Mark's "Torn Veil" Symbolism

[gadfly]

Hello, this is an exegetical issue, not really a theological one. That is, I am raising a question about an interpretation of the Bible.

At Jesus' crucifixion, Mark reports (the historicity is irrelevant to this discussion) that the temple veil was torn. It is agreed by most scholars that this refers to the veil that shielded view of the most holy place, where the ark of the covenant once stood, where Yahweh's presence was thought to be most potent. According to Jewish Law, only the High Priest had access to this room, and only once a year, on Yom Kippur.

It is a longstanding interpretation of this detail that Mark intends his readers to infer that those who pledge allegiance to Jesus as Yahweh's Son now have access to the holy of holies--they are on par with, or perhaps superior to, the Jewish High Priest.

I am skeptical of this interpretation. I think Mark intends a slightly different symbolic inference to be drawn. I propose that the theological inference to be drawn is not that Christians have access to the Holy of Holies but that Yahweh has, in a way, departed from the Holy of Holies. The Jewish god's presence is no longer to be associated with the temple, but rather with all who confess Jesus as Yahweh's son--including Gentiles (hence Mark's placement of the confession on the lips of the Gentile Centurion).

What say you?

[1213]

... I propose that the theological inference to be drawn is not that Christians have access to the Holy of Holies but that Yahweh has, in a way, departed from the Holy of Holies. The Jewish god's presence is no longer to be associated with the temple, but rather with all who confess Jesus as Yahweh's son--including Gentiles (hence Mark's placement of the confession on the lips of the Gentile Centurion).

What say you?

I think it is more correct understanding that it means just that Yahweh has left the building. And I think it means the end of the temple period and that sacrifices by the covenant of Moses are not demanded.

[Difflugia]

At Jesus' crucifixion, Mark reports (the historicity is irrelevant to this discussion) that the temple veil was torn. It is agreed by most scholars that this refers to the veil that shielded view of the most holy place, where the ark of the covenant once stood, where Yahweh's presence was thought to be most potent.

The torn veil allowed the Spirit of God to return to Yahweh upon the death of Jesus. When the Spirit descended out of heaven into Jesus at the baptism, it did so when the heavens were "torn." The Greek verbs in 1:10, σχιζομένους, and 15:38, ἐσχίσθη, are both forms of the same root, σχίζω. To Mark, the ministry of Jesus was symmetrical. It began when the heavens were torn and the spirit (πνεῦμα, which is also the word for "breath") went into (εἰς) Jesus. It ended on the cross when the Spirit was "breathed out" (ἐξέπνευσεν) at Jesus' death, the veil was torn, and the Spirit returned to Yahweh.

[gadfly]

At Jesus' crucifixion, Mark reports (the historicity is irrelevant to this discussion) that the temple veil was torn. It is agreed by most scholars that this refers to the veil that shielded view of the most holy place, where the ark of the covenant once stood, where Yahweh's presence was thought to be most potent.

The torn veil allowed the Spirit of God to return to Yahweh upon the death of Jesus. When the Spirit descended out of heaven into Jesus at the baptism, it did so when the heavens were "torn." The Greek verbs in 1:10, σχιζομένους, and 15:38, ἐσχίσθη, are both forms of the same root, σχίζω. To Mark, the ministry of Jesus was symmetrical. It began when the heavens were torn and the spirit (πνεῦμα, which is also the word for "breath") went into (εἰς) Jesus. It ended on the cross when the Spirit was "breathed out" (ἐξέπνευσεν) at Jesus' death, the veil was torn, and the Spirit returned to Yahweh.

I commend your attention to the Greek; however, I disagree with your interpretation. I am not sure what you mean by "the spirit returning to Yahweh"--do you mean that the spirit that was given back from Jesus to God?

At any rate, I read the symbolism as Mark saying that just as the Spirit descended from the heavens into Jesus, so now the Spirit goes out (not back) into the whole world and inhabits anyone (including Gentiles--a major development in Jewish thought) who acknowledges Jesus as God's son. Apart from the clues embedded in the Greek which you've already noted, a little knowledge of the temple will also reinforce my interpretation. The temple was divided into three sections; each section was designed to correspond to the cosmos, which in Jewish thought also was divided into three sections--earth, sky, and the inaccessible heavens (Josephus makes this point). We see this most clearly in the description of Solomon's temple where the purification basins are called "the Sea"; but there are other numerous points of correspondence. Thus the temple, though laid out horizontally, was conceived as ascending vertically, so that the HP walked towards the heavens as he went deeper into the temple.

