Luke 23:44
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
The final hours of Jesus's earthly life were spent in darkness. All three Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—record this event. It was during this darkness that Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). I believe it was within these three hours that He who knew no sin became sin for us. This moment, more than any other—more than the tortures preceding the cross, the nails, the shame, or any physical suffering—was the most agonizing portion of the crucifixion.
We are given a glimpse of the scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails driven into His hands and feet, the spitting, and the humiliation as He was hoisted naked before the world. These visible sufferings were witnessed by humanity. But for those three hours of darkness, no man was permitted to see what transpired. Just as an earthly father might take his son aside for discipline away from watching eyes, so our Heavenly Father turned off the lights of the world to deal with His Son—not just as a sinner, but as sin itself.
It was during these hours that Jesus drank the cup He spoke of in the garden (Luke 22:42). This was the cup of God’s wrath, spoken of in Psalms—a cup once filled with God’s blessings for His creation, but corrupted by our sins into a bitter, fermented cup of divine judgment. That cup, mingled with all the wisdom, knowledge, and power of God, was filled to the brim by our transgressions. Yet, in those hours of darkness, Jesus drank it down to the dregs.
We cannot fathom what it meant for the sins of all mankind to be laid on one person. The crushing weight of every conscience’s guilt, the wrath of Almighty God, and the incalculable judgment—all borne by one man. But what is impossible with men is possible with God. If there had been even the smallest flaw in Jesus's character, the dam of God’s wrath would have burst forth, drowning us all in unimaginable terror. Yet, our Mighty Rock stood firm on Calvary and took the full force of God’s wrath on our behalf. All the storms of judgment broke upon Him, and not a single drop passed to us. Oh, what a Savior!
When those hours of darkness ended, Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). And indeed, it was finished—all of it. Every promise secured, every ounce of wrath consumed, every payment made, every shadow fulfilled, all creation restored, every believer pardoned. No longer was there need for the veil in the temple. The Day of Atonement had come, and the symbolic sacrifices of old were fulfilled. Forty years later, Herod’s temple would fall, its purpose completed. Sin, which had plagued humanity for thousands of years, met its end in the death of Christ.
Jesus endured the darkness of God’s wrath—a torment so profound that only those in hell catch a glimpse of its depths—so that you and I would never have to. He experienced separation from God so that we would never be separated. He bore the weight and guilt of sin so that we might be free. These hours of darkness, though horrific for Him, are the greatest blessing for us. As He was made sin for us, we were made the righteousness of God in Him.
Through this incomprehensible price, we were purchased. Through this sacrifice, we have peace with our God.
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