The following words from the beloved hymn, One Day, written in 1908 tell the story of Easter better than most ever could…
One day they led Him up Calvary”s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my redeemer is He.
Living, He loved me, dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away.
Rising, He justified freely forever.
One day He’s coming; Oh glorious day!
During their exodus from Egypt, God’s people were instructed to build a tabernacle, a place of worship that could be set up and taken down as needed. In Exodus 26:31 they are told to make a veil of blue , purple and scarlet linen with the image of cherubims worked into it. This veil was to separate the holy place within the tabernacle from the most holy place.
Hebrews 9:2 tells us: ” For there was a tabernacle made.” In the first part was placed the candlestick, the table and the shewbread. It was called the sanctuary. Behind the second veil, was the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all. It held the golden censer ( a vessel for holding incense), and the ark of the covenant which held the golden pot with manna and Aaron’s rod that budded along with the tables of the covenant. 5 “And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat.”
In Exodus 25:17-21 God instructs the people how He wants this mercy seat built and placed inside the tabernacle. 22 And there I will meet with thee and commune with thee from above the mercy seat…
In the sanctuary, the priests moved about daily performing their duties of serving God, but the only one allowed in the most holy place was the high priest. He went alone, once a year, to offer a blood sacrifice for himself and the sins of the people. The Jewish people call this place The Holy of Holies. They believe that God lives there and they must not step foot inside it.
At the time of Jesus’ death, Matthew 27: 50-51 tells us: Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain (torn in two) from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake…
Also in Mark 15: 37-38 says: And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
This tearing apart of the veil was a symbol that man’s separation from God no longer exists. There no longer remains any barriers between us and the Savior who gave His life as one final sacrifice for us all. His blood paid the price for our sins.
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once to the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
What a powerful reminder of who He is and what He suffered so that we too might someday stand in the presence of God. As He does in every circumstance even today, He went before us to prepare the way. He is the way, the truth and the light…and no one comes to the Father but through Him. He is risen… and one day He is coming again; Oh glorious day! Happy Easter!