Mark 15:38: The Temple Veil is Torn in Two. A supernatural sign immediately follows Jesus's death. The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, signifying that Jesus's sacrificial death had removed the barrier separating sinful humanity from holy God. Mark briefly records this powerful sign, while Matthew provides an expanded account of additional supernatural phenomena that accompanied Jesus's death.
In Mark 15:38, immediately after Jesus breathes His last, the veil of the temple is supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom.
After describing the moment when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:37), Mark immediately records a supernatural phenomenon that occurred at this terrible and momentous moment:
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
Thetemple was located in Jerusalem. Its buildings, situated atop a large hill, were likely visible from the general vicinity where Jesus was crucified outside the city gates (Hebrews 13:12).
Thetemple was the center of the Jewish sacrificial system. It was also the headquarters of the Sadducees--the priestly order whose leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah and illegally conspired to murder Him.
Theveil of the temple is described in Exodus 26:31-35. It divided the main sanctuary into two separate rooms (Exodus 26:33).
The first chamber was called "the holy place." The second chamber, located behind the veil, was called "the Holy of Holies."
God’s presence on earth was associated with the Holy of Holies because this chamber originally held the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat (Leviticus 16:2).
No one was permitted to go beyond the temple veil and enter the Holy of Holies except the high priest. And the high priest was only permitted to enter on one occasion each year--Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement" (Leviticus 16:2-19).
The veilof the temple was therefore a physical and symbolic barrier between sinful man and the presence of holy God.
But at the moment Jesus died, theveil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
The direction of the temple veil's tearing is significant.
The veilwas not tornfrom the bottom upward, as a man who was standing beneath it might attempt to tear it. It wastorn in two from top to bottom (v 38). This signifies that God is the One who tore the temple veil in two.
The Mishnah--the ancient oral tradition of the Jews--describes the dimensions of the temple veil:
"The curtain has the thickness of a handbreadth…And with regard to the dimensions of the curtain, its length was forty cubits, as the height of the ceiling of the Sanctuary; and its width was twenty cubits, to match the width of the entrance." (Mishnah, Shekalim 8.5)
These ancient measurements approximately convert to sixty feet high and thirty feet wide, with a thickness of four or more inches. Moreover, the curtain was extremely heavy. The Mishnah explains that "the curtain was so heavy that they needed three hundred priests to carry it when they would immerse it" (Mishnah, Shekalim 8.5).
If these descriptions accurately describe the veil Mark refers to, its tearing would have been an extraordinary event.
The temple veil was so thick that no man could have simply torn it apart. And if someone had somehow attempted to tear it, he would naturally have torn it from the bottom upward, not from top to bottom.
Only God could have tornthe veil this way. The direction of the temple veil's tearing is significant. It was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38). This signifies that God is the One who tore the temple veil in two.
How the Jews May Have Understood the TornVeil
The tearing of the temple veil would have deeply disturbed the Jews.
They may have interpreted it to signify that the LORD's presence was no longer with Israel.
They may also have interpreted it as a sign of the LORD's displeasure and judgment against Israel.
Both interpretations would have been heavy, disheartening, and ominous--especially considering that darkness had recently covered the land (Mark 15:33).
Luke records the mournful response of the crowds who had witnessed the crucifixion:
"And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts." (Luke 23:48)
In ancient Jewish culture, beating one's breast was a demonstration of mourning, woe, and dread.
But these ominous interpretations of the tornveil would only have been partially correct. The fullest significance of the tearing of the veil was the opposite of fear and dread. The barrier separating holy God from sinful humanity had been removed through Jesus's sacrifice. The main significance of theveil of the temple being torn in two was good news.
The tearing of the temple veil indicated that the barrier separating holy God and sinful man was no longer an obstacle in the relationship between the Creator and His image bearers.
Jesus removed the barrier.
Jesus's death completed the perfect and everlasting sacrifice for sin (John 19:30,Hebrews 10:12). Mark strongly connects Jesus's death with the tearing ofthe temple veil by placing these two events immediately beside one another:
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." (Mark 15:37-38)
The connection between these two events is unmistakable. Jesus died, and the barrier was torn apart.
The author of Hebrews explains the theological significance of what Jesus accomplished through His sacrifice.
The Law and the sacrificial system that was delivered through Moses was good, but it was insufficient (Hebrews 7:18-19). It could reveal God's standards and show the way to live, but among other things, animal sacrifices could not permanently remove sins (Hebrews 10:1-4, 11). But Jesus lived faithfully according to God's will and perfectly fulfilled the Law unto death.
Through His death, Jesus established the promised new and better covenant (Hebrews 7:22, 8:7-13). His obedience on the cross was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12). All the sacrifices before Jesus were shadows and copies pointing forward to His perfect and everlasting sacrifice.
The author of Hebrews metaphorically associates the temple veil with Jesus's body and flesh which was torn on the cross. He exhorts believers to draw near to God with faith in Jesus:
"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith." (Hebrews 10:19-22a)
Through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, believers may now approach God directly and with confidence.
