ISB ~ Mark 15 v38

the curtain:Two veils hung in the Jerusalem Temple to symbolize God’s inaccessibility to sinners (Heb 9:8). One was visible, as it separated the outer courts from the sanctuary proper, and the other was invisible to all but the priests, as it hung inside the sanctuary in front of its most sacred chamber, the Holy of Holies (Ex 26:31-34; Heb 9:3, 7). Although the evangelist does not specify which of the two veils was torn, the lesson to be learned is clear: access to the Father is now open through Jesus, who as high priest has entered on our behalf (Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19-22). Moreover, as the curtain

ripped from top to bottom, the barrier between the face of God and his people was removed, and the termination of the Old Covenant was prophetically announced. was torn: Mark uses the same Greek expression at 1:10 to describe God “tearing” the heavens at the Baptism of Jesus. If a connection is being made between these two events, as seems likely, it may have been the outer veil draped in front the sanctuary that was rent in two, since history testifies that it was embroidered with images of the heavens and the cosmos (Josephus, Jewish War 5, 212-14).