Lesson One • Darkness
Jeannie Yates
“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” Mark 15:33
I did not grow up in an area of the country where there are tornados and tornado sirens. When you move from the West Coast to the Midwest in late October, no one warns you about these things. They say, “I hope you are ready for a lot of snow!” I was never cautioned with, “Michigan averages 15 tornados a year and you should be prepared to hear a loud siren test on the first Saturday.” You can probably imagine our first storm season in Michigan was a little unnerving, to say the least!
Now, after almost 20 years, we are barely phased by the Saturday siren tests and, like true Michiganders, at the sound of an unscheduled siren, we head outside to look up at the sky. (Just kidding; kids, do not try that at home!) According to Google, there are several atmospheric warning signs that precipitate a tornado’s arrival: dark greenish sky, wall clouds, approaching clouds of debris, and large hail. There is something awesomely terrifying about a darkening sky in the middle of the day. Once in a while, the clouds will be so massive and dark that it almost resembles the darkness of night. Unlike the tornadic skies of the Midwest, the darkness that surrounded the cross at the crucifixion of Jesus was not at all familiar and offered no physical explanation. It was a supernatural, miraculous event. There in the middle of the day, at noon (“the sixth hour”), darkness covered the whole land for three hours. In Luke’s Gospel, he writes, “the sun’s light failed” (Luke 23:45).
This was not the first time they had heard of such darkness. For hundreds of years and throughout generations, families would have passed down the story of God bringing plagues upon Egypt until Pharoah relented to Moses and let them go. One of these plagues was unexplainable darkness that lasted for three days. In Exodus 10:21-23, we read, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.’ So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.” Like that plague in Egypt, this darkness at Golgotha was not a passing storm, a little black cloud, or even a temporary solar eclipse. This was unexplainable, complete darkness. The Old Testament prophet, Amos, spoke of this darkness saying, “‘On that day,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight’” (Amos 8:9).
Many times throughout the Gospels, Jesus is referred to as “the Light” and “darkness” represents evil, sin, and separation from God. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Through His death on the cross, “the Light of the World,” who lived a perfect, sinless life, took on all of the darkness. The full weight of all that we, as sin-filled humans, had done and will do was placed upon Him, and for three hours, all was dark. The commentator R. Kent Hughes puts it like this, “Because he became sin for us, he had to undergo the cosmic trauma of separation from God who ‘is light, and in him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1:5). In the dark of the cross’s night, Jesus was alone. His separation was not just felt; it was real. God’s holy nature demanded separation as the Son became sin.”
Think about those three hours of darkness, separation, intense pain, loneliness, and the gravity of Christ’s sacrifice for you and me. Take a moment to worship Jesus for enduring the darkness in your place. Thank Him for His amazing love as you read the following lyrics from Chris Tomlin’s song, “Jesus Messiah.”
He became sin, who knew no sin
That we might become His righteousness
He humbled Himself and carried the cross
Love so amazing, love so amazing
Jesus Messiah, Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners, the Ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah, Lord of all