Luke 23:45 - Exposition

And the veil of the temple was rent in the midst . This was the inner veil, which hung between the holy place and the holy of holies. It was rich with costly embroidery, and very heavy. Before the willing surrender of life told of in the next versa (46), our Lord spoke twice more. These fifth and sixth words from the cross are preserved by St. John ( John 19:28 , John 19:30 ). The first of these, "I thirst "—an expression of bodily exhaustion, of physical suffering—was predicted as part of the agony of tile Servant of God ( Psalms 69:21 ). The second, "It is finished !" tells that "the earthly life had been carried to its issue. That every essential point in the prophetic portraiture of Messiah had been realized. The last suffering for sin had been endured. The end of all had been gained. Nothing was left undone or unborne" (Westcott).