Without Christ, The Veil Remains

 2 Corinthians 3:15-16,  "Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed."

Years ago I had a conversation with the pastor of a church I was attending about cessationism and 'sufficiency of scripture.' In particular I asked him what he thought about the support for cessationism using 2 Timothy 3:16 considering at the time Paul wrote those words, the New Testament wasn't completed. This is what he answered.

"Scripture is sufficient. It always has been sufficient. Think about this, everything is contained in the first five books of the Bible. The entire plan of redemption is there. The rest of the Old Testament is really a commentary on those five books. And in many ways, the New Testament is a commentary on the Old Testament."

In the years since then I have realized just how true his statement was. By the third chapter of Genesis sin had entered the world along with the promise that the seed of the woman would undo the curse and defeat the serpent.

Often people equate the Old Testament and the Old Covenant as being one and the same. That isn't the case. The Old Testament covers nearly 4,000 years of history, from creation until about 400 years before the time of Christ. The Old Covenant covers a time period of about 900 years from the giving the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai until the Babylonian captivity. Even though the terms of the covenant still applied until the time of Christ, it was never fully realized after the exiles returned. The ark was gone, the direct priestly line of Aaron was lost, and the shekinah glory never returned to the new temple.

So the Old Covenant was really a 'story within the story.' But even so, the Old Covenant was a 'faith based' covenant that pointed to Jesus Christ. It wasn't just about keeping the law. It depended entirely of the animal sacrifices being made to atone for sin. The entire New Testament book of Hebrews explains how the Old Covenant was a foreshadowing of the finished work of Christ that would happen in the future.

"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1-4)

Then in verse 14 of the same chapter;

"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

The entire Old Covenant was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. When he surrendered his spirit to the Father the veil in the temple was torn signifying that the Old Covenant was no longer necessary.

The Veil on their hearts.

The Old Covenant contained 613 laws and ordinances which included the Ten Commandments. By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and the ruling class had added several thousand more. Jesus condemned their practices numerous times but particularly in Matthew 15:9 and then repeated in Mark 7:7.

"In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Because of the hardness of their hearts and the pursuit of their own righteousness, they completely failed to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament. In John 5:39-40, Jesus spoke of His witness in the Scriptures.

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."

They were placing their faith on their own righteousness and their own ability to keep the law. Jesus went on to remind them about how Moses wrote about Him.

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45-47)

Notice the words, 'Moses, on whom you have set your hope.' They had literally made an idol out of Moses and elevated him above God.

But what did Moses actually say?

Deuteronomy 18:15  “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—"

The only one who truly fits the mold of 'a prophet like me' was Jesus Christ.

Moses -- Old Covenant               
Led people out slavery ofEgypt.                                                    

Jesus -- New Covenant
Led people from slavery of sin.                                                      

There isn't time to go into all of the quotations of Jesus and the apostles that contain paraphrase, 'That it might be fulfilled what was written in the prophets,' but there are many such references.

One of the most striking passages is in Luke.

"Then he said to them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.' " (Luke 24:44-47)

Verse 45 is the key, 'Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.' As it was stated in the opening passage to this article, without coming to Christ the veil remains and a person will not understand the scriptures.

I have heard it said that there is nothing more dangerous than a Bible in the hands of an unconverted person, especially when these people are in positions of leadership. The Bible has been used as a means to abuse and mistreat others as well as to defend some truly heinous acts. We see this with the religious leaders of Jesus's day. The leaders lorded it over the populous. We see the same thing today, not only with various 'Christian cults' but even among mainstream evangelical Christianity. Paul addressed this in Colossians.

 "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2:20-23)

While the veil remains, the Bible is nothing more than a rule book that has no actual ability to change us. But when Jesus Christ comes, the veil is removed and we are given the ability to 'understand the scriptures' as they are meant to be understood. The scriptures are no longer a set of rules that must be followed. They are the revelation of our Savior and the door through which the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and transforms us into the image of God's only begotten Son.