Darkness
Ponder: Three hours of total darkness in the middle of the day.
Scripture: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NKJV).
“Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). Those are the first recorded words Almighty God spoke. But when Jesus was hanging on the cross, the same God who spoke light into existence plunged His world into three hours of total darkness. It was about 9 AM when they crucified Him (Mark 15:25, “the third hour”); then, between about noon and 3 PM, (the sixth and ninth hours), “there was darkness over all the earth” (Luke 23:44; Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33). What happened? And what is the significance of it?
Some have claimed that it was a mere coincidence – an eclipse. Could this be true? No, for several reasons. First, Jesus was crucified at Passover time, which was always during a full moon. Even scientific amateurs know it is impossible to have a solar eclipse during a full moon.
Second, this darkness lasted for three hours. Eclipses simply don’t last that long.
Third, the whole earth was affected by this darkness. Eclipses affect only small areas with complete darkness. Other parts of the world are partially darkened, while some areas see no effect at all.
Since it wasn’t an eclipse, what was it? Our understanding is enhanced by realizing that God used darkness long before to express His extreme displeasure: Egypt suffered three days of darkness prior to that awful tenth plague, the death of the firstborn (Exodus 10:22). Now, before the death of God’s own Firstborn (Colossians 1:15), He brought three hours of darkness upon the world.
Jesus Himself had said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). This being true, how could God the Father have displayed more effectively that the light of the world was being killed than by exhibiting prolonged darkness? You might say that God preached to those people for three hours without saying a word!
Eternal darkness awaits those who do not serve the Lord faithfully. Jesus warned that such would be “cast into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). For them, “the blackness of darkness (is) reserved forever” (Jude 13).
May we always strive to follow the light of the world!
Prayer: God our Father, in whom is no darkness at all, we joyously confess that Jesus is the light of the world. We thank you for Him Who came to illuminate this world darkened by ignorance and sin. We thank You for the glorious light of the gospel. Help us, we pray, to walk in that light. Through Jesus we pray, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)