During the time of Christ, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was on 40 acres. The Temple building itself was 150 feet by 150 feet. Within the Temple building was a sacred precinct holding a sanctuary divided into two parts, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. In the Holy Place was a lampstand made of pure gold, having six flowery branches extending from its sides, three to a side. There was a table that held the Bread of the Presence, and there was a golden altar of incense (Heb.9:2) on which incense was burned daily to symbolize the prayers of the people rising fragrantly to God.
The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant which held the Ten commandments received by Moses on Mt. Sinai. On each corner of the Ark was a cherub with outstretched wings. The Ark was regarded as God’s throne. The Holy of Holies was regarded as the place of God’s presence on earth.
Once each year, the Jewish High Priest sacrificed a ram as a special sin offering for the people and took its blood into the Holy of Holies where he would sprinkle (with his finger) some blood on the Ark cover to make atonement for the people’s sins. Only the Jewish High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, and he did so only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
There was a curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Exodus 26:31-33: “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen… Hang the curtain from clasps. It will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.” The curtain served to separate the people from the Holy of Holies. Believers did not have direct access to the presence of God.
Readers of the Bible are often surprised to learn how much of a blood motif there is in Scripture. The letter to the Hebrews repeatedly draws attention to sacrificial blood. Heb.9:22: “Indeed the law requires that almost everything is purified with blood.”
The Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes the sacrificial nature of the Passion and Death of Christ. It teaches that it was the will of God that Jesus should make the oblation of his body to obtain the removal of the sins that separated humanity from God. Christ’s atoning sacrifice supplanted the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant. Heb.10:4: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” With the sacrifice of Christ, God doesn’t just forgive, He forgets. Heb.10:17: “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.” Christ’s sacrifice was made for all time; it needed no repetition; the offering was eternal. The work of redemption was finished, completed. The priests of the Old Testament offered sacrifices repeatedly, while Christ offered a single, unique sacrifice valid for all time.
The requirement made by God calling for Christ offering himself as a voluntary self-sacrifice seems to many moderns somewhat primitive, and they wonder if this was the only way the ransom could be paid. The answer seems to be “yes,” it was the necessary way.
Luke 27:44 reports that at the moment of Jesus’ death the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies “was torn in two.” The curtain shielding the Holy of Holies was torn apart signifying that now, by the blood of Christ, we can boldly enter the sanctuary behind the curtain (Heb.6:19). The torn curtain indicates that, thanks to the blood of Jesus, we have open access to God. We can enter with confidence into God’s presence.
In times of trial, I make use of these images from Hebrews. I’m now aware of myself as having free access to God. With a firm trust and bold confidence (Heb.10:19) I imagine myself pushing aside the torn curtain and boldly with confidence and gratitude approaching the throne of God, reassured of God’s acceptance. I now have free speech with God. I can speak to Him as a son to a Father, even though I am a sinner. I can speak to Him with all confidence and without fear, confident this is the way He wants me to come to Him. He wishes me to speak to Him without fear, as His child. There’s a mutual understanding. God has a father’s understanding of me.
This is part of Hebrews’ view of reality. The ransom’s been paid by the death of Christ.
Mark 10:45: “For the Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many.” We now have a right of entry into the Holy of Holies, and what that stands for, namely, we now have access to God. We can, with confidence go beyond the torn curtain into the sanctuary where the living God dwells. The sacrifice of Christ has gained the right of entry; the blood of Christ has opened direct access to God. We can approach God with confidence and tell him our concerns. One result of studying Hebrews is you don’t look at a crucifix the same way again.
The author of Hebrews stresses that certain behaviors are to accompany passing through the torn curtain. There is to be mutual love, with an emphasis on hospitality. Marriage is to be honored, and the marriage bed kept undefiled by fornicators and adulterers. One’s life is to be free from love of money; one is to be content with what one has. One should not forget to do good and to share what one has; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. Finally, the author asserts “may the God of peace, by the blood of Jesus our Lord, furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will (Hebrews 13).”
