“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour,” (Matt. 27:45).
Our Lord was crucified at about the third hour of the day, or nine in the morning. There he hung, in plain sight of all those who surrounded him, so there could be no mistaking it was really Christ that was nailed to that cross. And for the next three hours he endured not only unbearable physical sufferings, but also the railings, mockings, dares, and blasphemies from his adversaries and onlookers.
But then at the point when the sun would normally be at its brightest, God covered the earth in a blanket of darkness blacker than the darkest night. The Almighty would not allow this most significant day in all of history to pass as all others before it. He would not have the mass of people go about their day-in-day-out activities without taking notice that the Son of the Most High was about to die to pay for the debt of sin his people owed him.
Such a strange and unnatural occurrence struck terror in the hearts of all the people, especially those who dared insult the character and mock the deity of our Lord. Luke described the scene in this way, “And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts…” (Luke 23:48).
His enemies had stripped him naked, so it was most fitting that his Father cover him with this great blanket of darkness not only to conceal his nakedness, but also his broken, bleeding body from the wicked eyes of his jeering adversaries. It was most fitting that God should drape him in darkness because no human could appreciate the mighty burden of sin he bore nor the onslaught of the fullness of the wrath of God on him. And it was most fitting that the whole world be covered in darkness as the light of the world, the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2), was dying.
There is more mystery in this darkness than we can ever touch this side of heaven, for here divinity is intersecting humanity on a level we cannot grasp. The darkness seems to indicate that it is not ours to know the full scope of everything that was accomplished in those final hours before our Blessed Redeemer bowed his head and gave up the ghost. For while Jesus breathes his final breaths, God is reconciling himself to his people. He is settling the accounts of the sin debt stacked against all believers by accepting this sacrifice of his Son as full payment. These are truths well beyond our understanding.
And yet the beauty of it all is that whatever was accomplished in the silence of that darkness allows all those who sit in darkness to now come to the light of life. There is nothing left for us to do but realize this is holy blood-soaked ground on which we dare bow our knees and hearts in worship.
Contemplations:
- O my Lord and Savior, the Lamb slain in the mind and heart of God before the world began. You bowed the heavens to come down to me (Psa. 18:9, 144:5), and you bowed your head to go up into the heavens to prepare me a mansion with you (John 14:2). All that a man has he will give for his life (Job 2:4), and yet you freely gave your life for me for the redemption of my soul. Help me fully and freely give my life, my all, for the testimony of your name.
- Why should I now fear death? You have conquered it. Its sting is gone. This serpent of death can hiss at me, but no more can it ever hurt me (1 Cor. 15:56).
Further References for Matt. 27:45:
Amos 8:9; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44 Rev. 8:12
