Breaking down the wall
Celebrating the end of an era.
25 years ago, a wall came down. People cried, sang and danced for joy.
The Berlin Wall was massive. It stretched for 155 km (96 mi) around West Berlin. And for years it symbolically and physically separated two parts of Germany. It was a 3.6 meter (12 foot) high concrete wall that you couldn't go over, under or around. Soldiers guarded it at over 300 checkpoints. If you lived in West Germany, there was no way out.
But I'm not here to give you a history lesson. That's what Wikipedia is for (oh, and your teachers of course).
What I do want to help you see though, is how the Berlin Wall reminds us of our relationship with God. For thousands of years, there was a wall of sin that divided us from God. We were on the inside and God was on the outside.
This division between us and God could be seen most clearly in the layout of the temple in the Old Testament. There was one place in the temple called the 'Holy of Holies' where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This small, square room was divided from the rest of the temple by a thick curtain — and only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. Once a year.
Like the Berlin Wall, no one else could get through to God. The wall of sin made it impossible.
But God didn't want this situation to last forever. He had a plan to break down the wall of sin — and it involved the death and resurrection of Jesus. Let's take a look at what happened when Jesus died:
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.
Jesus' death was like the knocking down of the Berlin Wall. As he took our sin on himself, the wall collapsed. The barrier between us and God was destroyed. And we can now freely come into God's presence through Jesus.
The wall has come down! And like the residents of Berlin, we should respond with tears, songs and dancing with joy.
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