What Jesus Did! 'Holy of Holies' — Mark 15:37-38

The meaning of this event and its symbolism are powerful. The curtain in today's scripture was the one between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the Jewish Temple. For the Jews, the place of atonement* was in the Most Holy Place, and only the high priest could go to the place of atonement on behalf of the people and only once each year, on the Day of Atonement. The tearing of the curtain from top to bottom symbolized that the cross of Christ opened up the way for us to go straight to the place of atonement at any time — go to the place of ultimate forgiveness in the very presence of God (Exodus 30:6; Leviticus 16:2). Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins that completely cleanses us and makes us right with God. Neither physical barriers nor specific time or place constraints any longer stand between us and God's grace and mercy. Jesus opened up for us the way to the very heart of God. As horrible as the humiliation of the cross was for Jesus, it was even more glorious for us because it ushered in a new way (called the new covenant) for God to deal with his people. (Please read today's Related Scripture Readings for more information.) What Satan, through evil men, intended for harm, God used to bring great good. Jesus became our Savior, and his sacrifice became the basis of our salvation.

* The place of atonement, called the mercy seat in some translations, was the cover of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:17). Originally, the place of atonement was in the Tabernacle after the Israelites escaped from Egypt and then was in the Temple when it was built.