“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness all over the land until the ninth hour.“
Matthew 27:45
First of these events took place in verse 45, where the Bible tells us darkness covered the earth from the sixth to the ninth hour.
To comprehend this phenomena we need to first understand when the sixth and ninth hours were.
Let’s first look at another verse to set the stage.
“Jesus answered. ‘Are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, they do not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.’”
John 11:9 ESV
In our world, we come to recognize a day has 24 hours, but the Jews of the day operated under a different, yet same, understanding of time.
The day began at sunrise, and the evening began at sundown. 6am was considered the start of the day, the first hour. At the end of 12 hours, at 6pm, came sunset and the beginning of the 4 watches of the night.
If 6am is the first hour, we can then count to the sixth hour and see it’s 12pm. 3 hours later would be 3pm.
The phrase “high noon” usually refers to the sun being at its highest during the day. As we are laying this out, you can begin to see how “darkness covering the land” was a big deal. It’s the part of the day the sun would have been highest and brightest in the sky.
Yet instead, on the day of Jesus’ sacrifice, the earth went dark for 3 whole hours in the middle of the day.
Imagine the event this would have been? Imagine the morning witnessing Jesus mercilessly beaten, mocked and persecuted, hung on a cross and then the earth went dark… As if in response to what just took place.
This certainly would have caught people’s attention. Maybe the first main indicator this was no simple criminal conviction.
How does this happen? Was it a natural event, or something supernatural? Could it possibly be both?
There are some who believe this was an eclipse, a natural event (although a natural occurrence ordained by a supernatural God who created everything). But, most eclipses only last a few minutes. Whatever it may have been, there are those who will explain it as a natural occurrence, a mere coincidence. But what is difficult, if not impossible, to explain is the length of the darkness.
How it happened and how to explain this event could be a running in circles discussion. The fact of the matter is. The sky went dark, all over the land, from noon to 3pm while Jesus hung on the cross.
With this in mind, let’s discover the meaning of darkness. When we do, we will discover correlation from the Old Testament to New Testament, the God of the Jews, the King of the Jews and what God does for His people.
Darkness covering the earth during a monumental moment has happened to God’s people before. During the plagues God released in Egypt while Pharaoh refused to allow Israel to be freed from slavery; one of the 10 was darkness. (Exodus 10:21-22)
In the midst of God releasing His children from bondage and captivity, there was an instance when darkness covered the earth. In Exodus, it also mentions how long the darkness lasted: 3 days. Darkness covered the earth for 3 hours while Jesus was on the cross and Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days.
Not a mere coincidence, but a parallel to show God is the same God, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). All of these connections are meaningful and point toward the pure majesty of our Creator. The correlations are incredible to discover, and if you’re like me, you can’t help but stop and say, “Wow!”
Another correlation of the darkness in the plagues and Jesus’ death is what followed. The ninth plague was darkness, the tenth, because of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness, was the death of the first born over the land.
A terrible occurrence, but what followed was Pharaoh relenting and allowing the Hebrews to be released. Set free.
Jesus is the Son of God, the firstborn of all Creation (Colossians 1:15). What followed the darkness while on the cross, was the death of the firstborn. Once again, a difficult occurrence to witness because of the brutality, but what followed was freedom for God’s people!
It’s a beautiful correlation offering so much hope. Jesus’ willing sacrifice to allow us to walk in freedom, uncondemned by our own transgressions, opens the door for us to no longer live in slavery and bondage.
To wrap this phenomena up, Jesus is referred to as the light of the world (John 8:12). His sacrifice on the cross and the world going dark for a time is a representation of the payment, and fulfillment, of the law. He who knew no sin, became sin, so that we might become His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). The world becoming dark, for a time, was the “light of the world” leaving this world, FOR A TIME.
But we know how it ends. The world was dark, for just a moment. And the King of Kings left this world, for a moment, to solidify His victory over sin, death and the grave. So that, we may be made clean, freed and live under the amazing grace of a good and loving God!
It’s just beautiful. The whole story, of our past, our present and our future. He is faithful, God remains and He loves like no other. His works are so mighty even the earth has to respond. The land has to react to the weight and magnitude of His work.
He really is God. He really is powerful. He really is loving and the story He weaves together for us, throughout all the ages, is beautiful. It all points back to Him, His love and His purpose and desire for His children. To be reconciled back to Him, to be in relationship and to live under the grace and mercy He defines Himself by.
God is so good, so faithful and will never leave or forsake us. And hopefully, through this mini deep dive into His Word, you see just how true that is for all His children, and for you individually. His story is connected all throughout time to show how consistent and true He is.
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