The evening before Jesus died, during His Passover Seder with His disciples, Jesus broke the unleavened bread and said:
"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (Luke 22:19)
The tearing of Jesus's body is symbolized by both the breaking of the unleavened bread and the tearing of the temple veil.
The breaking of Jesus's body and the death of the Son of God is what makes eternal life possible. His sacrifice also allows believers to live with God dwelling within them and enables them to approach God's presence to "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and He is the perfect the High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:23-28, 9:11-14, 10:11-14). It is through Him that we have direct access to God. The sacrificial system is no longer needed for that purpose. In the words of the author of Hebrews, the old covenant was rendered "obsolete" for the purpose of bringing man to God (Hebrews 8:13).
In this context, "obsolete" means that the sacrificial system has no saving value. This does not mean that the author of Hebrews was calling upon Jewish believers to cease being Jewish or to abandon every Jewish custom. For instance, the Apostle Paul continued to practice Jewish customs and maintain his Jewish identity throughout his life (Acts 28:17).
Rather, the author of Hebrews was calling upon Jewish believers to cease relying upon their Jewish customs and sacrifices to bring them righteousness before God and to rely upon Jesus's perfect sacrifice and priesthood alone.
The tearing of the temple veil also signified that the manifestation of God's divine presence was no longer going to be confined to a temple of stone.
Fifty days after Jesus's resurrection, God sent His Spirit to live in the hearts of believers, just as Jesus foretold (John 14:16-17, 16:7, 13-15, Acts 1:5, 8). This took place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
The Timing the Veil's Tearing Coincides with the Temple Sacrifice
The "obsoleting" of the sacrificial system for saving value is further signified by the timing of the temple veil being torn in two (v 38).
The ninth hour was approximately 3:00 p.m. Jews would have recognized this as the time when the priests would have been offering the festival sacrifices during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The tearing of the temple veil at the moment of Jesus’s death seems to signify that the temple sacrifice was now eclipsed by Jesus’s perfect sacrifice.
Jesus's sacrifice of Himself made further sacrifices unnecessary to atone for sin (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12).
The tearing of the temple veil therefore demonstrated the tremendous spiritual consequences of Jesus's death. Jesus had completed His mission. The Servant had given His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The sacrifice was complete. The barrier was removed. The way into God's presence was opened.
MATTHEW'S EXPANDED ACCOUNT AND ITS JEWISH SIGNIFICANCE
Mark's account is characteristically concise for his Roman audience and keeps the focus on the main events of his narrative, largely stripped of expansive flourishes.
He records one supernatural phenomenon immediately following Jesus's death--the tearing of the temple veilin two from top to bottom (v 38). Mark offers this one event as a representative for the many events that occurred when Jesus died which signified the importance of His death.
Matthew, writing to Jews, many of whom were in Jerusalem when Jesus died, provides a more exhaustive list of the supernatural signs that accompanied the Messiah's death.
Matthew records four phenomena:
"the veil of the temple was tornin two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:51a),
"the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised." (Matthew 27:52)
Mark condenses Matthew's expanded account and focuses exclusively on the tearing of the temple veil.
This difference is consistent with the distinctive emphases and audiences of their Gospels. Matthew wrote for a predominantly Jewish audience and frequently emphasized Jewish prophecy, symbolism, and cultural significance. Mark wrote primarily for a Roman and Gentile audience and kept a quicker pace of events. Mark generally condensed Jewish material that would have required extensive cultural explanation.
Nevertheless, the additional signs Matthew records provide important context for understanding the cosmic and prophetic significance of Jesus's death.
We have already considered the temple veil being tornin two, now we will consider the other three events that took place when Jesus died that are recorded in Matthew. Matthew is the only Gospel writer to mention the next three phenomena: the earthquake, the splitting rocks, and the dead saints coming back to life.
The Earth Shook
The second phenomenon Matthew records is: "and the earth shook" (Matthew 27:51b).
Matthew's mention of the earthquake also seems to fulfill prophetic imagery concerning the day of the LORD and divine judgment. The prophet Joel wrote:
"Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness." (Joel 2:10)
The darkened sky and shaking earth accompanying Jesus's death evoke this prophetic imagery of divine judgment.
The Rocks Were Split
The third phenomenon Matthew records is: "and the rocks were split" (Matthew 27:51c).
When Jews heard that rocks were split, they may have remembered Moses in the wilderness.
As Moses led Israel through the desert, he struck the rock and the LORD miraculously caused life-giving water to gush forth so that the people and their livestock could drink (Exodus 17:5-6,Numbers 20:10-11). These events were retold throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 78:15, 20, 105:41, 114:7-8, Isaiah 48:21).
There are no reports of physical water flowing when the rocks split at Jesus's death.
But Jesus, who is a second Moses, provides living water--spiritual water that gives spiritual life in a desert of sin.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman:
"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (John 4:10)
Jesus also proclaimed:
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-38)
Jesus also promised:
"I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." (Revelation 21:6b)
This spiritual drink of eternal life became freely available to everyone upon the Messiah's death, and its availability seems to have been signified by the splitting of the rocks.
