Why the Darkness??

Sermon Transcript

Would you please stand to honor the reading of the one verse from God’s word upon which tonight’s Good Friday sermon is based. Matthew 27:45 – Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Have you ever experienced darkness? Deep darkness? Perhaps you’ve turned your headlights off when driving on a backcountry road at night, or you’ve backpacked in a remote place and have taken even a few steps without a lamp at night, or maybe you’ve simply experienced a power outage without artificial light for a few minutes. If you have, then you know that deep darkness is absolutely overwhelming, completely terrifying and pervades every human sense. During the three hours that the Lord Jesus Christ hung on the cross, that kind of deep, overwhelming darkness covered the land.

On the day of his death, the Lord Jesus Christ was abandoned by his closest friends, condemned by the Roman authorities, betrayed by his Jewish countrymen, tortured, and crucified on a criminal’s cross. Along with the excruciating physical pain on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was the object of shameful mockery. They mocked him for claiming to be the eternal king from David’s line, for claiming to be God with us – the true temple, for claiming to be the only begotten Son of God the Father, and for claiming to be the Savior, though he seemed unable to save himself from the horror of the cross. So there he was, the sinless Son of God, being mocked and crucified. And then the darkness fell. From noon to 3pm, there was darkness over all the land. Now, it’s important to remember that Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival, which always took place during a full moon. A lunar eclipse can only occur during a new moon. This darkness was literal and supernatural. And that leads us to the big question we are considering this Good Friday: Why the darkness? Why did darkness fall over all the land for three hours while the Son of God hung on the cross? Why the darkness?

DARKNESS & LIGHT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

To understand why darkness fell on the whole land when Jesus hung on the cross, we have to begin at the beginning. By beginning at the beginning of all things, we first see that darkness is not what’s ultimately meant to be. Genesis 1:1-3 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [2] The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. [3] And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Light brings creation and life. Darkness is not what is meant to be. But there is more to darkness than just that.

As we progress from the beginning of all things to the early parts of the Old Testament, we see that darkness is most often a sign of the holy God’s just judgment on human sin. Early in the book of Genesis, the one true God who created everything by saying “let there be light,” chose one man, Abraham, to be the father of a nation that was to be God’s light to a dark world. But when Abraham’s offspring were enslaved in Egypt, God sent plagues as his judgment upon Pharaoh. One of the plagues was darkness. Exodus 10:22 – So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. The darkness was the holy God’s just judgment on Pharaoh’s rebellion against the one true God, his worship of false-gods, and the slavery of God’s people. The darkness was a sign of God’s judgment on human sin.

Soon after lifting the darkness over Egypt, God led his people out of slavery in Egypt and made a promise to be Israel’s God and have them as his special possession. God reaffirmed them as his light to the dark world. However, God warned his people that if they rebelled against Him and worshiped other gods, he would curse them. The curse he promised was described as darkness. Deuteronomy 28:28-29 – The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, [29] and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. The curse that God promised if his people turned from him and went after other gods was darkness. The darkness would be a sign of God’s judgment on their sin.

And God’s people did rebel against him, they did turn away, and they went after other gods. The darkness God promised came in the form of a conquering foreign army. The army was God’s judgment, but the prophet Amos doesn’t describe God’s judgment as the army. He describes it as darkness.

[9] “And 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

Darkness. From God’s plagues on idolatrous Egypt, to his covenant curse on his rebellious people, to the Babylonian conquest of Israel, it’s all described as darkness because darkness is a sign of God’s judgment on human sin. But God’s judgment will not have the last word. Darkness will not have the last word. Through the final book in the Old Testament, God promised to overcome the darkness of his judgment with the Light of his love. Malachi 4:2 – But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. God promised light that would overcome the darkness of his judgment on human sin. The Old Testament ends with the promise that God will send Light to overcome the darkness of his judgment on sinners.

DARKNESS & LIGHT IN THE INCARNATION & CRUCIFIXION

Now listen to the way that the Gospel of John describes the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He describes it as light that overcomes this dark world. John 1:1-2, 4-5 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Darkness is a sign of God’s judgment on the world, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the light that came to overcome the darkness.

But we crucified the light of the world. And when he hung on the cross, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. Matthew 27:35, 45 – And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots…Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

Why the darkness? If darkness is the sign of God’s judgment on sin, why did darkness fall over the land when the sinless One was crucified? Why the darkness? You might think that the darkness was a sign of God’s ultimate judgment on us for crucifying the sinless Son of God. Ultimately, that’s not it. We only understand why the darkness when we read the verse right after the darkness.

DARKNESS & LIGHT IN THE ATONEMENT

Matthew 27:45-46 – Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. [46] 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?” Darkness is a sign of God’s judgment on human sin. But when the sinless one cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” we realize that the darkness fell over the land because God’s judgment fell on his Son. Why the darkness? Darkness was over the land because God’s judgment fell on His Son. Repeat. Jesus experienced the darkness of being forsaken by God so that we can live in the light of forgiveness of sins, a clean conscience, and eternal life through faith in Him. Why the darkness? Because the darkness of our sins was placed on the light of the world so that in him we can enjoy the light of eternal life rather than the eternal darkness that we deserve. That’s why we call Good Friday “good.” The light of the world abandoned in darkness to die so that the light of God’s love can shine on our darkness forever. What a Savior.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

Now that we know that darkness was over the land because God’s judgment fell on his Son, instead of on us, what should we do? How should we respond? Let the centurion be your guide. Matthew 27:50, 54 – And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit…When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The first way we should respond to the light of the world taking the darkness of God’s judgment for us is awe and faith. Like the centurion, be amazed and confess your faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and your only Savior. The three hour darkness on Good Friday was just a preview of the eternal darkness that we will experience if we face God’s pure judgment without confessing faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Son of God. But if you confess faith in Christ, then you’ll never be in darkness again. The darkness of judgment will never fall on you and the light of forgiveness of sins, a clean conscience, eternal life, and a personal relationship with God will always be yours. In just a few moments, I am going to give you a couple minutes right where you are to personally confess your faith in Christ as the Son of God and your Savior, but before I do, I want to mention one more way that we can all respond to the light of the world who took the darkness of God’s judgment for us.

Set your hope on the day when darkness will be banished forever. Revelation 21:23-25, Revelation 22:4-5: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there…[4] They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. [5] And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. The Bible begins with God speaking light into the darkness at creation and the Bible concludes with a new creation where darkness, sin, sadness, and judgment will be banished forever. And the Lord God will be our joyful light and we will reign with him forever. In this sad world we will have trouble and dark days, but set your hope fully on the grace that will be yours when night will be no more and you rejoice in the Lord our light forever. Why the darkness? It’s a reminder that through Christ it will soon never be dark again.