The Death and Resurrection of the KingSample

Darkness and light

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:45-46)

In the Bible, darkness symbolizes sin, death and judgment. The world is full of that. The Lord Jesus is the Light of the world. He has come to shine in our darkness.

When Jesus hung on the cross, it became pitch black for three hours. This was not a natural occurrence because it was the middle of the day! The sixth hour in the Jewish counting is 12:00 and so the ninth hour is 15:00. That is when the sun normally shines brightly.

This darkness pointed to God's judgment. For example, in Amos 8:9, the Lord announced His punishment because the people were committing great social injustice. “‘And on that day,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.’” On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the guilt of us humans. And so He bore God's judgment. For three hours God's wrath rested on Him as a thick darkness.

But after these three hours, the sun broke through again. Jesus had paid the penalty. God's wrath had been stilled. What a miracle! Everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior may live in the light of God's grace.

Has the light already broken through in your life? What does that light mean to you?