Another possible meaning of the rocks that were split at the Messiah's death corresponds to how nature recognized Jesus's identity as the Messiah and Creator while His own people did not (John 1:10-11).
When the Pharisees scolded Jesus for allowing the multitudes to praise Him as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem a few days earlier, Jesus responded:
"I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" (Luke 19:40)
With the support of the people now silent and their voices having been used to condemn Jesus, the stones were, in a sense, "crying out" and testifying to His true identity as the rocks were split.
The Tombs Were Opened and the Saints Were Raised
The fourth phenomenon Matthew records is: "The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised" (Matthew 27:52).
Of the four signs mentioned by Matthew, this is perhaps the most remarkable.
This phenomenon happened in two stages.
First, the tombs were opened. This occurred when Jesus died, at the same time the veil of the temple was tornin two (v 38), the earth shook, and the rocks were split (Matthew 27:51-52).
The second and more remarkable part of this phenomenon occurred three days later--after Jesus's resurrection. Matthew writes: "and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:53).
Matthew records that it was the bodies of saints who had fallen asleep that were raised.
The expression "fallen asleep" (Matthew 27:52) indicates that these people were dead. On one hand, this expression is a euphemism--a figure of speech used to speak delicately about the harsh reality of death.
But in a larger sense, "fallen asleep" (Matthew 27:52) accurately describes the state of death for those who belong to the LORD, because death is not final (1 Thessalonians 4:14). God will restore them to life. From an earthly perspective, it is very much as though they have fallen asleep for a time. When God wakes them--and us--up, we will be together again (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
The fact that Matthew says the "bodies" (Matthew 27:52) of saints were raised indicates that these saints were restored to physical, natural life and were not raised into their final, eternal resurrection bodies.
The resurrection of these saints therefore seems to have been similar to the resurrections of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:22-23, 35-43), the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus (John 11:38-46).
Since Matthew does not say that these saints were resurrected with new spiritual bodies, it seems that they eventually physically died again.
Neither Matthew nor history tells us anything more about these saints. Matthew only tells us that they came out of their tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
Matthew specifies that it was "saints" (Matthew 27:52) who were raised to life. The term "saints" means "holy ones." The Bible uses this term to describe ordinary people who are faithful believers and followers of God.
Matthew does not say that unbelievers experienced this resurrection. The most natural understanding of his description is that only saints were raised.
By using the term "saints," (Matthew 27:52) Matthew likely means faithful people who believed God and clung to His promises during troubling and contentious times.
These may have included saints from the Old Testament era or from the intertestamental period leading up to the life of Jesus, during the Roman occupation, the corruption of the priesthood, and the exploitation of the Pharisees.
Matthew explicitly says that many of these saints were raised.
His account also indicates that this resurrection was centered around Jerusalem. After Jesus's resurrection, these saints "entered the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:53).
The resurrection of these saints appears to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy:
"Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits." (Isaiah 26:19)
The context of this prophecy is a song of Judah calling upon God's people to remain faithful during a time of distress when the wicked appear to prosper, because the LORD will defeat His enemies and rescue His people.
The resurrection of the saints was also a kind of fulfillment of the Festival of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-14) and a foretaste of the future bodily resurrection of all who believe in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
Mark omits these additional phenomena for the sake of brevity.
Matthew's Jewish audience, many of whom were alive and experienced these events, would have immediately recognized the prophetic imagery and significance of the shaking earth, splitting rocks, opened tombs, and resurrected saints.
Mark's Roman audience did not require these Jewish allusions for Mark's primary purpose.
Mark focuses on the sign that most directly demonstrates the result of Jesus's completed mission--theveil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom--and how Jesus's faithful service and sacrificial death had opened the way to God.
ADDITIONAL JEWISH REPORTS OF OMINOUS TEMPLE SIGNS
In addition to the supernatural signs recorded in the Gospels, Jewish writings report other ominous phenomena associated with the temple around the time of Jesus's death.
These reports are especially interesting in light of Mark's statement that theveil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
The "western light" most likely refers to a lamp on the Temple menorah.
The menorah was supposed to continually burn before the LORD (Exodus 27:20-21,Leviticus 24:2-4). The light going out could therefore have been understood by the Jews as an ominous sign concerning God's presence and favor. The menorah's light going out may have signified how the old order was passing away. And that we no longer gained access to God through the sacrificial system, instead we have access to God through Jesus who established the new and better covenant through His sacrifice (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6-13).
2. The Temple Doors Mysteriously Swung Open
Jewish tradition also reports that the doors of the temple began opening by themselves during this same general period.
The Babylonian Talmud reads:
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple…the doors of the Sanctuary opened by themselves." (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39b)
The doors of the temple were massive. Their swinging open by themselves would have been an ominous sign. The opening of the temple doors could have been interpreted as exposing the temple to invasion or destruction.
