The Scarlet Curtain

READ: MARK 15:37-38; HEBREWS 6:19-20; 10:19-22

"Quick! This way!” Rhys yelled, motioning with his arm for the large group of people to turn down yet another oak-paneled corridor. Everyone followed, all suddenly getting a hopeful feeling that their endless wandering through this wooden labyrinth was finally coming to an end. So, with a new light in their eyes and energy in their step, the group rounded the corner after Rhys…

…and stopped short.

For there, between two walls of a cathedral-sized room, stretched an enormous, imposing curtain. Its scarlet fabric hung ominously still, draping down from the ceiling like a frozen, fabric waterfall.

“Wh-what is that?” A girl named Kaelyria voiced the question in everyone’s mind.

“I—I’m not sure…” Rhys replied quietly. He unsheathed his iron sword, and cautiously approached the eerily still curtain. Rhys put out his hand and pushed, but instead of yielding to his touch and moving back, the curtain stayed perfectly still. “It’s solid!” he yelled in surprise. He hefted his sword and lunged at the curtain, but his blade didn’t make a scratch.

The people murmured amongst themselves, and someone called out, “So, is this a dead end?”

“We can’t turn back now!” cried another.

“There has to be a way through!” Kaelyria said, notching an arrow and taking aim at the curtain.

“There is.”

Immediately, the room became silent.

“Who said that?” Rhys asked, his eyes searching the crowd.

“I did.”

Suddenly the crowd parted, revealing a man clad in a simple tunic and trousers. The man walked forward toward Rhys and Kaelyria, stopping just feet from the scarlet fabric. “One way. One person can open this curtain and open a way through. Only one is worthy.”

The people watched breathlessly as he drew from a sheath at his side, a glowing, white sword. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. And I opened the way—by dying.” He lifted his tunic and revealed an enormous scar. No one could survive such a wound. “But,” he said, “I have come back to life.” And with that, he raised the magnificent sword…

…and cut the curtain in two. • Anna Tuckfield

• Putting our trust in Jesus is the only way for us to enter relationship with God, who made us and loves us more than we could imagine. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple was literally torn in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:37-38; Luke 23:44-46). It’s important to know a few things about this curtain. When God instructed His people in how to build the Tabernacle and later the Temple, He said, “Make a special curtain…with skillfully embroidered cherubim” (Exodus 26:31). This curtain separated the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence dwelt, from the rest of the temple. And the woven cherubim remind us of the cherubim and flaming sword in Genesis 3:24, who blocked the way to thetree of life in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve rejected God and rebelled against Him. That tree of life only became accessible to us again when Jesus walked through the swords to open the way. By letting Himself be put to death, Jesus tore the curtain. All because God loves us, and He doesn’t want us to be separated from Him. If you want to know more about what it means to put your trust in Jesus and enter a relationship with God, see our "Know Jesus" page. And if you want to dig deeper, read John 14:5-6; 20:24-29.

• Jesus is the only one whose death could open the curtain because He is both fully God and fully human, and He never sinned, so He could take the punishment for all our sins. Why is it so important to remember that Jesus is the only one who could rescue us from sin and death and make the way for us to know God and be with Him forever? Consider taking some time to thank Jesus for this wonderful gift He has given us.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NLT)