be in His role as Judge and the Almighty God. And the books were and the books were opened, another book which is the Book of Life. And so all the great men of this world will one day stand before Him to be judged and to face their eternal doom. Alright now if you'll come back with me then quickly to Matthew chapter 27 once again. The nation of Israel now is on trial, more than Jesus is of course, and beginning with verse 15, and I'm not going to read it word for word, but as they now fry out that they don't want Jesus, they want Barabbas, and Pilate still keeps trying to convince the crowd that he can find nothing wrong in this Jesus. And then verse 24, when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, he couldn't get to first base with these Jews, they would not listen to him. And when he saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You think he is? No he isn't. Pilate too one day is going to stand before the righteous Judge, and he's going to have to admit, Yes, I could have done what I didn't do. And so he condescends of course, and verse 25. Now here is a crucial verse, especially as it pertains to the nation of Israel. Then answered all the people, now remember this is a Jewish crowd, not Gentile. Now of course we've got the Gentile soldiers, the Romans, but the crowd out there are Jews. Remember it's a feast day, and Jerusalem is packed with Jews from all over the then known world. And then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children." Isn't that amazing? What a horrible statement. Now not only were they willing to take the time to say it, but they were willing to pass it on to generations to come. And did it? Absolutely. The Jews have been suffering for the last almost 2,000 years, and it's not over. Again I had the young Jewish man from Hollywood that watches our program call the other day, and he realizes time is short, we're close to the end. He's a Judaistic Jew, and I said, Don't you realize the horrors that are facing your nation? He said, Oh yeah. Now he said, We don't think it's going to be as long as you think it is. But he said, Yes, we know we're going to go through some terrible days. And all because they had rejected their Messiah when He was offered to them on the first round. Well now as we'll move on, verse 27. Ephesians 1. The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, gathered unto him a whole band, and they stripped him, and put on a scarlet robe. Now all of this was done in scornful mockery. And when they had plaited that crown of thorns, now unless you've been to Israel and can see that thorn tree, or unless you're aware of some of our thorny locust trees, I suppose come close. But these thorns were humongous, and I think most of you down here know that even a locust thorn, if it punctures your skin it hurts, and it has something in it that just acts like a poison. Well anyway this crown of thorns was of these long type thorns, and they of course pressed it right down on his skull, and the more they would make him suffer the better they liked it. Then they put upon his head the crown of thorns, and a reed in his right hand. They bowed the knee before him in mockery, and mocked him, saying, Hail king of the Jews. They spit upon him, took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to bear his cross. Then when they came to Golgotha, that is to say a place of the skull, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of by the prophet." Now that goes back to David in the Psalms, they cast lots upon my vesture, and in verse 36 they said, "...sitting down, they watched him." Now I'm going to take you all the way back to Isaiah chapter 52. Isaiah 52, and come all the way down to verse 14. Isaiah 52, verse 14. Now it wasn't just the physical abuse that caused this, as we're going to read, but it was also the spiritual. Because you want to remember, God is laying on him all the sin of mankind. And so that coupled with the physical abuse at the hands of the Romans and the crowd around him, this was the result. Isaiah 52, verse 14, "...as many were astonished at thee, his visage was so marred, distorted, more than any man, and his form more marred, more distorted, than the sons of men or anyone had ever experienced before." Now I want you to keep that in mind, that this was the last picture that his followers saw of him as he hung on the cross. Totally disfigured I think to the point of almost not looking human. And the reason I want you to remember that is when poor old Martha sees him standing and thinks he's the gardener. I think all of this will enter into why she couldn't comprehend at her first glance who it really was. But we'll come to that later. I'm always putting people off and letting you hang by a string, but maybe you have a reason for that. Come back with me again to Matthew, and as they crucified him, verse 37, "...they set up over his head his accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Now again you have to sort of delve into all four of the Gospels to get the full inscription, because all four will give you a few different words. And so some people say, see the Scripture isn't constant, it contradicts. But if you go through all four Gospels you'll find that the whole inscription, when you put them all together, was, This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. That was the whole of the inscription. And even though Matthew doesn't give the whole, John doesn't give the whole, but when you put them all together, then you get it. Alright verse 38, "...then there were two thieves crucified with him, and you all know the account of that, and how that the one finally turned to him, and recognized who he was." Now verse 45, "...now from the sixth hour," now he was no doubt placed on the cross somewheres toward noon, and the sixth hour would be noon, "...from noon until the third hour, or from noon until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land for that three hour period of time." In that three hour period of time there is no record of Jesus saying a single word. He hung there seemingly in silence. And it was only after that, when He now comes out and says in