Within the context of Jesus's death, however, the opening of the temple doors also makes for an interesting correspondence with the tearing of the temple veil. Just as when Jesus died, the barrier separating holy God from sinful man was removed, so too when He died did God's Spirit leave the temple in Jerusalem so that He could live in human hearts.
The temple doors opening themselves may have signified that God's presence was no longer going to be confined to the temple of stone. God's new earthly temple would be the hearts of His people through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27,1 Corinthians 3:16).
3. The Scarlet Thread on the Yom Kippur Scapegoat Ceased to Turn White
The third ominous phenomenon reported in Jewish tradition concerns the Day of Atonement.
According to Jewish tradition, a scarlet thread associated with the Yom Kippur ceremony had previously turned white as a sign connected with Israel's atonement. According to the tradition, the scarlet thread would turn white if God accepted the sacrifice for the nation and it would remain red if God did not accept the sacrifice.
This reported phenomenon was associated with Isaiah's words:
"Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
But Jewish tradition reports that around forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the scarlet thread ceased turning white.
"During the forty years prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, the lot for God did not arise in the High Priest's right hand at all. So too, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white." (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39b)
The cessation of the scarlet thread turning white at the Day of Atonement following Jesus's sacrifice on the cross may have been a sign to the Jews that Jesus's death was the perfect sacrifice for sin.
The Day of Atonement sacrifices could not permanently remove sin. They had to be repeated year after year (Hebrews 10:1-4). Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice once for all (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10-14).
If the Jewish tradition is accurate, then around the time Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice of Himself, the traditional sign associated with the old Day of Atonement ceremony ceased.
Once again, this Jewish tradition is not Scripture, and it should not be treated as proof of the Gospel account. But the correspondence is remarkable.
According to the Gospels, Jesus died and the veil of the temple was torn in two (v 38) (Matthew 27:50-51,Mark 15:37-38). According to Jewish tradition, beginning around the same general period, the western temple light went out, the temple doors began opening by themselves, and the scarlet thread associated with the Day of Atonement ceased turning white.
Taken together, these reports paint an ominous picture of the temple and its ceremonies during the final forty years before its destruction. But they also point to the good news of Jesus, that we now have direct access to God through Him.
NON-JEWISH EXTRA-BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS OF THE PHENOMENA AT JESUS'S DEATH
In addition to what the Bible records, there are ancient accounts that may describe some of the natural phenomena accompanying Jesus's death.
These accounts are interesting, but they should be treated cautiously.
They are not inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and the two Greco-Roman accounts considered below survive secondhand through later Christian writers.
Nevertheless, they may preserve ancient reports of the darkness and earthquake which occurred around the time of Jesus's crucifixion.
Jerome's source was Phlegon of Tralles, the chronicler of "The Olympiad," an account of historical and major natural events stretching back to the time of the first Olympic games.
Phlegon's original work has largely been lost to history, but Jerome quotes him as saying:
"However in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour, day turned into dark night, so that the stars were seen in the sky, and an earthquake in Bithynia toppled many buildings of the city of Nicaea." (Jerome, Chronicles, Olympiad 202)
If this chronology is correct, the crucifixion darkness and earthquake occurred during the same year in which Phlegon reportedly described an earthquake and a darkness at noon in Bithynia.
It is also possible that Phlegon was describing a separate event and that Jerome associated it with the spectacular signs accompanying Jesus's death.
If these were the same events, the earthquake would have been felt approximately 900 miles from Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified.
Thallus's Possible Account of the Darkness, Earthquake, and Split Rocks
The second ancient account is also preserved secondhand.
Africanus summarized an account by Thallus, a first or second-century historian who apparently mentioned three of the natural signs associated with Jesus’s death:
Darkness,
Rocks Being Split
The Earth Shaking
Africanus's summary of Thallus reads:
"On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun." (Julius Africanus, Extant Fragments of the Chronography, 18)
There is no specific date attached to the events Thallus describes. But the account indicates that these things occurred "in Judea"--the district where Jesus was crucified--and in "other districts," presumably regions surrounding Judea.
Julius Africanus understood these events to be the signs that accompanied Jesus's crucifixion.
Neither Jerome's report of Phlegon nor Africanus's report of Thallus should be ignored.
But neither account is inspired as Scripture is (2 Timothy 3:16), and neither should be treated as infallible. At most, they may provide extra-biblical corroboration of the extraordinary natural phenomena that the Gospels report as accompanying Jesus's death.
Mark 15:38
38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Set to dark mode
Mark 15:38 meaning
The parallel gospel accounts of Mark 15:38 are found in Matthew 27:51-53, Luke 23:45.
In Mark 15:38, immediately after Jesus breathes His last, the veil of the temple is supernaturally torn in two from top to bottom.
After describing the moment when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:37), Mark immediately records a supernatural phenomenon that occurred at this terrible and momentous moment:
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
The temple was located in Jerusalem. Its buildings, situated atop a large hill, were likely visible from the general vicinity where Jesus was crucified outside the city gates (Hebrews 13:12).
The temple was the center of the Jewish sacrificial system. It was also the headquarters of the Sadducees--the priestly order whose leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah and illegally conspired to murder Him.
