The veil spoken of here reached from the ceiling to the floor, from wall to wall, and separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place in the temple. Solomon’s temple was 30 cubits high (1 Ki. 6:2), but Herod increased the height to 40 cubits according to the writings of Josephus, a first century historian. Therefore, depending on what standard you use to convert cubits to feet (there is uncertainty as to exactly what a cubit equaled in our feet and inches), this veil was somewhere between 60 feet and 90 feet high.

It is significant that this veil was rent from top to bottom (Mt. 27:51; Mk. 15:38). No man could have torn the veil in this fashion. It was definitely God that rent the veil. The time when this veil was rent corresponds exactly with the moment Jesus died.

Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that the veil separated the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt, from the rest of the temple, where men dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isa. 59:1-2). Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil, and only once each year (Ex. 30:10; Heb. 9:7). This symbolized the Christ who would enter into God’s presence for us and make an atonement.

The moment that Christ died, the veil was torn in two, revealing that the sacrifice had been made and that there is no longer any separation between God and man. Jesus tore the veil, that is to say His flesh (Heb. 10:20), in two and opened up a new way unto God through Himself.

Forgiveness of sins is one of the great themes of the Bible. There is so much that scripture says about it that it would take volumes of books to adequately deal with the subject. It will suffice to say that the blood of Jesus is what provided us with forgiveness of sins. That sacrifice was so great that it outweighed all our sins. It covered all the sins of the world-past, present, and future.

Most Christians have the concept that the sins they committed before they professed faith in Christ are forgiven at salvation, but any sins that are committed after that time are not forgiven until they repent and ask for forgiveness. This is not the case.

All our sins: past, present, and future were forgiven through the one offering of Jesus. If God can’t forgive future sins, then none of us can be saved because Jesus only died once, nearly 2,000 years ago, before we had committed any sins. All our sins have been forgiven.

The forgiveness of our sins is not the ultimate goal of our salvation. It is just a necessary step. The real goal of salvation is relationship with the Father and sin is a barrier to that relationship. So, it had to be dealt with, and it was, through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who stop with the forgiveness of sins and don’t go on into eternal life are missing the heart of salvation. Our sins have been forgiven so that we may enter into intimacy with the Lord.

It is through the riches of God’s grace that we have received forgiveness for our sins. There is nothing we can do to obtain forgiveness except humble ourselves and receive forgiveness as a gift through faith in Christ.

These Jews, who had courted Judas’ favor to obtain his cooperation in arresting Jesus, cared nothing for Judas. They had simply used him. The devil’s crowd may flatter as long as they can use you, but you can be assured that when there is no longer anything in it for them, they will forsake you just as the chief priests did Judas.

The serpent didn’t come to Eve in the garden threatening to bite her if she didn’t eat of the forbidden fruit. Instead, he came with deception, presenting himself as being concerned for her welfare. Satan’s greatest weapon is deceit.

Just as a football player, a boxer, or military man’s success depends partly on how well he knows his opponent(s), so believers must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. Jesus stripped Satan of all his authority (Mt. 28:18). The power that Satan uses against us now, is deception. Those who ascribe other powers to him have already fallen prey to one of his lies. The devil deceives us and uses our own power and authority against us. The thing that makes deception so deadly is that those who are deceived don’t know it. Once they realize they are deceived, they aren’t deceived any more.

The best defense against the devil is to be so God-centered that you give no place to Satan. People who are very sensitive to the devil’s presence usually are so at the expense of being sensitive to the Lord’s presence. David said, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Ps. 139:8). Anytime Satan’s oppression is present, God’s presence is there too (Heb. 13:5). It’s just a matter of where our focus is. Focusing on the devil is a trick of the devil. Choose to focus on God.

What happened to Barabbas is a picture of what happens when a person is born again. Barabbas was guilty; Jesus was innocent. Yet Jesus suffered the death that Barabbas should have experienced, and Barabbas went free.

Likewise, we were all guilty (Rom. 3:23) and condemned to death (Rom. 6:23), yet Jesus suffered our punishment so that we may go free (2 Cor. 5:21). Just as Barabbas didn’t ask for this substitution, so “God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Barabbas was freed, but he had to choose whether or not to accept this new start and remain free, or go back to his old ways and come under the judgment of Rome again. Likewise, we have all been freed through the substitutionary death of Jesus, but we have to choose whether to accept our freedom by putting faith in Jesus or to reject it, by denying Him.

Our death to sin and resurrection to life with Christ, is already a reality in our spirits but will only become a physical reality when we know and believe it. In the same way that Jesus died unto sin once, and death no longer has dominion over Him, the person who recognizes their death with Christ unto sin, will not allow sin to rule over him anymore. Any Christian who is struggling with sin has not recognized that they are dead unto sin.

This washing of the hands was not only a symbolic custom of the day that showed innocence, but was also a ritual prescribed in the Jewish law (Dt. 21:6-7; Ps. 26:6).

Matthew is the only writer to record Pilate washing his hands of guilt, just as he was the only writer to record Pilate’s wife coming to him with the details of the dream she had about Jesus. Secular accounts record her name as Claudia. She is the only one who spoke for, instead of against Jesus’ life during the trial.