verse 46, "...that about the ninth hour he cried the loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is to say, "...my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Now the reason I'm emphasizing this three hour period, and again I'm going to put it off for the time being, is because I want to be able to tie that in with one of the acts on the Day of Atonement, which I felt was fulfilled in these three hours. So you just put that on hold, and we'll come to that in a later lesson. But there is a reason why I think that this three hours was silent. Darkness covered the whole land, I think probably the whole earth. Of course we don't know because at that time the population was centered in the Middle East and the area of the Roman Empire. But anyway, you come on down to verse 50. When Jesus had cried again with a loud voice, He yielded up the ghost of the Spirit. In other words, of His own volition He gave up His own life. Even though Peter in Acts chapter 2 will tell the nation of Israel, you killed the Messiah. In other aspects of Scripture we feel the Romans put Him to death, but in actuality neither one did. No one took His life. He gave it up of His own free will. They couldn't take His life if they'd have wanted to. But He yielded up the ghost, and immediately verse 51. Ephesians 2.1 "...the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent." Now a lot of people miss this. I know I had some folks who were studying this in Sunday school over the Easter season, and their class just seemingly couldn't understand why the veil was rent, and especially why from the top to the bottom. Well I thought everybody knew that for goodness sakes. I was just shocked that people who had been in Sunday school and church all their life didn't know this. But you see the veil was that part in the tabernacle and later in the temple that separated the sanctuary, the fore part of that tabernacle in which the priests ministered daily from the Holy of Holies, wherein was the Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God, and the Shekinah Glory and all that. And it was only behind the veil that Aaron the High Priest would go once a year on the Day of Atonement, which we're going to look at in one of these lessons now associated with all this. And only once a year, and then after the temple was built in Solomon's temple, that veil was so thick and so heavy, I think it's Josephus that sort of gives us an indication that a team of oxen couldn't have ripped it apart. And yet the account says that it was ripped in two from the top to the bottom. Now the reason Scripture makes it from the top to the bottom is to prove that this is something men had nothing to do with. This was totally an act of a miracle working God, that the veil was rent from top to the bottom. Indicating now that the way into the presence of God had been made possible by His death, because the veil in symbolism spoke of His Body of Flesh. And it's that suffering of the Body of Flesh that made it possible now for mankind to come into the very Throne Room of Heaven, not just by way of the High Priest once a year, but as Paul then teaches that we can now come boldly into the Throne Room because of what has been accomplished. So this veil was an indication now that by God's own act, the way in had been opened up. Now what I always want people to understand of course is that immediately what do you suppose the Jews did? Well they sewed it back up, and they went on their way with their temple worship never realizing what had caused the veil to rent. And so as temple worship goes on then into the Acts, that veil is again intact. But anyhow these are little tidbits I think that a lot of times people just totally miss, but it was rent from the top to the bottom, and then as we saw in previous lessons, verse 52, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who slept, or who while He was on the cross, but when? After His resurrection, because He had to be the First. Now this is an absolute scriptural mandate, that no one had ever been resurrected from the dead before Christ was. He is the First, and I've pointed this out I think even on the program, and I know I have to my classes here in Oklahoma, that when you have people raised from the dead, such as Elijah and the widow's son, and in Christ's earthly ministry, or even the likes of Lazarus, that was not resurrection. That was merely bringing someone back to life only to die again. But resurrection as it was precipitated, if I may use that word, by Christ's own resurrection, that opened the door now to the whole doctrine of life after death, and it had to begin with the Creator Himself. So these are just basic doctrines that you have to rest on. Resurrection never took place until Jesus was raised from the dead. Then immediately after His resurrection to show the power of it, and in order to fulfill the first fruits as it was practiced back in the Old Testament economy, now you have these that are brought out of the graves out of the area of Jerusalem, and they went into the Holy City, and appeared unto many. Now I know the Scripture doesn't tell us that they went on up into glory, but they had to have because they were resurrected. They weren't just raised from the dead as Lazarus to die again, and then of course that would fulfill the whole idea of first fruits. Well we only have just a few seconds left, and so then we have the frustration of the Jewish leaders as well as the Romans. They are going to make sure that the sepulcher will be sealed, because they remembered that He had said that after three days He would rise from the dead. So they set extra guard around the tomb, and they sealed it. They did everything humanly possible so that the disciples couldn't come in and steal the body, and then claim that He had been raised from the dead. Oh the frustrations of simple men. How they think that they can withstand a holy Animate, and people haven't changed. My you know we've got world leaders tonight that think they can tell God what to do back there in the Middle East. It'll never work. or about this program. Write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.