EVERY SINGLE WORD IS INSPIRED!

I attended two seminaries.  First, Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.  This was the eastern school of choice for Free Methodist students during my time.  We lived in this community for three years and I acquired sixty credit hours (of ninety) toward a Master of Divinity degree.  This was sufficient credit (at that time) for me to be fully ordained in the Free Methodist Church. 

Within three years, I realized my error in judgment and was accepted at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where I would complete my degree – although they required 106 credit hours and granted me thirty from ATS.  It was a liberal, Presbyterian school where the theology department was dominated by feminist theology, process theology, liberation theology and Calvinistic theology. 

I learned much at both schools and found certain professors who made an indelible imprint on my life.  One from ATS was Dr. Robert Traina.  He believed in the divine inspiration of the Bible!  He believed and emphasized that if it was divinely inspired, then every word was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the human recipients!!!!

This perspective emphasized the importance of pastors to be trained in the original languages:  Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.  How else can one fully grasp the meaning of the original writings.  I remember studying my flash cards while sitting in traffic on Greentree Hill four days a week!  That traffic enabled me to get A’s in Hebrew and Aramiac!  J

I frequently think about Dr. Traina’s contention! 

Like today.  I was reading the latter verses of Mark 15  [NASB}.  I came across the following and stopped in absolute wonder!

v. 37   And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

v. 38  And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Why was this included in the text?
Why in this exact location?
Why did the Holy Spirit want us to have this information?
Was this the result of an earthquake?
Or was something more powerful happening?
Did SOMEONE rip the veil?
If so, WHO?
WHY?
What did this mean?
Why did the Holy Spirit want us to know that it was a thorough tearing – torn in two from top to bottom?

When I was at my first full-time church, the ministerial association broke up the passage for each of us to handle a section at the Good Friday service.  One of our group was a very liberal Lutheran pastor who had irritated me at times with his ideas and attitude.  So, I played the devil’s advocate [pardon me in my youth and zeal, please], and approached him about my passage.

I showed him verse 38, indicating that it was part of my section.  I asked, “I’m in my first appointment and fresh out of seminary.  Could I ask what you make of this verse?”  His response was terse and without passion:  “I don’t make anything of it!  I don’t think it has any meaning for us at all?” 

Dr. Traina and I would differ! 

In the Jewish temple, the veil served as the barrier to the Holy of Holies.  The Holy of Holies was said to be where God’s presence rested and it housed the Ark of the Covenant.  Only the high priest could enter this area, and then only one time per year, to make atonement for the sins of Israel [Exodus 30:10].

I Kings 6:2 records that Solomon’s temple was 45 feet tall.  The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, records that Herod extended the temple’s height to about 60 feet tall.  He also records that the veil was four inches thick.

Notice the details:

• Jesus died.
• The enormous 45 to 60-foot high, four inch thick curtain was torn in half.
• The tear was from top to bottom clearly indicating the destruction was not man-made, but came from God.

This connection between the death of Jesus and the torn veil is not just about God’s power, but is demonstrative of who Jesus is, what the cross accomplished, and the access we have to God through Christ. 

Hebrews 8:1-2 [NASB] notes, “Now the main point in what has been said is this:  we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man." 

Jesus Himself now serves as our high priest!  There is no longer a need for a Jewish high priest to stand before the Lord and make atonement for our sins.  Jesus has provided for our atonement through His death on the cross!      [Some copied from compellingtruth.org]

This Jesus is always available to you!  Thick clouds can’t interfere with your connection to Him!  He never sleeps!  He has no difficulty hearing even your faintest whisper.  He, Himself, hears your very words and thoughts and responds with compassion and forgiveness!  24/7/365!  From anywhere in His universe! 

That’s what these fourteen words imply! 

Mark 15:38  [NASB]  And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

A TRIP TO THE CITY

 I'd like to tell you a little Good Friday story.  Part of it comes from my imagination, but part of it is factual - based on the Gospel of Mark, chapter 15.

Alexander (lets call him Alex) and his brother, Rufus, loved their father very much.  He was a very strong man who was capable of much hard work.  Once in a while, he hoisted them onto his shoulders and carried them around.  He never seemed to grow tired.  They were proud of their father.  He stood out in a crowd because he was a big man and also taller than most.  His very size seemed to command respect.  But inside, he was a gentle man and would never knowingly hurt anyone.  

He had to occasionally go to Jerusalem for supplies and would usually take his boys with him.  They loved these trips.  When they would come to the crowded marketplaces, he would hold each of them by their hands to keep them from getting separated and lost.  Their smaller hands got lost in his big, rough hands.  He worked in the fields and with the animals, so his hands had become calloused and brown from the sun.  He was not a famous man, but he was respected because he was honest, fair and a hard worker.  But most important, he loved their mother!  This fact gave the boys a wonderful sense of security.  They had good parents, and they knew it.  

