Bible Question (short): Torn veil of Mat 15.38 the literal veil? |
Question (full): My question is about Matthew 15:38. I take this verse literally because (1) the wording used would indicate it ("in two" and "from top to bottom"); (2) because everything Jesus was/is and everything He did was represented by some tangible foreshadow, so it's easy to believe that the tearing of His flesh/veil would be represented in a tangible way; and (3) because what He did (paying for our sin once for all and thus giving believers direct access to God through Him) really needed to be demonstrated to people in a tangible way. I also understand Hebrews 10:19-20, but still think that Matt. 15:38 is literal. However, a friend believes that Mark 15:38 refers to Jesus' flesh - that the actual Temple veil was not torn in two. She believes this because she has read commentators who say that no extrabiblical sources (such as Josephus) record the tearing of the veil, and if such a momentous thing had truly happened, it would have been recorded (as other things were). That argument is very convincing since other cataclysmic occurrences were recorded, and because Jesus had already referred to His body as the Temple (John 2:19). Still, those are not enough to overcome my reasons above. Does anyone have any more information on this? |