At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. – Matthew 27: 51-53
Whoaaaaa!
When I was a cub scout we had the assignment of looking up our birthday to see what happened in the world that day. So, my Dad and I went to the Simi Valley Public Library to check it out.
When we got there we went straight for the microfiche machine. (I’m really starting to think that I’m getting old.)
For those of you who never had a cassette tape, microfiche was this sort of slide that had miniature versions of information on them (clearly before the digital age). The one I was looking at had old newspaper clippings.
So I got to my birthday and what do I see. There was an earthquake that morning.
*pops collar*
And here I thought I was fresh. Look at what happened when Jesus died!? It was like the thriller video! Except I imagine that they came out of their tombs extra fresh, pop locking with fancy robes on like Joseph’s Technicolor Dream Coat. The tatters can be reserved for ghouls and goblins.
The curtain was special because it enclosed the area where the Ark of the Covenant was kept:
The Holy of Holies
Only the HPIC (head priest in charge) could go in that space once a year. Before entering he had to do all kind of sacrifices for his sins. Yep, the ones we have been reading about in Leviticus. If he had any unaccounted for sin when he passed through the curtain then he would drop dead immediately.
They even tied a rope to his leg to drag him out in case this happened.
So what does this all mean? The symbolism is that when Jesus died, he became the sacrifice to end all sacrifices; the innocent sacrifice that would atone for all of the sin in the world: past, present or future.
And through this he removed the barrier that separated God from humanity: imperfection. After this event, it became possible for each human being to connect to God
Pretty powerful
Belief in this is one of those very specific things that make a person “Christian”. It's an explanation for how the imperfect can connect to perfection.
Pretty crazy I know… but the more I think about it, the more interesting it becomes…
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 19-20: Matthew 27: 51-66
The dead had to come back to witness it. That's how important it was. lol
ReplyDeletehahaha that's what I'll talk about the next time this comes around in the gospels. I'll have to do my own dialog between someone who rose from the dead and their nephew.
ReplyDeleteAt least it'll be funny to me.