Alex was a year older than his brother, Rufus, but age didn't really matter to them.  They played together every day and also had a few other friends on the farm where their father worked.  They played with a home-made ball that they kicked and threw around.  They climbed olive trees and hid from their father.  When he would walk below them, they would jump out and try to scare him.  He would catch them and rub their heads with his knuckles and then tickle them until they couldn't stand it any longer.    He occasionally would tickle their Mom too, but she didn't think it was funny and would pretend to get angry with him.  They would all end up laughing together...

Theirs was a poor but happy home.  Their father often told them, "All you need to be happy is the love of a family, enough food for the day and a safe, soft place to sleep."  They knew he was right and they never longed for things or for wealth.  Most of the time, their mother put them to bed at night, but once in a while their father would settle them down.  They would beg him for a story, and he would sometimes tell them about his own growing up years.  But then, he would wrap each of them up tightly in their blanket so that they could hardly move.  Then, he would kiss them on the forehead and pray over them.  When leaving their sides, he would stop in the dim light and say, "You boys must love God first, always bless your family and be kind even to strangers.  This will please God and you will live a long life!"  

One morning the boys had finished their breakfast and were wondering what to do when their father asked if they wanted to go to Jerusalem with him.  They burst to his side and off they went.  It was a long walk and their father always carried a sack with bread and grape juice.  Going to Jerusalem was all up hill, so it was a little hard-going.  The trip back was always more enjoyable.  

When they approached the marketplace, the crowd began to grow thicker, so their father took each boy by the hand to keep them together and safe.  Soon the crowd became so thick that they could hardly get through.  Their father was curious and pressed to the front to see what was going on.  This public road with merchants and vendors was always busy, but today the crowd was exceptional.  Soon, Roman soldiers stopped them from going any further.  As they looked up-and-down 'the way of suffering' they saw something that immediately shocked them all.

A man - nearly naked - was dragging a heavy cross-bar through the streets.  The soldiers were mocking Him and beating Him and spitting on Him.  He was clearly exhausted and had been beaten with a whip until His back was totally scarred and bloody.  He wore a crown of thorns that had been pressed cruelly on His head.  Many of the crowd were weeping at the sight of this man.  Others were jeering and seemed to be thrilled at this horrible sight.  Then they heard that His name was Jesus!  

They said to their father, "Dad, it's Jesus!"  They began to cry as they remembered the day He had pulled them up onto his lap and laid His hands on their heads.  "Why are they being so mean to Jesus?" the boys asked their father.  "I don't know, boys, but we must pray for Him."  They peeked between Roman soldiers as Jesus grew closer until He finally collapsed right in front of them.  The soldiers whipped Him in an attempt to get Him back on His feet, but He just laid in  the street.  

When the soldiers realized that Jesus couldn't carry His cross any farther, they began to look around.  One of them spied Simon - the boy's father.  He stood out from the crowd because of his size and height.  That soldier roughly called to their Dad, "Pick up His cross and carry it!"  Without a second thought, Simon turned to the boys and told them to keep him in sight.  Then, he stepped into the street and picked up the heavy cross-bar.  While lifting it to his shoulders, he reached down again and helped Jesus to His feet.  Together, Simon and Jesus followed the cruel soldiers out of the city and up to 'the place of the skull'.  

Once there, Simon was relieved of his responsibility and was able to rejoin his boys.  He took them by their hands and led them away.  From a distance, they sat and watched the grisly scene develop.  Finally, Simon took the boys away and they headed toward home.  The walk was quiet as they felt the sadness of what was happening to Jesus.  They had made a trip to see Him a year ago and heard Him teach.  That was the day that Jesus had called the children to come to Him so He could bless them.  Alex and Rufus had slipped from their mother's hand and had run to Jesus.  His tenderness was a moment they would never forget.  Their parents had been moved by His teaching.  

"Why were they being so mean to Jesus?" the boys asked their father.   "I don't know, boys," their father answered.  Then he said, "Jesus is a good man and a great teacher.  He has healed many who were sick and some say that He even raised some people from the dead.  He has performed miracles that are talked about all throughout Judea."  Just as he said this, the sun was quickly hidden from them and a night-like darkness fell over all the land - even though it was mid-day.  The boys were frightened.  Then the earth began to shake and they scrambled for high ground as they made their way home.  If the boys hadn't been with their father, they would have been terrified, but they knew that he would keep them safe.  

After three hours the darkness lifted and it was daylight again.  About then, they reached home and told their mother about everything they had seen that day in Jerusalem.  It was a day they'd never forget.  It was the day their Dad carried Jesus' cross!