There were two rooms in the tabernacles in the wilderness and the later temple: the holy place, the larger room in the front, and the holy of holies, the smaller room at the rear of the structure. The were separated by a veil or curtain, that was suspended in front of the holy of holies. Only once a year was one person allowed into this rear room, the high priest: "The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest" (Hebrews 9:8).

At the time of Jesus this separating veil was apparently a massive piece of joined fabric. In his book "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" Alfred Edersheim, a Jew originally from Vienna, wrote a description: "The veil before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together; and these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each." Edersheim's description is substantiated in the Rabbinic literature of the period, in which it was stated that two horses, attached to the opposite sides of the veil, could not pull it apart.

In that literature we also read that two veils were made anew each year. If the veil in the temple became dirty, then – as Edersheim wrote – 300 priests were needed to unhang and clean it. Edersheim added: "If the Veil was at all such as is described in the Talmud, it could not have been rent in twain by a mere earthquake or the fall of the lintel."

This description is interesting because it shows us that no one would have been able to gain access to the holy of holies by means of his own strength or "works", by rending the veil. Today we have free access to the throne of God, but "not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5) – not by our own effort or strength. Instead it was Jesus, who "with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all" (Hebrews 9:12) and in so doing caused the veil to be rent: "Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom" (Matthew 27:50-51).

And it is for that reason that we can heed the exhortation we find in the book of Hebrews: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!