As Jesus was on the cross”¦darkness enveloped the land for three hours from 12 noon to 3 pm. What could it have symbolized?

(NASB) Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.”

An Old Testament prophet, Amos, used darkness as a symbol for prophecy of Messiah and also for the Day of Judgment.

(NIV) Amos 8:9-10 “”˜In that day,”™ declares the Sovereign LORD,

“˜I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.

10I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping.

I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads.

I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”™”

The burden of judgment was on Jesus ““ that burden included my sins and yours. It has been said that since God the Father cannot look on sin, He could not look on His only begotten Son in those three hours of darkness.

Those three hours of darkness — hell, the absence from being in God the Father”™s presence.

Those three hours of darkness — the judgment Jesus experienced for my sins and yours.

Jesus experienced hell in those three hours.

Hell is a real separation from the living God. Jesus experienced that judgment, that hell, for three hours according to our understanding of time. How long was it to Him?

What Jesus has done for everyone is beyond my ability to grasp fully. But this I do know, each person is responsible before God to either accept Jesus”™ great sacrifice for their sins or reject His work in their behalf.

  • Those three hours of darkness were for you, have you received that costly sacrifice in your behalf? If so, have you thanked Him?

  • Those three hours of darkness were for you, how does this change your thinking about what Jesus has done for you?