When Jesus Breathed His Last
Do you feel sometimes like there’s some kind of blockage between you and God? It could be a barrier of any kind, but it keeps you from experiencing that God has promised.
If so, there’s hope for you in an important event that happened at the crucifixion of Jesus.
Mark’s short, dramatic account of the crucifixion of Jesus, he describes the moment of his death:
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom .(Mark 15:738, NIV).
After Jesus’ last breath, you might have thought that the gospel writer would have called for a moment of quiet meditation on the significance of what has just happened. But instead of calling the reader to spiritual reflection, Mark continues straight on with the action.
The reason why the gospel does this is because there is a direct and immediate connection between the two death of Jesus and the tearing of the temple curtain. One event directly causes another.
The Jews believed that the temple in Jerusalem represented a cosmic temple in the heavens, from which God ruled the universe. They believed that the inner sanctum of the Jerusalem temple, the Most Holy Place, represented the throne-room of God. The Most Holy Place was separated from the rest of the temple building by a large curtain.
While we can’t be precise, it is estimated that this curtain was 9 metres (30 feet) high, and 10 cm (4 inches) thick. It’s being torn from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s death was certainly a supernatural act.
When Jesus breathed His last, the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom to announce to the world that because of Jesus’ completed sacrifice, everyone who believes now has direct and full access to God. The moment that Jesus died, he made a way for all who trust him, to enter into the Most Holy Place, to be accepted before the throne of God:
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body (Heb 10:19-20, NIV)
When Jesus breathed his last, the first breath of your true life began.
When Paul writes that God has,
raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus(Eph 2:6)
he is talking about our standing before God. He is talking about how God sees you because of what Jesus has done.
No matter how difficult that life may seem, or how far away from God you may feel at times, because of what Jesus did through his own body at Calvary, there’s no barrier between you and God any more. When you accepted what Jesus has done for you, you are by faith sitting in the heavenly places, in the Most Holy Place, right there before the throne of God, as God’s honoured friend. You are his child, a part of the family.
As far as God is concerned, there are no barriers any more between you and heaven. The only barriers that can possibly exist are those in your mind; the barriers of unbelief.
So, believe it today. When Jesus breathed his last, the first breath of your true life began.
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli Gonzalez is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question.
