What once declared distance now proclaims welcome. What sin had severed, Christ has restored. And instead of a flaming sword, there now hangs a torn veil—the perfect picture of Christ’s reconciling work. Sin atoned for, wrath satisfied, and fellowship restored. Forever.

And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’
Mark 15:37–39

Jesus’ lifeless body hung limp on a cross—the death the religious leaders had longed to see, an execution they had plotted for some time.^[1] The “King of the Jews” was dead.

Theologically, Jesus’ substitutionary atonement was finished. He had expiated sin by becoming the sinner’s substitute. He had propitiated God’s wrath by bearing it in full. He had fulfilled the Day of Atonement imagery, completed the Passover Lamb symbolism, and finished the vicarious sacrifices pictured throughout Israel’s history. He had redeemed His people out of Satan’s domain with His blood.^[2]

Atonement, expiation, propitiation, sacrifice, redemption—these are glorious truths that summarize Christ’s saving Gospel. But none of those accomplishments were visible to the human eye when Christ “breathed His last” (Mark 15:37). To the crowd, Jesus was an executed criminal. To the religious leaders, He was a crucified blasphemer. For His closest followers, He was a lifeless loved one.

And yet, a half mile from Christ’s cross, in the inner sanctum of Jerusalem’s temple, God the Father made visible the saving triumph of His Son. A veil, torn in two—a miraculous sign of the reconciliation Christ had achieved for His people.

Enemies Made Friends

Reconciliation is the relational result of Christ’s saving work. Because Christ exhausted His Father’s wrath for sin and lived the perfect life for the sinner, God is freed to welcome, as friends, those who were once His enemies.

John Piper calls this gift “the ultimate good in the good news.” Why? Because, unlike atonement, expiation, propitiation, sacrifice, and redemption, reconciliation “brings us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). I’ll let Piper explain:

What is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God Himself. All the words of the gospel lead to Him, or they are not gospel. For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from Hell and not for God. Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn’t open the way to God. Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn’t bring fellowship with God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn’t bring us to God.^[3]

What, then, is the good news of the Gospel? Reconciliation—isolation removed, fellowship restored, and access granted.

Banished from the Garden

Genesis 3 graphically displays why mankind needs this “ultimate good in the good news.” Not only did Adam and Eve hide themselves, in shame and sin, from God’s presence; but even worse, God evicted them from His presence, in anger and judgment, because of their rebellion. Reconciliation was needed, not only because of mankind’s hostility toward God, but because of God’s hostility toward man.^[4]

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