When Christ confessed He was the Messiah, the high priest tore his robe, and when Christ died on the cross, the veil of the temple tore from top to bottom. Is there a connection here? At first glance this comparison may seem irrelevant, but if we carefully search the scriptures more relevance is found concerning the veil of the temple and the flesh of Jesus.
According to the Epistle to the Hebrews, by the blood of Jesus are we granted entrance into the Holy of Holies, which in times past only the high priest could enter. By a new and living way are believers able to enter the most holy place, for Christ has consecrated for us a way through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. (Hebrews 10:19-20). So here we see scripture identifying the flesh of Jesus as the veil of the temple. In Old Testament times while under the law the high priest was the only one allowed into the Holy of Holies, but now in the age of grace and through the blood of Jesus are the faithful consecrated or anointed to enter into the most holy place, that is through the veil which is the flesh of Jesus.
The flesh of which the Word of God took from the blessed Virgin Mary would function as His veil, separating mankind from the glory of the Holy of Holies, that is the divine nature of Jesus Christ. In order for God to save mankind, Christ had to put on flesh enabling God to dwell amongst men. The Lord had to incarnate as man in order to save man, for the glory of God by itself would of consumed the very people He was trying to preserve. For as the Bible says, “…our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29). Even Moses when he came down from the mountain had such a bright countenance that the congregation made him put a veil over his face until after he was done speaking with them. Also during their wanderings in the wilderness the children of Israel were not allowed into the tabernacle which housed the ark of the covenant. Going further in Exodus 39:34 we see that the covering of the tabernacle was made from ram’s skins and badger’s skins, just as Christ would take the skin of a human for His incarnation. For Christ being likened to the tabernacle put on flesh in order to tabernacle among us.
Now in Leviticus 21:10 the Bible lists several prohibitions concerning the office of high priest, that is certain things the high priest is forbidden to do. One such restriction was that the high priest was never to rend or tear his clothing. An example of a priest forsaking the law not to rend his clothes is found in the Gospels where Jesus stands on trial before the high priest Caiaphas. The high priest asked Jesus if He were in fact the Son of God and Jesus replied, I AM. After this the Bible says that, “the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy.” (Matthew 26:65). By tearing his clothes the high priest transgressed the commandment found in Leviticus, and by this action Caiaphas forfeited his office as high priest. For just as the high priest tore his clothes which sacrificed his priesthood as witnessed by a few, so also was the flesh of Jesus torn making Christ pay the ultimate sacrifice for many.
With the flesh of Jesus being torn by His crucifixion and then the veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom at the very moment of Christ’s death, would make these two events signs which signified the end of the Old Covenant and signaled the ushering in of the New Covenant. Through the work of salvation which Christ accomplished we have been granted to step behind the veil and participate in the life giving communion of the Holy Spirit and have been reconciled unto God the Father. For as it is written in 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” So by the mystery of reconciliation Christ has brought us before the Father, and through the tearing of his flesh Jesus has given His life as a ransom for many. As the beloved Apostle John wrote, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). In other words just as the high priest went behind the veil on the day of atonement to reconcile the sins of the nation, so too has Christ atoned for the sins of the world and removed the veil granting the believer reconciliation to the Father.