<p>27:51 <em>And the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked</em>- The way into the most holy was now open to all, the veil torn from top to bottom because this was done by God. The High Priest's garments had been torn by him, and now the veil itself was open. Judaism was effectively over. Direct fellowship with God was now made possible through the Lord's death. We note by contrast how the same word is used to describe how the Lord's garment was <em>not</em> rent (Jn. 19:24). &nbsp;.<br /><i><br /><em>And the rocks were split</em></i>- &quot;Rocks&quot; translates <em>petra</em>, the Lord's special name for Peter. According to the reconstruction of events offered earlier, Peter was present at the crucifixion, a witness to the Lord's sufferings (1 Pet. 5:1), and what he saw there was the basis of his conversion. Perhaps we are therefore intended to imagine the rending of Peter's heart as part of his conversion process; and his path is to be ours, if we allow the cross the same power in our hearts.</p><p>Job said that if he justifies himself, he will be condemned out of his own mouth (Job 9:20- he understood the idea of self-condemnation and judgment now). Isaiah also foresaw this, when he besought men (in the present tense): &ldquo;Enter <em>into the rock</em>, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty&quot;, and then goes on to say that in the day of God&rsquo;s final judgment, &ldquo;the rejected shall go <em>into </em>the holes of <em>the rock</em>... for <em>fear of the Lord and for the glory of His majesty</em> when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth&quot; (Is. 2:10,11,19-21). We must find a true, self-condemning humility now, unless it will be forced upon us at the judgment. The LXX of Is. 2:19 speaks of a rending of the rocks, exactly the same phrase as occurs in Mt. 27:51 about the crucifixion. Rending of rocks is common judgment day language (Nah. 1:5,6; Zech. 14:4), and consider too how this happened in the theophany of 1 Kings 19:11,12, in which the still small voice would be comparable to the message of the cross.</p>