This dream, no doubt came from God, since Claudia would have had to dreamt it before she knew of Jesus being brought to Pilate. Not only did the Lord bare witness in Pilate’s heart to the innocence of Jesus, but He also gave Pilate’s wife a very clear message through this dream. Pilate was not innocent in this matter. Together, these instances underscore that Pilate did not innocently condemn Jesus to death. Pilate will be trying to wash the blood of Jesus off his hands throughout eternity.

Just as God was faithful to show even Pilate the truth in this situation, we can be assured that every person who has ever rejected Jesus has done it in spite of the conviction of the Holy Spirit in his heart (Rom. 1:18-20).

Many problems arise from envy. James said, “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (Jas. 3:16). Envy and strife go hand in hand and open the door to the devil to do anything he desires, in our life. Some people would never give place to the devil through confessing the wrong things, yet through envy, they give the enemy freedom to do his worst. God’s kind of love is not envious or jealous because it doesn’t seek it’s own, but seeks the welfare of others. Envy is an indication of self-centeredness.

The Apostle Paul had some opponents who were just like many people who sow strife today. They are against everything and critical of the way those in authority handle things. They make big statements about what they would do if they were in authority, but it’s all talk. They haven’t proven themselves successful in managing even the smallest things, yet they want to be put in charge of big things, just based on their talk. This is not the system of advancement that Jesus advocates (Mt. 25:21; Lk. 16:11-12; 19:17).

The Lord has united every born-again Christian by baptizing us all into the body of Christ. This is already a reality. Like it or not, want it or not, every Christian is completely one in spirit with every other Christian.

Failure to function as one, in our relationships with other believers means someone is not flowing in the Spirit. Our flesh is the part of us that gets in strife with other believers. As we operate in the Spirit more and more, we will come more and more into unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Jews were God’s chosen people and therefore, God’s representatives on earth. Yet, they lied and condemned an innocent man to death. Pilate could see that their real motivation for wanting Jesus dead was envy. They were doing all their religious works to be seen of men, and were upset that Jesus was getting more recognition than they were. If these Jews would have thought about what type of witness they were giving, even they would have known that their actions were not inspired by God.

We should remember that we are God’s witnesses on earth, or as Paul said, “We are epistles… known and read of all men” (2 Cor. 3:2). Judging our actions in the light of, “What kind of witness will this give to others?” will help us discern whether or not we are being led of God.

The chief priests had deceived themselves and other religious people into believing that they were condemning Jesus for godly reasons, but even an ungodly ruler like Pilate could see through their lies. Religious bondage blinds people to the truth even more than sin does.

These rulers wanted to retain their power and authority, so they fought against the power and authority of Jesus. This is still the same today. Men use doctrinal issues to disguise the real issue. The truth is that, “Only by pride cometh contention” (Prov. 13:10). People who love to have the preeminence (3 Jn. 9) are usually the instigators of persecution.

Although Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, he looked for some diplomatic way to release Jesus that would not cause him to lose popularity with the Jewish leaders. This is why he sent Jesus to Herod. He hoped that Herod would pass judgment on Jesus and save him the trouble.

When that scheme failed, Pilate drew on an old custom of releasing a prisoner to the people at the feast. He gave them a choice between Jesus, who he knew was innocent, and Barabbas, who was a murderer. Pilate thought that the crowd would certainly choose Jesus. However, through the insistence of the chief priests and scribes, the people chose Barabbas to be released.

Pilate was now out of ideas as to how to let Jesus go, and still save face with the Jews, so he condemned Jesus to death. Pilate violated what he knew to be true in his heart because of a fear of men (Prov. 29:25) and what he thought they might do to him. Without the chief priests’ cooperation, he ran the risk of unrest among the Jews, and possible punishment by Caesar for failing to govern well.

As it turned out, Pilate was deposed anyway, just a few years later by Tiberius Caesar, and died in exile in Gaul in A.D. 41. At the most, Pilate gained a five-year extension of his troubled rule, and damned his soul in the process. What a person compromises to keep, he’ll lose. Sin is never worth the price.

All of Christ’s sufferings did not end when He finished His earthly ministry.

He still takes the persecution of His people personally as is revealed by His statement to Saul on the road to Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” He didn’t ask Paul why he was persecuting His people. He said, “Why are you persecuting Me?” When we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, it is actually Christ who is being persecuted.

One of the most trying aspects of persecution is the feeling that God has forsaken you. “If God wanted to, He could stop the persecution, right?

Therefore, He doesn’t care.” That’s the way the devil tries to make us think.

However, the Lord is with you in persecution. If you remember this, it will keep you from being discouraged when persecution comes.

True Christianity is exactly the opposite of the whole-world system. We are heading in a selfless direction, while the world is consumed with self. Jesus teaches us to love, while the world is full of hate. We are suppose to turn the other cheek, while the world takes opportunities to hurt us. The world and Christianity are in conflict. The only reason a Christian would not suffer persecution is if he is heading in the same direction as an unbeliever. When we go God’s way, we will bump into the devil.

Christ is still suffering persecution today when His people are persecuted.

He will continue to do so until the establishment of His physical kingdom.