To learn more about the temple, see The Bible Says article: "What is the History of the Temple in Jerusalem?"
The veil of the temple is described in Exodus 26:31-35. It divided the main sanctuary into two separate rooms (Exodus 26:33).
The first chamber was called "the holy place." The second chamber, located behind the veil, was called "the Holy of Holies."
God’s presence on earth was associated with the Holy of Holies because this chamber originally held the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat (Leviticus 16:2).
No one was permitted to go beyond the temple veil and enter the Holy of Holies except the high priest. And the high priest was only permitted to enter on one occasion each year--Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement" (Leviticus 16:2-19).
The veil of the temple was therefore a physical and symbolic barrier between sinful man and the presence of holy God.
But at the moment Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
The direction of the temple veil's tearing is significant.
The veil was not torn from the bottom upward, as a man who was standing beneath it might attempt to tear it. It was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38). This signifies that God is the One who tore the temple veil in two.
The Mishnah--the ancient oral tradition of the Jews--describes the dimensions of the temple veil:
"The curtain has the thickness of a handbreadth…And with regard to the dimensions of the curtain, its length was forty cubits, as the height of the ceiling of the Sanctuary; and its width was twenty cubits, to match the width of the entrance."
(Mishnah, Shekalim 8.5)
These ancient measurements approximately convert to sixty feet high and thirty feet wide, with a thickness of four or more inches. Moreover, the curtain was extremely heavy. The Mishnah explains that "the curtain was so heavy that they needed three hundred priests to carry it when they would immerse it" (Mishnah, Shekalim 8.5).
If these descriptions accurately describe the veil Mark refers to, its tearing would have been an extraordinary event.
The temple veil was so thick that no man could have simply torn it apart. And if someone had somehow attempted to tear it, he would naturally have torn it from the bottom upward, not from top to bottom.
Only God could have torn the veil this way. The direction of the temple veil's tearing is significant. It was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38). This signifies that God is the One who tore the temple veil in two.
How the Jews May Have Understood the Torn Veil
The tearing of the temple veil would have deeply disturbed the Jews.
They may have interpreted it to signify that the LORD's presence was no longer with Israel.
They may also have interpreted it as a sign of the LORD's displeasure and judgment against Israel.
Both interpretations would have been heavy, disheartening, and ominous--especially considering that darkness had recently covered the land (Mark 15:33).
Luke records the mournful response of the crowds who had witnessed the crucifixion:
"And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts."
(Luke 23:48)
In ancient Jewish culture, beating one's breast was a demonstration of mourning, woe, and dread.
But these ominous interpretations of the torn veil would only have been partially correct. The fullest significance of the tearing of the veil was the opposite of fear and dread. The barrier separating holy God from sinful humanity had been removed through Jesus's sacrifice. The main significance of the veil of the temple being torn in two was good news.
The tearing of the temple veil indicated that the barrier separating holy God and sinful man was no longer an obstacle in the relationship between the Creator and His image bearers.
Jesus removed the barrier.
Jesus's death completed the perfect and everlasting sacrifice for sin (John 19:30, Hebrews 10:12). Mark strongly connects Jesus's death with the tearing of the temple veil by placing these two events immediately beside one another:
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
(Mark 15:37-38)
The connection between these two events is unmistakable. Jesus died, and the barrier was torn apart.
The author of Hebrews explains the theological significance of what Jesus accomplished through His sacrifice.
The Law and the sacrificial system that was delivered through Moses was good, but it was insufficient (Hebrews 7:18-19). It could reveal God's standards and show the way to live, but among other things, animal sacrifices could not permanently remove sins (Hebrews 10:1-4, 11). But Jesus lived faithfully according to God's will and perfectly fulfilled the Law unto death.
Through His death, Jesus established the promised new and better covenant (Hebrews 7:22, 8:7-13). His obedience on the cross was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12). All the sacrifices before Jesus were shadows and copies pointing forward to His perfect and everlasting sacrifice.
The author of Hebrews metaphorically associates the temple veil with Jesus's body and flesh which was torn on the cross. He exhorts believers to draw near to God with faith in Jesus:
"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
(Hebrews 10:19-22a)
Through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, believers may now approach God directly and with confidence.
The evening before Jesus died, during His Passover Seder with His disciples, Jesus broke the unleavened bread and said:
"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
(Luke 22:19)
The tearing of Jesus's body is symbolized by both the breaking of the unleavened bread and the tearing of the temple veil.
The breaking of Jesus's body and the death of the Son of God is what makes eternal life possible. His sacrifice also allows believers to live with God dwelling within them and enables them to approach God's presence to "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and He is the perfect the High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:23-28, 9:11-14, 10:11-14). It is through Him that we have direct access to God. The sacrificial system is no longer needed for that purpose. In the words of the author of Hebrews, the old covenant was rendered "obsolete" for the purpose of bringing man to God (Hebrews 8:13).
