When we examine the remarkable wonders surrounding the death of Jesus, we are overwhelmed. As you look at your copy of God's Word of Matthew 27, the passage that Pastor Anderson has read in your hearing tonight, let me point out just a few of those wonders, any one of which we could focus on tonight. Well, in verse 37, you have written over the head of the Lord Jesus Christ as he is crucified, a placard. an inscription in Hebrew and Greek and Latin, Jesus, the King of the Jews. We speak frequently of the three offices of Christ, that he is our prophet, our priest, and our king. And isn't it amazing that even in the hour of his death, his kingship is directly acknowledged by those who are crucifying him while he's doing his priestly work? Another one of the great wonders surrounding the cross is the total darkness at noonday that we see in verse 45. When Jesus is atoning for sin, it is though the Father and all of creation turn away in respectful silence as Jesus suffers alone in the darkness. We sang about this a moment ago when we sang Isaac Watt's majestic hymn, Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed. Watts captures this perfectly when he has us sing, well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in when Christ, the mighty maker, died for man, the creature's sin. Another one of the wonders surrounding the death of Christ is the earthquake in verse 51. Immediately after the death of Christ, it is as though all of creation, which we are told in the book of Romans, groans anyway under the weight of sin. It is as though all of creation groans at the cruel death, is in upheaval at the lawless death, murder of her creator. And then you have, in verse 52 and 53, another astounding wonder related to the crucifixion, and that is the resurrection of certain saints in Jerusalem. One of the things I've been asked to do over the years is to engage in speculation. We aren't told anything else other than verse 52 or 53. So when you look at that, that's it. That's all the biblical revelation about that. These are representative people. They arose as specimens of the way in which all the saints shall in their due time arise. They're much like Lazarus. They die again and await the permanent day of resurrection. But itself is still an astounding phenomena and wonder. And then you have in verse 54 another great wonder surrounding the crucifixion. Again, all of these are material for a series of sermons on the cross. The Confession of the Centurion in verse 54, and what you have here is a picture of Christ convincing power. That this man watching all the proceedings is convinced that Jesus is who he claims, that he is indeed the Son of God. I hope you've known this convincing power, this drawing to saving faith, for it certainly is at the core of the power of the cross. But what I want us to do tonight is to look at verse 51, what I consider to be the most astounding of all of these wonders. And that is the simple act of the tearing of the veil. There are several veils spoken of in scripture, at least four, some figurative and symbolic, some literal. You have the veil in the tabernacle and in the temple, more on that momentarily. Secondly, you have that veil spoken of in the book of Hebrews where Christ's human nature is called a veil. That his deity was hidden behind his humanity for the most part as he walked upon the earth during his incarnation. The third veil that scripture speaks of is the veil that rests on all our hearts by nature. That veil is sin and separates us from God. Second Corinthians three speaks of this. The fourth veil that the Bible talks about is the heavens, when the Bible speaks of the heavens as a veil that Christ pierced through when he ascended on high and sat down at the right hand of the Father. All of these veils that I just listed are here because of sin. All four speak of separation. If you pull a curtain, you want separation. You want to be kept from someone or something. In the garden, there was openness. We could call it the ultimate barrier-free environment between God and man and men and women. There were no veils in the garden. But sin has brought separation, veils, into the world. Isaiah sums it up most clearly in Isaiah 59 when he says, your iniquities have separated you from God. The great tragedy of our fallen nature is that we don't mind. that there are veils between God and us. It doesn't really bother us at all. As long as God gives us our daily temporal benefits, as long as he supplies us with good food, nice clothing, warm shelter, we're okay with veils and separation. But when the Holy Spirit begins to convict a person, and show them that there is a veil, a gulf, a separation between them and a holy and a righteous God, and that eternity will be an everlasting separation, a permanent veil. If we're not reconciled to God, then we begin to cry out, how can I pierce the veil? How can I get to God? That, by the way, is the great question of the old covenant. The most powerful and dominant symbol of that separation that faced the worshiper every time he came to the tabernacle and then the temple. The most powerful dominant symbol of that separation was the veil. that God-designed building, whether we're speaking of the temple or the tabernacle, then the temple, that housed the holy place and the holy of holies. The temple, if you'll remember, was divided into a series of courts. When it was constructed in all its majesty and glory, you had, first