Torn Curtain

Alfred Hitchcock was into torn curtains. And not just the iconic shower scene in Psycho. He directed a gripping cold war drama in 1966, that remains one of my favourites.

In Torn Curtain Paul Newman is an American scientist who pretends to defect so that he can have access to an East German engineer. He has been unable to solve a problem relating to missile guidance, and this German scientist holds the answer. In the crucial central scene, there are two startling revelations in a classroom, as a chalkboard fills with complex mathematics.

The first as Newman understands where his maths has been wrong. His face fills with enlightenment, and he starts to feverishly scribble equations in his notebook. The second equally powerful revelation is when, at the same moment, the communist scientist realises it is a ruse, and he has given away a valuable secret. Cue an exciting and gripping chase scene that lasts for the rest of the film…

Two revelations—a victory and a disaster; an end and a beginning;

"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" (Mark 14 v 36-37)

The curtain was a physical reminder of the spiritual barrier that exists between Man and God. Because of your sin you can’t come in. And at the point of Jesus death, God tore it down the middle. So we can sing:

There’s a way back to God, from the dark parts of sin
There’s a door that is open and you may go in…

The torn curtain revealed a new beginning—a new way to relate to God through Jesus.

The torn curtain revealed a new beginning—a new way to relate to God through Jesus.

But the torn curtain also revealed an end. If Jesus death and resurrection was now the way be justified, then the torn curtain was also a powerful visual symbol that God had, quite literally, torn up the old covenant way of relating to him. No longer were sacrifices and offerings and washings and rituals required. Now the call was to have faith in the blood of Christ shed on the cross, and follow the risen Lord of all.

I sometimes wonder what the priests on duty in the temple thought that day. Maybe they hid in terror at the thought that this barrier that protected them from the wrath of God was gone. Maybe over the days that followed, they started to put together in their minds the two events—Jesus death and the torn curtain. Maybe they started to wonder at what this sign meant. Perhaps their shock and awe at this event is part of the reason why Acts 6 v 7 reports:

"So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

Take a look at The Garden The Curtain and the Cross. And join the conversation and comment below. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.