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Evidence ID: HIS-EV43
Evidence: Disruption in Temple Phenomena
Summary: Temple phenomena surrounded the events of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Normal temple practices were disrupted by miraculous signs portending God's disfavor with Israel's disobedience. Ultimately, God rendered the temple and the Old Testament laws of atonement obsolete and established a new covenant with his people.
Description: The Jewish temple was the center of religious life for the nation of Israel. It represented the very presence of God in the world (Habakkuk 2:20). The inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, served a critical function in atoning for the sins of the nation of Israel during Yom Kippur. It was in this holy place that the high priest encountered God, and where God revealed himself to Israel.
During the First and Second Temple periods, God often revealed himself in miraculous ways. These miracles are recorded in the Bible and the Jewish Talmud.
At the time of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, normal temple practices were disrupted. These disruptions were evidenced by miraculous signs portending God's disfavor with Israel's disobedience, as well as establishing God's new covenant with his people.
The tearing of the temple inner curtain in two is described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Matthew 27:51, also see Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45)
This is the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It was a barrier between God and man. It represented the gap that existed between a holy God and sinful man. God was not directly approachable without the mediation of the High Priest who made atonement for man's sins.
This passage in Matthew is prefaced with the word behold which implies that the reader should take special notice that the curtain was torn from top to bottom. According to Josephus [REF-FJO02], the inner curtain was four inches thick. Matthew is suggesting that this event can only be explained by a work of God, not by a natural event such as an earthquake or a violent wind.
The severing of the curtain is an allusion of how Jesus' resurrection power provides unrestricted access to God's presence. This truth is clearly stated in Hebrews 10.
We can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. (Hebrews 10:19-20 NLT)
In effect, Jesus became the Great High Priest. He opened the curtain of the Most Holy Place for all to enter without the restrictions of the Old Testament ceremonial laws of atonement (Hebrews 6-9). Through Jesus, God establishes a new covenant with his people. This covenant replaces the old covenant (Hebrews 8:13 NLT).
Additionally, the temple in Jerusalem is replaced with the Christian's body and soul (Ephesians 2:11-22). This new temple is the dwelling place of God the Holy Spirit inaugurated at Pentecost.
Shimon HaTzaddik (Simon the Just) officiated as high priest for forty years during the Second Temple (c. BC 516) [REF-SHI01] [REF-SHI02]. During his tenure as high priest, many temple phenomena occurred during the Yom Kippur service. However, after his death in BC 312 these phenomena ceased.
This cessation of these phenomena is recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud - Yoma 39a-b. [REF-TAL05] [REF-TAL07]
Without the presence of Shimon HaTzaddik among them, the Jewish people were no longer worthy of the many miracles that had occurred during his lifetime. For this reason, following his death, his brethren, the priests, refrained from blessing the Jewish people with the explicit name of God in the priestly blessing.
The Sages taught: During the tenure of Shimon HaTzaddik, the lot for God always arose in the High Priest’s right hand; after his death, it occurred only occasionally; but during the forty years prior to the destruction of the Second Temple, the lot for God did not arise in the High Priest’s right hand at all.
So too, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white, and the westernmost lamp of the candelabrum did not burn continually.
And the doors of the Sanctuary opened by themselves as a sign that they would soon be opened by enemies, until Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai scolded them. He said to the Sanctuary: Sanctuary, Sanctuary, why do you frighten yourself with these signs? I know about you that you will ultimately be destroyed, and Zechariah, son of Ido, has already prophesied concerning you: "Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars" (Zechariah 11:1), Lebanon being an appellation for the Temple. (Jerusalem Yoma 39b)
In this passage we learn of three successive stages of the Second Temple period.
During the tenure of Shimon HaTzaddik, the miracles of the lot for the Lord were always drawn in the right hand, the scarlet wool always turned white, the western lamp always stayed lit and the temple doors always remained closed. These were considered auspicious signs where God's favor was on the nation of Israel.
During the period from 30-70 AD, the lot for the Lord was always drawn in the left hand, the scarlet wool always remained crimson, the western lamp was always extinguished, and the temple doors always opened by themselves were considered signs of God's disfavor. Consequently, God's disfavor with Israel culminated in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD (Zechariah 11:1).
Both Peter and Paul summarize God's disfavor in the Book of Acts (Acts 4:11, Acts 13:46 NLT). They accused the nation of Israel of rejecting Jesus, God's ultimate sacrifice for sin.
Jesus juxtaposed the Pharisee's accusation of Jesus' blasphemy with the Pharisees' blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:22-29). The rejection of Jesus and God the Holy Spirit was the final transgression in the long sequence of Israel's moral decline.
The resurrection of Jesus was a major disruption to mainline Judaism. The entire Jewish religious system was turned on its head. Ultimately, God rendered the temple and the Old Testament laws of atonement obsolete and established a new covenant with his people.
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