In this context, "obsolete" means that the sacrificial system has no saving value. This does not mean that the author of Hebrews was calling upon Jewish believers to cease being Jewish or to abandon every Jewish custom. For instance, the Apostle Paul continued to practice Jewish customs and maintain his Jewish identity throughout his life (Acts 28:17).
Rather, the author of Hebrews was calling upon Jewish believers to cease relying upon their Jewish customs and sacrifices to bring them righteousness before God and to rely upon Jesus's perfect sacrifice and priesthood alone.
The tearing of the temple veil also signified that the manifestation of God's divine presence was no longer going to be confined to a temple of stone.
God's new earthly temple would be human hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27, 1 Corinthians 3:16).
Fifty days after Jesus's resurrection, God sent His Spirit to live in the hearts of believers, just as Jesus foretold (John 14:16-17, 16:7, 13-15, Acts 1:5, 8). This took place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
The Timing the Veil's Tearing Coincides with the Temple Sacrifice
The "obsoleting" of the sacrificial system for saving value is further signified by the timing of the temple veil being torn in two (v 38).
Matthew and Mark indicate that Jesus died about the ninth hour (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34).
The ninth hour was approximately 3:00 p.m. Jews would have recognized this as the time when the priests would have been offering the festival sacrifices during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The tearing of the temple veil at the moment of Jesus’s death seems to signify that the temple sacrifice was now eclipsed by Jesus’s perfect sacrifice.
Jesus's sacrifice of Himself made further sacrifices unnecessary to atone for sin (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12).
The tearing of the temple veil therefore demonstrated the tremendous spiritual consequences of Jesus's death. Jesus had completed His mission. The Servant had given His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The sacrifice was complete. The barrier was removed. The way into God's presence was opened.
MATTHEW'S EXPANDED ACCOUNT AND ITS JEWISH SIGNIFICANCE
Mark's account is characteristically concise for his Roman audience and keeps the focus on the main events of his narrative, largely stripped of expansive flourishes.
He records one supernatural phenomenon immediately following Jesus's death--the tearing of the temple veil in two from top to bottom (v 38). Mark offers this one event as a representative for the many events that occurred when Jesus died which signified the importance of His death.
Matthew, writing to Jews, many of whom were in Jerusalem when Jesus died, provides a more exhaustive list of the supernatural signs that accompanied the Messiah's death.
Matthew records four phenomena:
(Matthew 27:51a),
(Matthew 27:51b)
(Matthew 27:51c)
(Matthew 27:52)
Mark condenses Matthew's expanded account and focuses exclusively on the tearing of the temple veil.
This difference is consistent with the distinctive emphases and audiences of their Gospels. Matthew wrote for a predominantly Jewish audience and frequently emphasized Jewish prophecy, symbolism, and cultural significance. Mark wrote primarily for a Roman and Gentile audience and kept a quicker pace of events. Mark generally condensed Jewish material that would have required extensive cultural explanation.
Nevertheless, the additional signs Matthew records provide important context for understanding the cosmic and prophetic significance of Jesus's death.
We have already considered the temple veil being torn in two, now we will consider the other three events that took place when Jesus died that are recorded in Matthew. Matthew is the only Gospel writer to mention the next three phenomena: the earthquake, the splitting rocks, and the dead saints coming back to life.
The Earth Shook
The second phenomenon Matthew records is: "and the earth shook" (Matthew 27:51b).
Matthew's mention of the earthquake also seems to fulfill prophetic imagery concerning the day of the LORD and divine judgment. The prophet Joel wrote:
"Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness."
(Joel 2:10)
The darkened sky and shaking earth accompanying Jesus's death evoke this prophetic imagery of divine judgment.
The Rocks Were Split
The third phenomenon Matthew records is: "and the rocks were split" (Matthew 27:51c).
When Jews heard that rocks were split, they may have remembered Moses in the wilderness.
As Moses led Israel through the desert, he struck the rock and the LORD miraculously caused life-giving water to gush forth so that the people and their livestock could drink (Exodus 17:5-6, Numbers 20:10-11). These events were retold throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 78:15, 20, 105:41, 114:7-8, Isaiah 48:21).
There are no reports of physical water flowing when the rocks split at Jesus's death.
But Jesus, who is a second Moses, provides living water--spiritual water that gives spiritual life in a desert of sin.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman:
"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
(John 4:10)
Jesus also proclaimed:
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
(John 7:37-38)
Jesus also promised:
"I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost."
(Revelation 21:6b)
This spiritual drink of eternal life became freely available to everyone upon the Messiah's death, and its availability seems to have been signified by the splitting of the rocks.
Another possible meaning of the rocks that were split at the Messiah's death corresponds to how nature recognized Jesus's identity as the Messiah and Creator while His own people did not (John 1:10-11).
When the Pharisees scolded Jesus for allowing the multitudes to praise Him as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem a few days earlier, Jesus responded:
"I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"
(Luke 19:40)
With the support of the people now silent and their voices having been used to condemn Jesus, the stones were, in a sense, "crying out" and testifying to His true identity as the rocks were split.
