(51) The veil of the temple was rent in twain.--Better, the veil of the sanctuary, or, if we do not alter the word, we must remember that it is the veil that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies that is here meant. The fact, which the high priests would naturally have wished to conceal, and which in the nature of the case could not have been seen by any but the sons of Aaron, may have been reported by the "great multitude of the priests" who "became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7). The Evangelist's record of it is all the more significant, as he does not notice, and apparently, therefore, did not apprehend, the symbolic import of the fact. That import we learn indirectly from the Epistle to the Hebrews. The priests had, as far as they had power, destroyed the true Temple (comp. John 2:19); but in doing so they had robbed their own sanctuary of all that made it holy. The true veil, as that which shrouded the Divine Glory from the eyes of men, was His own flesh, and through that He had passed, as the Forerunner of all who trusted in Him, into the sanctuary not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (Hebrews 10:20-21). All who fulfilled that condition might enter into that holiest place, but the visible sanctuary was now made common and unclean, and there too all might enter without profanation.

The earth did quake, and the rocks rent.--Jerusalem was, it will be remembered, situated in the zone of earthquakes, and one very memorable convulsion is recorded or alluded to in the Old Testament (Isaiah 24:19; Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:5). Here, though the shock startled men at the time, there was no widespread ruin such as would lead to its being chronicled by contemporary historians. . . .

Verses 51-56. - Signs following the death of Christ. (Mark 15:38-41; Luke 23:47-49.) Verse 51. - And, behold. St. Matthew thus introduces his account of the portents which attended the death of the Son of God. The rending of the veil is mentioned by the synoptists as consequent on, and occurring simultaneously with, the completion of the ineffable sacrifice. The veil of the temple (τοῦ ναοῦ). There were two principal veils in the present temple - one between the vestibule and the holy place, and one other which is that here referred to, a constituent part of the edifce. This was the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies, which was moved aside only once a year to admit the high priest to the shrine on the great Day of Atonement (Exodus 26:33). It was large and costly, some sixty feet high, and made of rich materials. Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' 5:05. 4) tells us of one of the veils in the temple, that it was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with linen in various colours, woven together with wonderful art, such as the eye loved to rest upon. Was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. An apocryphal Gospel ('The Gospel of the Hebrews'), quoted by St. Jerome, in loc., asserts that the exquisitely carved lintel to which the veil was fastened was at this moment shattered to pieces, and in its fall tore the curtain asunder. The direction of the rent would show that no human hands had torn it apart, and the rending seems to have preceded the earthquake. The violent act was supernatural, and of a typical nature, as we are taught by Hebrews 9:6-12. The sanctuary enshrined the presence of God, from which the veil excluded every one but the high priest on one special occasion, thus denoting the imperfect reconciliation between God and his people, and that the way to the holiest was not yet made manifest. The rending of this veil betokened the opening of the access to heaven through the wounded body of Christ: as we read in Hebrews 10:19, 20, "Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh." "When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." The distinction between Jew and Gentile was abolished, the mysteries of the old Law were opened and manifested, all rites and ceremonies were made of sacramental efficacy, and ministered grace. How soon this ominous occurrence was discovered, we know not. The priest who offered incense at the evening sacrifice about this same hour must have seen it, and spread abroad among his comrades the news, to which many would attach a meaning fatal to the security of their religion. But this was comparatively a private sign; the next one was of a more comprehensive and public character. The earth did quake, and the rocks rent. The last verb is the same as was used just before in the case of the veil. There was a local earthquake at this awful moment, as if the very land shuddered at the terrible crime that had been committed. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem is supposed to cover the Golgotha of the Crucifixion (see on ver. 33). "An opening, faced with silver, shows the spot where the cross is said to have been sunk in the rock, and less than five feet from it is a long brass open work slide, over a cleft in the rock, which is about six inches deep, but is supposed by the pilgrims to reach to the centre of the earth. This is said to mark the rending of the rocks at the Crucifixion" (Geikie, 'Holy Land and Bible,' p. 447). The fact of the earthquake is testified by Phlegon, whose words were quoted by Julius Africanus, in his 'Chronographia' (fragments of which work have been published by Routh and others), and by Eusebius, in his 'Chronicon' (the passage, no longer extant in the original, being preserved by Jerome, and in an Armenian version; see Morison, on ver. 45). The rending of the rocks is attested by St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem ('Cateches.,' 13:33), who speaks of the remarkable fissure in Golgotha, which he had often noticed.

Parallel Commentaries ...


At that moment
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

veil
καταπέτασμα (katapetasma)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2665: From a compound of kata and a congener of petomai; something spread thoroughly, i.e. the door screen in the Jewish Temple.

of the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

temple
ναοῦ (naou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3485: A temple, a shrine, that part of the temple where God himself resides. From a primary naio; a fane, shrine, temple.

was torn
ἐσχίσθη (eschisthē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4977: To rend, divide asunder, cleave. Apparently a primary verb; to split or sever.

in
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

two
δύο (dyo)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 1417: Two. A primary numeral; 'two'.

from
ἀπ’ (ap’)
Preposition
Strong's 575: From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses.

top
ἄνωθεν (anōthen)
Adverb
Strong's 509: From ano; from above; by analogy, from the first; by implication, anew.

to
ἕως (heōs)
Preposition
Strong's 2193: A conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until.

bottom.
κάτω (katō)
Adverb
Strong's 2736: (a) down, below, also: downwards, (b) lower, under, less, of a length of time. Also katotero; adverb from kata; downwards.

The
ἡ (hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

earth
γῆ (gē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1093: Contracted from a primary word; soil; by extension a region, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe.

quaked
ἐσείσθη (eseisthē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4579: To shake; fig: I agitate, stir up. Apparently a primary verb; to rock, i.e. to agitate; figuratively, to throw into a tremor.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

the
αἱ (hai)
Article - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

rocks
πέτραι (petrai)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural
Strong's 4073: A rock, ledge, cliff, cave, stony ground. Feminine of the same as Petros; a rock.

were split.
ἐσχίσθησαν (eschisthēsan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4977: To rend, divide asunder, cleave. Apparently a primary verb; to split or sever.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 27:51 Behold the veil of the temple was (Matt. Mat Mt)