Darkness in Two Flavors
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Matt. 27:45, 46, RSV.
Time passes slowly on the cross. Mark tells us that the Romans nailed Jesus to it at the third hour of the day or about 9:00 in the morning. He died at the ninth hour or about 3:00 in the afternoon. Six short hours to those enjoying life, but six hours that seemed like eternity to one hanging on a cross. If you have difficulty imagining what it was like, try picturing simultaneous surgery for six hours on several parts of your body without pain killer. But even then, you could never capture the pain of crucifixion. It made even strong men cry for death. Anything to get rid of the ceaseless pain.
For Jesus death came swiftly. Only six hours. Many hung on their crosses for days before entering the mercy of death. Halfway through those six hours, the Bible tells us, "there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour."
It was not an eclipse. The Gospel writers make no suggestion as to what caused the darkness. They simply record the fact that for three long hours it enveloped Jerusalem.
That three Gospels record the darkness indicates that it made a deep impression upon those who experienced it. One can only imagine the silence that must have fallen over the jeering crowd. Darkness at the height of day was enough to fill those experiencing it with a nameless terror. Something was happening as Jesus hung upon the cross, but they didn't know what.
But the darkness was not only in nature. It filled the soul of Christ. For at the ninth hour He cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34, RSV).
The darkness overwhelming Jesus is even more amazing than that covering the land. His life had not been easy. In fact, He had had to face hatred and rejection on every side throughout His ministry. Yet He was a man of joy and positive expression.
The source of that joy was the deep conviction that He was never alone. "I and My Father are one." "I am in the Father and the Father in Me." "I am not alone, the Father is with Me." No matter what His outward circumstances, Jesus knew that the Father's smile rested on Him.
But now? Darkness!
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Matt. 27:45, 46, RSV.
Time passes slowly on the cross. Mark tells us that the Romans nailed Jesus to it at the third hour of the day or about 9:00 in the morning. He died at the ninth hour or about 3:00 in the afternoon. Six short hours to those enjoying life, but six hours that seemed like eternity to one hanging on a cross. If you have difficulty imagining what it was like, try picturing simultaneous surgery for six hours on several parts of your body without pain killer. But even then, you could never capture the pain of crucifixion. It made even strong men cry for death. Anything to get rid of the ceaseless pain.
For Jesus death came swiftly. Only six hours. Many hung on their crosses for days before entering the mercy of death. Halfway through those six hours, the Bible tells us, "there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour."
It was not an eclipse. The Gospel writers make no suggestion as to what caused the darkness. They simply record the fact that for three long hours it enveloped Jerusalem.
That three Gospels record the darkness indicates that it made a deep impression upon those who experienced it. One can only imagine the silence that must have fallen over the jeering crowd. Darkness at the height of day was enough to fill those experiencing it with a nameless terror. Something was happening as Jesus hung upon the cross, but they didn't know what.
But the darkness was not only in nature. It filled the soul of Christ. For at the ninth hour He cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34, RSV).
The darkness overwhelming Jesus is even more amazing than that covering the land. His life had not been easy. In fact, He had had to face hatred and rejection on every side throughout His ministry. Yet He was a man of joy and positive expression.
The source of that joy was the deep conviction that He was never alone. "I and My Father are one." "I am in the Father and the Father in Me." "I am not alone, the Father is with Me." No matter what His outward circumstances, Jesus knew that the Father's smile rested on Him.
But now? Darkness!
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