What does Hebrews 10:20 mean?

The overall theme of the book of Hebrews is that God's new covenant is superior to the old covenant. This does not make the old covenant wrong, or meaningless. Rather, God has always intended the Old Testament's system of priests and animal sacrifices to point towards the eventual Messiah. Given all of the Scripture and evidence supporting Jesus' role as the Promised One, the writer argues, Christians should be extremely confident in their faith.

One of the most striking features of the old covenant was the curtain separating certain holy places from entry by the people. Behind this curtain was the holiest of all rooms in the temple, where only the high priest could enter, once per year, bringing a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:6–7). The very existence of this curtain implied a separation between God and man (Hebrews 9:8).

Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, however, removes this barrier (Hebrews 9:11–14). This was most dramatically symbolized at Jesus' crucifixion, when this very temple curtain was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50–51).