DARKNESS FROM THE SIXTH HOUR UNTIL THE NINTH HOUR

Text: Matthew 27:27-56

I. THREE HOURS OF DARKNESS

A. Jesus is the light of the world (John 1:4-5; 8:12; 12:46).

Matthew 4:16
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”

B. The Gospels teach that from noon until 3 pm there was darkness (Matthew 27:45//Mark 15:33//Luke 23:44-45).

1. Everything was busy from 9 am until noon.

2. The impression is that everything came to a halt when the darkness came upon the land.

II. THE DARKNESS WAS SUPERNATURAL

A. The darkness could not have been caused by a solar eclipse (cf. Luke 23:45) because:

1. Solar eclipses don’t last three hours.

2. Solar eclipses don’t happen when the moon is full. Passover was celebrated during the full moon (Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:1-14; 28:16).

Full Moon

NOTE: Passover was celebrated during the “new moon.” In English, “new moon” refers to the time of month when the moon is not illuminated by the sun. But in the Bible, “new moon” is the time when the moon is illuminated by the sun. Passover would have occurred around the time of “full moon.”

B. Darkness from noon until 3 pm echoes the ninth plague upon the Egyptians when darkness came over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which could be felt (Exodus 10:21-23).

III. WHAT DOES THE DARKNESS MEAN?

A. The darkness seems to be related to the veil of the temple being torn from top to bottom, which signified that the Mosaic system of worship was fulfilled through the death of Jesus.

1. Israel’s calendar was lunar, meaning that it was based on the phases of the moon.

a. The Hebrew word for month literally means “new moon.”

b. The first day of every lunar month was a kind of Sabbath day and special sacrifices were to be offered (Numbers 28:11-15; cf. Numbers 10:10; 1 Samuel 20; 1 Chron.23:31; 2 Chron.8:13; 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Nehemiah 10:33; Isaiah 1:13; 66:23; Ezekiel 45:17; 46:1, 3; Amos 8:5).

He made the moon for the seasons/appointed times (Genesis 1:14); The sun knows the place of its setting. (Psalm 104:19)

Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast day. (Psalm 81:3)

2. God’s appointed seasons of worship based upon the sun and the moon are now based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 60:19-20; 66:22-24; Colossians 2:14-17).

Colossians 2:16-17 (cf. 2 Chron.8:13)
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—
things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Isaiah 60:19-20
“No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.
“Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over.

B. Darkness was a sign that the cross was the place of Final Judgment (See Genesis 15:17; Isa. 5:30; 13:10; 60:2; Joel 2:10,30, 31; Amos 5:18, 20; Zeph 1:14–18; Matt. 24:29, 30; Acts 2:20; II Peter 2:17; Rev. 6:12–17).

"It was not the crown of thorns, or the scourge, or the cross which made him cry, but the darkness, the awful darkness of desertion which oppressed his mind and made him feel like one distraught. All that could comfort him was withdrawn, and all that could distress him was piled upon him" (Charles Spurgeon).

1. A pillar of cloud engulfed the Egyptians as they pursued Israel (Exodus 14:17-20).

2. Darkness came over Abraham when God made His covenant (Genesis 15).

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:16-21)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Pray that God would enable you and give you the desire to be conformed to His Word as read and preached today.

What happened from 12 noon until 3 pm when Jesus was on the cross?

What was the cause of the darkness?

How does the Old Testament illumine the meaning of the darkness?

How may the darkness be related to the veil in the Temple being torn from top to bottom?

How is the darkness connected to judgment?

Do you love darkness or Light?

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)