At Jesus' baptism the heavens are torn; the Spirit descends. At Jesus' death the veil, separating inaccessible heaven (the Holy of Holies) from the visible heavens (the inner sanctuary) is torn--and thus the Spirit goes out. It is no mere historical detail that immediately a soldier, that is, a Gentile, is reported as confessing Jesus as God's son. The inference to be drawn is that God's presence is no longer to be associated with the temple in Jerusalem but rather wherever Jesus is confessed as God's son, and by whomever, Jew or Gentile.

Thus is my interpretation.

[Difflugia]

The torn veil allowed the Spirit of God to return to Yahweh upon the death of Jesus. When the Spirit descended out of heaven into Jesus at the baptism, it did so when the heavens were "torn." The Greek verbs in 1:10, σχιζομένους, and 15:38, ἐσχίσθη, are both forms of the same root, σχίζω. To Mark, the ministry of Jesus was symmetrical. It began when the heavens were torn and the spirit (πνεῦμα, which is also the word for "breath") went into (εἰς) Jesus. It ended on the cross when the Spirit was "breathed out" (ἐξέπνευσεν) at Jesus' death, the veil was torn, and the Spirit returned to Yahweh.

I commend your attention to the Greek; however, I disagree with your interpretation. I am not sure what you mean by "the spirit returning to Yahweh"--do you mean that the spirit that was given back from Jesus to God?

Essentially, yes. I think Mark saw Jesus as acting much more similarly to an Old Testament prophet in which he was one that delivered the message of God. The beginning of Jesus' ministry at the baptism is analogous to the prophetic calls of Ezekiel:

And the Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spoke unto me.

As an interesting aside, the Hebrew of Ezekiel 2:2 uses the word בִי, meaning "into me," but the Septuagint translates it as ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ, which means "upon me," using the same preposition as Matthew and Luke.

At the death of Jesus on the Cross, the Spirit couldn't also die, so it returned to Heaven through the torn veil.

At any rate, I read the symbolism as Mark saying that just as the Spirit descended from the heavens into Jesus, so now the Spirit goes out (not back) into the whole world and inhabits anyone (including Gentiles--a major development in Jewish thought) who acknowledges Jesus as God's son.

This is reasonable in light of the theologies of the other Gospels, but we don't see any clues to this in Mark. The earliest manuscripts end at verse 8, omitting the Matthean Great Commission. In Mark, there is no ministry of the disciples following the crucifixion.

Apart from the clues embedded in the Greek which you've already noted, a little knowledge of the temple will also reinforce my interpretation. The temple was divided into three sections; each section was designed to correspond to the cosmos, which in Jewish thought also was divided into three sections--earth, sky, and the inaccessible heavens (Josephus makes this point). We see this most clearly in the description of Solomon's temple where the purification basins are called "the Sea"; but there are other numerous points of correspondence. Thus the temple, though laid out horizontally, was conceived as ascending vertically, so that the HP walked towards the heavens as he went deeper into the temple.

At Jesus' baptism the heavens are torn; the Spirit descends. At Jesus' death the veil, separating inaccessible heaven (the Holy of Holies) from the visible heavens (the inner sanctuary) is torn--and thus the Spirit goes out.

So far, I agree.

It is no mere historical detail that immediately a soldier, that is, a Gentile, is reported as confessing Jesus as God's son. The inference to be drawn is that God's presence is no longer to be associated with the temple in Jerusalem but rather wherever Jesus is confessed as God's son, and by whomever, Jew or Gentile.

I actually like this as a harmonization of all three Synoptics, but I don't think that it fits the message of Mark because Mark's message of salvation is never offered to gentiles the way it is in Matthew and Luke. Mark does, however, sometimes contrast the faith and understanding of gentiles as an ironic foil to the clueless Jews and, in particular, his disciples. I think the centurion has the same narrative purpose as the Syrophoenician woman of Mark 2:24-30. At first, he rebuffs her; he is not here for the benefit of gentiles ("Let the children first be filled..."). She, however, recognizes him for who he is and he relents. The centurion has the same kind of epiphany, offering an ironic counterpart to the Jewish "bystanders" of 15:35-36 that were mocking him without understanding:

And when they heard it, some of the bystanders said, "Look, he's calling Elijah!" One ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let's see whether Elijah comes to take him down!"

The message of Mark's Jesus is still for Jews, and in particular the readers of Mark, but any Jew that fails to recognize it is more foolish then any gentile. The message was lost once when the women fled the tomb and failed to alert the disciples, but the reader has the privilege to pick up the ball that had been dropped. Even a gentile can't fail to see the import of the message, so what's the Jewish reader's excuse?