of all, the court of the Gentiles. That was the outer court where Uncircumcised Gentiles were allowed there, but between their court and the next court were posted signs in several languages that read exactly like this. No foreigner may enter past this barrier. Anyone who is caught doing so will have only himself to blame for his ensuing death. Not a very seeker-friendly church. Then you had, past that, you had the Court of the Women. That was the next court where Jewish women could go, but then they had to stop. Then you had the Court of Israel where circumcised Jewish men could go, and then there was a place where they had to stop. And then even the priest could only go behind the first veil to the holy place, and then They had to take sacrificial blood with them. But no one could go behind the second veil, which went, which separated the holy place from the holy of holies. The only person who could go there was the high priest once a year for about 25 minutes. And it was such a fearful experience that rabbinic tradition arose like this. to the high priest, let's tie bells on a rope around your ankle so that the other priest could pull you out in case you die before the Lord. In fact, the priest, the high priest, when he went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement for just those few minutes, was counseled to creep timidly into the most holy place. And as he went, he would sprinkle the blood of a spotless sacrificial lamb. sprinkled it everywhere so that he wouldn't take one bloodless step. All of these sacrifices, the millions of them, the millions of slain animals, and the rivers of blood were all pictures, signposts pointing to the work of Jesus. The blood that was so frequently shed was showing our desperate need for atonement to be restored back to God. The Old Testament Jew, of course, was very familiar with observing the barriers and the veils between God and himself. Every time he came to church, to the tabernacle and the temple, there was the veil staring him in the face. He was unable to go beyond the outer court. Even the priests couldn't go in there, and then only one of them, then for only less than half an hour. And the veil that kept men out, that's spoken of here in verse 51, was uniquely designed. Jewish historical writers say that it was at least 60 feet long, perhaps longer, at least 20 feet wide, was at least 20 feet high, and was several inches thick, requiring when it was hung, 300 men to lift it up. It was a beautiful work of art, purple and blue and scarlet and white. But how could anyone ever open the way to God? That's what the entire Old Testament priestly and sacrificial system groaned under. There was no direct access to God. Every path was veiled off. The way was not open. because the price for sin had not been paid. When we talk about Good Friday and what took place on Calvary's Hill, we have to define the actors. The two actors are primarily God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father. And when we speak of Good Friday, we're not just talking about a son who gave himself for us, but a father who was yearning for the fullness of time when he could reach down with holy hands and tear the veil in the middle from top to bottom and give sinners, Jews and Gentiles alike, free and open access to his throne and his presence. Let me remind you, when Jesus cried out in Gethsemane's garden on the Thursday night before and said, let this cut past for me, if it is possible, the father was silent. When Judas came and kissed him later that Thursday night with that wicked and hypocritical sign, the father was silent. When Jesus was scourged and mocked and stripped and spat upon, the father was silent. When Jesus took that rugged timber on Friday morning on his raw bloodied back and carried it up the Via Dolorosa, the father was silent. And then when Jesus was nailed with ringing blows to that cross, the father kept his peace and was silent. When Jesus now hanging on the cross on that Friday morning was raised up, then dropped with a thud into a hole in the ground and his flesh ripped, the father was silent. And as Jesus began to endure the wrath of God on Friday on behalf of his people, the father was silent. As two wretched thieves, wicked men on either side of Jesus, taunted Jesus, and the mob around him joined in and rejected Jesus, challenging him to come down. And the soldiers gambled at the foot of the cross, all while Jesus' blood dripped down on them. And everyone concerned trivialized his death. The father was silent. And then as Jesus entered into those hours of incredible agony in total darkness and spoke the last words of his life, you remember those last seven words. The first word was, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Second word was Jesus saying to the thief on his side, assuredly I say to you today you shall be with me in paradise. The third word, where Jesus speaks to his mother and says, woman, behold your son, and to John, the beloved disciple, behold your mother, showing his respect for the moral law that even in his agony, he wouldn't set aside the fifth commandment. The fourth word was the cry of dereliction. