Mark's distinctive emphasis on the temple's torn curtain

Abstract

This article asks several questions: What is distinctive about Mark’s description about the rending of the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple during Jesus’ crucifixion?; What is his rhetorical strategy in doing so?; What role does the temple play in Jewish religion? What role does the Temple play in Jesus’ ministry and message?; and What is the context of the narrative about the torn temple curtain? The conclusion is that Mark utilises the description to demonstrate God’s judgement on the worship at the temple, but at the same time illustrates how the way between heaven and earth is opened at the moment of the death of God’s Son.