John 14:6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth[a] and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(A)
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Hebrews 6:19-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
19 This we have as an anchor of the soul,(A) sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,[a] 20 where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner, becoming high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.(B)
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- 6:19 Anchor…into the interior behind the veil: a mixed metaphor. The Holy of Holies, beyond the veil that separates it from the Holy Place (Ex 26:31–33), is seen as the earthly counterpart of the heavenly abode of God. This theme will be developed in Hb 9.
Hebrews 9:8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
8 In this way the holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place.
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Hebrews 9:11-12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Sacrifice of Jesus. 11 [a]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,[b] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,(A) 12 he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.(B)
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- 9:11–14 Christ, the high priest of the spiritual blessings foreshadowed in the Old Testament sanctuary, has actually entered the true sanctuary of heaven that is not of human making (Hb 9:11). His place there is permanent, and his offering is his own blood that won eternal redemption (Hb 9:12). If the sacrifice of animals could bestow legal purification (Hb 9:13), how much more effective is the blood of the sinless, divine Christ who spontaneously offered himself to purge the human race of sin and render it fit for the service of God (Hb 9:14).
- 9:11 The good things that have come to be: the majority of later manuscripts here read “the good things to come”; cf. Hb 10:1.
Matthew 27:51
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
51 (A)And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.[a] The earth quaked, rocks were split,
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- 27:51–53 Veil of the sanctuary…bottom: cf. Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45. Luke puts this event immediately before the death of Jesus. There were two veils in the Mosaic tabernacle on the model of which the temple was constructed, the outer one before the entrance of the Holy Place and the inner one before the Holy of Holies (see Ex 26:31–36). Only the high priest could pass through the latter and that only on the Day of Atonement (see Lv 16:1–18). Probably the torn veil of the gospels is the inner one. The meaning of the scene may be that now, because of Jesus’ death, all people have access to the presence of God, or that the temple, its holiest part standing exposed, is now profaned and will soon be destroyed. The earth quaked…appeared to many: peculiar to Matthew. The earthquake, the splitting of the rocks, and especially the resurrection of the dead saints indicate the coming of the final age. In the Old Testament the coming of God is frequently portrayed with the imagery of an earthquake (see Ps 68:9; 77:19), and Jesus speaks of the earthquakes that will accompany the “labor pains” that signify the beginning of the dissolution of the old world (Mt 24:7–8). For the expectation of the resurrection of the dead at the coming of the new and final age, see Dn 12:1–3. Matthew knows that the end of the old age has not yet come (Mt 28:20), but the new age has broken in with the death (and resurrection; cf. the earthquake in Mt 28:2) of Jesus; see note on Mt 16:28. After his resurrection: this qualification seems to be due to Matthew’s wish to assert the primacy of Jesus’ resurrection even though he has placed the resurrection of the dead saints immediately after Jesus’ death.
Mark 15:38
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
38 [a]The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
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- 15:38 See note on Mt 27:51–53.
Luke 23:45
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
45 because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.(A)
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