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And the fifth word, when Jesus simply said, now, as his breaths are coming harder and harder to take, it's becoming incredible, excruciating agony for him to even draw enough breath to speak out one slight syllable. He said, I thirst, as he was knowing the pains of hell and saying what every reprobate in hell says all day long. I thirst. And then the sixth word came. After drinking the cup of God's wrath to the bottom, when Jesus said that one simple Greek word, tetelestai, it is finished, price paid. And then finally, his last word, when Jesus said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, then the father could no longer be silent. With eager hands, he speaks by taking the temple veil, and tearing it in half from the top to the bottom. In that moment, all the shadows and types and sacrificial systems, all the priestly duties, all the old covenant, all the old way of worship and entrance into God's presence was done away with and dismantled. The way to God was open. Now all people now may draw near to God through a new and living way. The way is open. The veil was not torn from bottom to top by men with saws and scissors. but by God from top to bottom. It is His declaration that salvation is accomplished. The veil has been irreparably torn. All the demons in hell can't stitch it back together. The veil's torn by the Father. If there'd only been a small hole cut in the veil, lesser offenders might have squeezed through, but it's torn wide open so that the chief of sinners can walk through. There's ample room. There's now free, full access. And wasn't this the promise of the new covenant? That God was stating that he would have fellowship with his people, that he would not forever be kept from them. Didn't he promise hundreds of years before in Jeremiah 31 in the promise of the new covenant, I will be their God and they will be my people. Meaning we'll not be separated. Across that veil had been written as it were, no admittance. Stay back for hundreds of years. Now is written, whoever comes to Me, I will not cast off. No sinner is too great. No heart is too hard. No one is too young or too old. No case is impossible. Remember before, if any man had dared to enter the Holy of Holies, he'd have died because of presumption or profane intrusion. I think of when God is establishing that old covenant statute in Exodus 19 before the giving of the law. And God keeps saying to the people of Israel, those words like you read in Exodus 19, keep your distance, stay back. Moses and the high priest in the old covenant might draw near just for a moment, but the word to everyone else, people like you and I was, stay back. But now, now the invitation is come. Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden. The gospel invitation is, draw near. The veil has been torn. Access is free. The barriers are down. The separating sin has been removed and pardon has been given. Yes, there's no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. But the blood of Christ has been shed. So come. The apostle cries out those great words in Romans 8. What can now separate us from the love of Christ? No veils. The devil himself may want to keep you from God, but the worst he can do is hang up a torn veil. My unbelieving friend, do you need an open way to God tonight? A torn veil. Jesus has purchased it and the Father has opened it. Come, come to the shed blood of Christ. The Father will not turn you away. To my believing friend, listen once again to those glorious words of Hebrews 10. Brethren having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. The writer of Hebrews says, we are to have boldness to enter. Some say confidence. Why? It's safe. Jesus has gone before us and opened the way. We're told to draw near and not to hang back. And we are told that this new way is a living way, not an inanimate curtain. The torn veil is the gospel. God receives sinners through Jesus Christ. Rejoice in it tonight. Let's pray. Oh, sovereign Lord, enlarge our hearts, warm our affections, and open our lips to praise you. As we are studying the cross, we are captivated, for there your grace removes our burdens and heaps them onto Jesus, who has made a curse and sin for us. There at the cross, the sword of your justice struck the sinless Lord Jesus. There on the cross, your infinite attributes of both love and justice were magnified. There on the cross, massive punishment was due and paid in full. Our Father, how we praise you for the work of Christ on that Friday. We are astounded that he was all sorrow that we might have all joy. That he was cast off that we might be brought in. That he was punished as an enemy that we might be welcomed as sons and daughters. That he was given over to hell's worst so that we might obtain heaven's best. That he was stripped naked that we might be clothed in white robes of righteousness. That he was wounded that we might be healed. That he was thirsty that we might drink deeply and be satisfied. that he was tormented, that we might be comforted, that he was put to shame, that we might inherit glory, that he was plunged into darkness, that we might have eternal day. O Christ, we praise you that you wept so that every tear might be wiped away from our eyes, that you groaned in agony so we might have endless songs, that you bore a jagged crown of thorns so that we might be crowned with honor. that you bowed your head so that ours might be lifted up, that you closed your eyes in death so that we might gaze on cloudless brightness. Oh Father, who spared not your only son, that you might spare us all of this. We pray that you would help us to adore you by our lips and by our lives. We pray in the name of our beloved Jesus, amen.