Mark 15:37-38

"And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Mark 15:37-38

There is a difference between being alone and being separated. Jesus had been separated from His Father, but He was on a mission. He was doing His part in God's great plan to redeem mankind from his sinful ways. That was fine. Every day He could communicate with the Father. He did what His Father asked. He was separated from the Father but He was not alone.

That all changed on a Friday afternoon. Jesus was hanging on a cross, the result of a set of rigged trials. He was unjustly accused, convicted with false testimony, beaten unmercifully by the Romans and finally hanged on that cross. It was there that He became truly separated from His Father.

All of a sudden, He looked heavenward through pain filled eyes, and Daddy wasn't there. Why? It wasn't the suffering or the injustice. It was the sin. No, not Jesus' sin for He was sinless. It was deeper. Just as the priest would lay his hands upon a sacrificial lamb and transfer the guilt of a person orthe nation from them to that lamb, on the cross all the sins of all mankind - past, present, and future - were placed upon Jesus.

In effect, Jesus became sin - and that is what the Father could not tolerate or look upon! That is when Jesus was alone and lonely. That is why He cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But note what happened when Jesus died - literally when He took His last breath! The veil of the Temple was torn in half. That may not seem significant at first, but follow these questions.

"What was the purpose of the veil?" It separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. "What was the Holy of Holies?" It symbolized the dwelling place of God. "So when the veil was torn, what happened to the Holy of Holies?" It was exposed to every man - there was no longer a partition that separated man from God. EXACTLY! Jesus' sacrificial death was what was needed to break down the barrier between God and YOU! You and I no longer need to be lonely. We have direct access to the Father. We do not have to approach Him through a priest or pastor or intermediary of any type. We can approach Him directly - if we approach Him through the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus. To that I say "Hallelujah!" I will never again be lonely. I always have the Father with me. He no longer resides in a Temple made with human hands. He resides in my heart where there is no separation but what I put up - and I willingly, openly tear them down so that I can rest in the Fathers arms. And YOU can do the very same thing! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.