The Curtain

When Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:50 where it says 'And Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.' verse 51, 'And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.'

Now you may be thinking, okay, a curtain tore. What's up with that? Why is that important? These at least were my thoughts at one time.

You must know the history of this curtain to really understand the significance of the tearing.

In the Jewish temple, there were sections where only certain people could go. The outermost section, anybody and everybody could enter. The middle chamber was only open to priests, but then there was the inner chamber. This was the most Holy place, kept from the outside world by a curtain. No one could go in this chamber except on a certain day, the Day of Atonement. This is where one priest would go and ask for the forgiveness of all the people's sins. The priest had to follow every rule, every step when he entered this chamber. Before he walked in, he had to make an offering for his own sins, signifying that he too was sinful.

Now, there we see the curtain mentioned in the text. The curtain preventing anyone but that priest on that day to have access to God.

Look at Hebrews 10:19-20 "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,"

There is the curtain. What this is talking about is how we no longer are prevented from having a personal relationship with God. Back then, the only people that could talk to God were the priests. But when Jesus died for us on the cross, becoming the ultimate sacrifice, He broke that wall, or curtain, preventing us from access to a relationship with God.

Notice how the curtain tore. 'top to bottom' according to the text. The path from Heaven to earth was opened. Jesus opened that path, that line of communication, with His death on the cross. Now, in a way, we are priests. We can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

That is why a curtain tearing is mentioned in the Bible.

"Psalms 103:11-12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His stedfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us."

My Testimony

How to begin, that is a good question.

I guess a good place would be the day I realized I needed Him.

When I was five, I asked Jesus into my heart, but this past year I felt alone. I couldn’t remember that day. I couldn’t remember the date or even just doing it really. I held back for months, thinking, maybe I did and I shouldn’t worry about it. I went to a camp last summer, and there I made assurance of my salvation. I believed that Jesus, Who is the Son of God, was alive here on this earth and lived a perfect life. I know He died on the cross for my sins and rose again on the third day. It was awesome!

So, I was involved in my church. I did everything possible. I went to church, rain, snow, sleet, or ice, it didn’t matter. Every time the doors were open, unless I was sick, I was in that building.

I think it was not to long after that camp, I felt as though something was missing. A sense of, well, emptiness. Why was this? I was doing everything that they told me I was supposed to do, but why the emptiness? Why did the 'religious buzz’ wear off after I walked out the double doors?

What I didn’t know was my parents had this same feeling. My dad talked to a friend of his and this friend gave him a sermon by an awesome pastor. It was a sermon about being all about Jesus. My dad listened to that and was in awe. He let my mom listen to it, and then told us.

It wasn’t about what we did, what we wore, or anything like that. What it is about is Jesus! That is what, or really Who we were missing. Not that we didn’t already know Him as our Savior, no. It was we didn’t really have a good view of Him. He wasn’t really everything we looked at. Jesus wasn’t the center of our lives, like He should be.

After we put Jesus as the main focus of our lives, we began really studying the Bible, a lot of it as a family.

It's really awesome. I could never ask for a better family. My parents help me a lot.

So, now my purpose in life is to live for Jesus, fulfill the work He told us to do (you know, go, teach, baptize? The Great Commission? Check it out, you should.) and make sure I don't live a wasted life (John Piper's 'Don't Waste Your Life' awesome!). I hope to grow closer to God while going out into the community and telling others of His awesome love.

"Psalm 103:11-12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His stedfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us."