2 Corinthians 3:13, commentary and pictures

Moses covered his shining face because rebellious Israel could not bear to look steadily at its passing brightness. That brightness was fading, unlike the glory of God seen in Jesus Christ which remains so that all who look may live. What came to an end was not the ten commandments but the divinely appointed system of typical sacrifices and ceremonies that foreshadowed Christ's death and lost their meaning when type met antitype. The veil also stands for stubborn unbelief that hides Christ as the fulfillment of those types and as the righteousness of the law, blinding both Jews who reject Him and Christians who claim the moral law was done away. That veil is removed only when the heart turns to the Lord in repentance for breaking His law and faith in Christ, and ministers of the new covenant therefore speak with open plainness.

Moses's Veil and Glory

Moses put a veil over his shining face after speaking with Israel because the transgressing people were afraid to approach him and could not endure the glory reflected upon it, being pained to look steadily at it while their thoughts and affections were under Satan's control. The glory displayed on his face was transient and passing away, in contrast to the glory of God displayed in the face of Jesus Christ, which ever remains so that all who look may live and have that glory reflected upon them, with Christ as righteousness shedding light and brightness and glory and joy into the law.

The brightness on Moses came both from the sacred, exalted glory of God's law proclaimed from Sinai and from the glory of the gospel revealed through Christ, the heavenly light streaming from Calvary and the plan of salvation with Christ's sacrifice prefigured by all the types and symbols shown to Moses on the mount, which God designed to impress Israel with the character of His law and the glory of the gospel. That divine illumination symbolized the glory of the dispensation of which Moses was the visible mediator as representative of the one true Intercessor, illustrating the blessings to be received by God's commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ, where closer communion with God and clearer knowledge of His requirements conforms them more fully to the divine image and makes them partakers of the divine nature.

Moses himself saw to the end of that which was to be abolished, understanding that the types and ceremonies and typical sacrifices pointing to Christ would meet antitype when Jesus came and died as man's sacrifice, and at the giving of the law he saw the wilderness Angel as the offering for sin and foundation of the types, with the type reaching its antitype and the full significance of the offerings unfolded to him as the righteousness of Christ in the law and the plan of salvation in Christ as propitiation for transgression, whose perfection of character is placed in man's behalf and who took the curse of the law upon Himself. That seeing to the end proved the system to be done away was glorious because Christ was revealed in it as the sin-pardoning Saviour. The sacrificial system was a beautiful but intricate and dim foretaste of Christ's full, greater glory as its great sacrifice and reality, while the ministration of righteousness which remains much more exceeds it in glory.

Moses veiling his countenance was a type of Christ veiling His divinity with humanity when He came to earth, because men in their sinful state could not have endured the glory of His presence with the brightness of heaven nor given Him access to them, so He humbled Himself and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh to reach the fallen race and lift them up. In the same way the glory of Christ's ascension was veiled from human sight, so the disciples could not see the brightness of the heavenly escort or the gates of heaven opening to welcome Him. Mortal eyes could not have endured its contrast with earthly life, and they were spared the full splendor of His welcome lest they lose sight of the character of Christ they were to imitate, remember, and follow in continuing their earthly work.

What Was Abolished

What was abolished and brought to an end at Christ's death was the typical system, the divinely appointed sacrificial offerings and typical ceremonies of the Jewish religion, which had only prefigured the death of the Son of God. In that death type met antitype, so the offerings ceased, lost significance, and became meaningless and valueless, and must soon altogether cease because what they shadowed had come to pass.

That sacrificial system pointed to Christ as its great sacrifice and reality, the wilderness Angel revealed at the giving of the law as the offering for sin and the foundation of the types. The light of the gospel sheds its glory upon the Jewish religion by giving a new significance to its ancient rites once their meaning as fulfilled in Christ the one great offering for the sin of the world is clearly understood. What was abolished did not include the ten commandments, for the moral law was never a type or shadow, was not nailed to the cross, and remains to be kept in letter and in spirit.

The moral law existed before man was created and will continue as long as heaven and earth remain, unchangeable because it is God's character and the foundation and standard of His government. Its transgression made Christ's death essential to save man while maintaining its dignity, and man can keep it only through Jesus Christ, whose mission exalts the law. His perfection of character is placed in man's behalf, having taken the curse of the law upon Himself as propitiation for transgression. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to settle minds about the gospel against trouble and dissension caused by Judaizing teachers who continually presented the virtues of the law and ceremonies, exalting them above the gospel. They condemned Paul because he did not urge keeping the ceremonies that typified Christ and were of no value since His death.

Many believing Jews were slow to discern to the end of that which was abolished by the Son of God, with the veil still over their eyes keeping them from recognizing it. Even though His death broke down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile and opened the full privileges of the gospel to the Gentiles, they could not clearly see that the old order had come to an end. Discerning the end keeps full faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and in Jewish privileges yet broadens faith to know the time has come for God's purpose in spreading the gospel to other nations. So true believers throughout the world may worship God in Spirit and in truth and not alone in temples made with hands.

Veil Removed in Christ

Unlike Moses who veiled his face so Israel could not keep looking to the end of a passing glory, ministers of the new covenant use great plainness of speech and do not veil the truth. The end that had been veiled from view is Christ Himself as the righteousness of the law and the fulfillment of the sacrifices and offerings. The veil therefore also stands for the blindness that keeps minds from seeing the significance of the Old Testament.

That veil is stubborn unbelief resting upon mind and heart. It blinded the Jews who refused Christ as Messiah and as the righteousness of the law, so that they could not see the meaning of sacrifices and offerings and their ceremonies became meaningless. It likewise blinds many in the Christian world who do not see to the end of what was done away but claim the moral law was done away, through pride, bigotry, love of sin, and carnal hearts at war with God and not subject to His law.

The veil is taken away only in Christ when the heart turns to the Lord and accepts Him, bringing the believer into harmony with the rule of His government. Under the heavenly illumination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that veil was removed from the disciples' understanding, though it had rested upon them hiding the meaning of the Scriptures Christ had explained. Then the Scriptures stood forth in their minds with vivid luster and loveliness as clear and powerful truth, and the purpose of Christ's mission and the nature of His kingdom were comprehended with perfect clearness.

When Christ died the veil was removed for Stephen, who discerned that the abolished system had reached its end. During the forty days after His resurrection Jesus instructed the disciples about His future office and work as a High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of their infirmities, and breathed on them the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit that opened their understanding so they could see the end of what was abolished. As they saw Christ as the one great offering for the sin of the world they understood more clearly the meaning of the sacrificial offerings which, having met their antitype in His death on the cross, were no longer of value.

Sympathy with the world's customs and practices also acts as a veil hiding the Lord's glory. Believers must keep the eyes fixed on God and turn away from the things of the world, leaving behind whatever comes between them and Him so they may become Christlike and be ready to see His face. Seeing to the end requires genuine repentance toward God for transgression of His holy law and genuine faith in Christ whose mission is to exalt God's law and make obedience possible through His righteousness. Christ our Righteousness sheds light and brightness and glory and joy into the law of God, while those who claim Christ as Saviour while despising the law will at last be rejected by Him as unknown.