The Tombs Were Opened and the Saints Were Raised
The fourth phenomenon Matthew records is: "The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised" (Matthew 27:52).
Of the four signs mentioned by Matthew, this is perhaps the most remarkable.
This phenomenon happened in two stages.
First, the tombs were opened. This occurred when Jesus died, at the same time the veil of the temple was torn in two (v 38), the earth shook, and the rocks were split (Matthew 27:51-52).
The second and more remarkable part of this phenomenon occurred three days later--after Jesus's resurrection. Matthew writes: "and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:53).
Matthew records that it was the bodies of saints who had fallen asleep that were raised.
The expression "fallen asleep" (Matthew 27:52) indicates that these people were dead. On one hand, this expression is a euphemism--a figure of speech used to speak delicately about the harsh reality of death.
But in a larger sense, "fallen asleep" (Matthew 27:52) accurately describes the state of death for those who belong to the LORD, because death is not final (1 Thessalonians 4:14). God will restore them to life. From an earthly perspective, it is very much as though they have fallen asleep for a time. When God wakes them--and us--up, we will be together again (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
The fact that Matthew says the "bodies" (Matthew 27:52) of saints were raised indicates that these saints were restored to physical, natural life and were not raised into their final, eternal resurrection bodies.
The resurrection of these saints therefore seems to have been similar to the resurrections of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:22-23, 35-43), the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus (John 11:38-46).
Since Matthew does not say that these saints were resurrected with new spiritual bodies, it seems that they eventually physically died again.
Neither Matthew nor history tells us anything more about these saints. Matthew only tells us that they came out of their tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
Assuming they physically died again, they will be among those who are eternally raised to life at Jesus's return (1 Thessalonians 4:17, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
Matthew specifies that it was "saints" (Matthew 27:52) who were raised to life. The term "saints" means "holy ones." The Bible uses this term to describe ordinary people who are faithful believers and followers of God.
Matthew does not say that unbelievers experienced this resurrection. The most natural understanding of his description is that only saints were raised.
By using the term "saints," (Matthew 27:52) Matthew likely means faithful people who believed God and clung to His promises during troubling and contentious times.
These may have included saints from the Old Testament era or from the intertestamental period leading up to the life of Jesus, during the Roman occupation, the corruption of the priesthood, and the exploitation of the Pharisees.
Matthew explicitly says that many of these saints were raised.
His account also indicates that this resurrection was centered around Jerusalem. After Jesus's resurrection, these saints "entered the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:53).
The resurrection of these saints appears to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy:
"Your dead will live;
Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits."
(Isaiah 26:19)
The context of this prophecy is a song of Judah calling upon God's people to remain faithful during a time of distress when the wicked appear to prosper, because the LORD will defeat His enemies and rescue His people.
The resurrection of the saints was also a kind of fulfillment of the Festival of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-14) and a foretaste of the future bodily resurrection of all who believe in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:42-44).
Mark omits these additional phenomena for the sake of brevity.
Matthew's Jewish audience, many of whom were alive and experienced these events, would have immediately recognized the prophetic imagery and significance of the shaking earth, splitting rocks, opened tombs, and resurrected saints.
Mark's Roman audience did not require these Jewish allusions for Mark's primary purpose.
Mark focuses on the sign that most directly demonstrates the result of Jesus's completed mission--the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom--and how Jesus's faithful service and sacrificial death had opened the way to God.
ADDITIONAL JEWISH REPORTS OF OMINOUS TEMPLE SIGNS
In addition to the supernatural signs recorded in the Gospels, Jewish writings report other ominous phenomena associated with the temple around the time of Jesus's death.
These reports are especially interesting in light of Mark's statement that the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (v 38).
The Jewish Talmud reports that beginning approximately forty years before the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., several remarkable changes occurred in the Temple and its ceremonies. The Talmud records three additional signs associated with the period surrounding Jesus’s death:
These traditions are not Scripture and should not be treated as inspired or infallible accounts.
Nevertheless, they are interesting because Jewish sources themselves preserve traditions of ominous signs associated with the temple during the period leading up to its destruction in 70 A.D.
1. The Menorah Light Went Out
The Jerusalem Talmud records:
"It has been taught: Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the western light went out."
(Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 6.3.6)
The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. during the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Forty years before its destruction would place the beginning of this reported phenomenon around 30 A.D.--one of the two most commonly proposed years for Jesus’s crucifixion.
The "western light" most likely refers to a lamp on the Temple menorah.
The menorah was supposed to continually burn before the LORD (Exodus 27:20-21, Leviticus 24:2-4). The light going out could therefore have been understood by the Jews as an ominous sign concerning God's presence and favor. The menorah's light going out may have signified how the old order was passing away. And that we no longer gained access to God through the sacrificial system, instead we have access to God through Jesus who established the new and better covenant through His sacrifice (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6-13).
2. The Temple Doors Mysteriously Swung Open
Jewish tradition also reports that the doors of the temple began opening by themselves during this same general period.
The Babylonian Talmud reads:
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple…the doors of the Sanctuary opened by themselves."
(Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39b)
The doors of the temple were massive. Their swinging open by themselves would have been an ominous sign. The opening of the temple doors could have been interpreted as exposing the temple to invasion or destruction.
Within the context of Jesus's death, however, the opening of the temple doors also makes for an interesting correspondence with the tearing of the temple veil. Just as when Jesus died, the barrier separating holy God from sinful man was removed, so too when He died did God's Spirit leave the temple in Jerusalem so that He could live in human hearts.
The temple doors opening themselves may have signified that God's presence was no longer going to be confined to the temple of stone. God's new earthly temple would be the hearts of His people through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27, 1 Corinthians 3:16).
3. The Scarlet Thread on the Yom Kippur Scapegoat Ceased to Turn White
The third ominous phenomenon reported in Jewish tradition concerns the Day of Atonement.
According to Jewish tradition, a scarlet thread associated with the Yom Kippur ceremony had previously turned white as a sign connected with Israel's atonement. According to the tradition, the scarlet thread would turn white if God accepted the sacrifice for the nation and it would remain red if God did not accept the sacrifice.
This reported phenomenon was associated with Isaiah's words:
"Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool."
(Isaiah 1:18)
But Jewish tradition reports that around forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the scarlet thread ceased turning white.
"During the forty years prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, the lot for God did not arise in the High Priest's right hand at all. So too, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white."
(Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 39b)
The cessation of the scarlet thread turning white at the Day of Atonement following Jesus's sacrifice on the cross may have been a sign to the Jews that Jesus's death was the perfect sacrifice for sin.
The Day of Atonement sacrifices could not permanently remove sin. They had to be repeated year after year (Hebrews 10:1-4). Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice once for all (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10-14).
If the Jewish tradition is accurate, then around the time Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice of Himself, the traditional sign associated with the old Day of Atonement ceremony ceased.
Once again, this Jewish tradition is not Scripture, and it should not be treated as proof of the Gospel account. But the correspondence is remarkable.
According to the Gospels, Jesus died and the veil of the temple was torn in two (v 38) (Matthew 27:50-51, Mark 15:37-38). According to Jewish tradition, beginning around the same general period, the western temple light went out, the temple doors began opening by themselves, and the scarlet thread associated with the Day of Atonement ceased turning white.
Taken together, these reports paint an ominous picture of the temple and its ceremonies during the final forty years before its destruction. But they also point to the good news of Jesus, that we now have direct access to God through Him.
NON-JEWISH EXTRA-BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS OF THE PHENOMENA AT JESUS'S DEATH
In addition to what the Bible records, there are ancient accounts that may describe some of the natural phenomena accompanying Jesus's death.
These accounts are interesting, but they should be treated cautiously.
They are not inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and the two Greco-Roman accounts considered below survive secondhand through later Christian writers.
Nevertheless, they may preserve ancient reports of the darkness and earthquake which occurred around the time of Jesus's crucifixion.
Phlegon's Report of Darkness and an Earthquake
The first account comes to us through the early church figure Jerome (347-420 A.D.).
Jerome's source was Phlegon of Tralles, the chronicler of "The Olympiad," an account of historical and major natural events stretching back to the time of the first Olympic games.
Phlegon wrote during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.).
Phlegon's original work has largely been lost to history, but Jerome quotes him as saying:
"However in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour, day turned into dark night, so that the stars were seen in the sky, and an earthquake in Bithynia toppled many buildings of the city of Nicaea."
(Jerome, Chronicles, Olympiad 202)
Jesus's death most likely occurred in either 30 A.D. or 33 A.D.
The first year of the 202nd Olympiad would have been 30 A.D. The fourth year would have been 33 A.D., which is the year some scholars believe Jesus was crucified.
If this chronology is correct, the crucifixion darkness and earthquake occurred during the same year in which Phlegon reportedly described an earthquake and a darkness at noon in Bithynia.
It is also possible that Phlegon was describing a separate event and that Jerome associated it with the spectacular signs accompanying Jesus's death.
If these were the same events, the earthquake would have been felt approximately 900 miles from Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified.
Thallus's Possible Account of the Darkness, Earthquake, and Split Rocks
The second ancient account is also preserved secondhand.
It comes through the Christian writer Julius Africanus (160-240 A.D.).
Africanus summarized an account by Thallus, a first or second-century historian who apparently mentioned three of the natural signs associated with Jesus’s death:
Africanus's summary of Thallus reads:
"On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun."
(Julius Africanus, Extant Fragments of the Chronography, 18)
There is no specific date attached to the events Thallus describes. But the account indicates that these things occurred "in Judea"--the district where Jesus was crucified--and in "other districts," presumably regions surrounding Judea.
Julius Africanus understood these events to be the signs that accompanied Jesus's crucifixion.
Neither Jerome's report of Phlegon nor Africanus's report of Thallus should be ignored.
But neither account is inspired as Scripture is (2 Timothy 3:16), and neither should be treated as infallible. At most, they may provide extra-biblical corroboration of the extraordinary natural phenomena that the Gospels report as accompanying Jesus's death.