1. Why did darkness cover the whole land (v. 33)?
The Bible says a thick darkness covered the land for three hours, from noon until three in the afternoon, when the sun would ordinarily be at its height and shining its brightest. Some have supposed this darkness was from an solar eclipse a great rain storm and cloud cover. But even if natural means brought about the darkness, it was for a supernatural purpose. The supernatural nature of this darkness was prophesied.
“In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” - Amos 8:9 (NIV)
2. What made Jesus cry out as He did (v. 34)?
A. We want to understand the motivation behind our Lord’s cry.
The Bible tells us that Jesus “cried out in a loud voice.” In other words, He screamed. We find this significant because despite all the suffering He had experienced up to this point, He had maintained His composure. Not once had He cried out in anguish, despite being betrayed and forsaken by those closest to Him; despite being unjustly tried, convicted, and publicly humiliated; and despite being scourged, beaten, forced to carry a heavy cross to His place of execution, and nailed to that cross as He was crucified. Yet, once the three hours of darkness passed, for the first time through-out this ordeal, Jesus cried out. We would like to understand the motivation behind our Lord’s cry.
B. We want to understand the meaning behind our Lord’s cry.
Verses 35 and 36 tell us that those who stood nearby didn’t understand the meaning of our Lord’s cry. They thought He was calling for the prophet Elijah for help. What Jesus did was quote Psalm 22:1. We want to know why. Well, in answering these questions, we need to understand why Jesus came and what Jesus did.
1. Why Jesus came.
Jesus came to give His life as a payment for our sin (Mark 10:45). When God made man, it was intended for man to enjoy constant communion with Him, so he might live in such a way as to bring glory to his creator. And as the head of the earthy sphere of God’s creation, man was to lead all the earth to bring glory to its creator. But God also made man with ability to choose.
You see, love isn’t love unless freely given, and God wanted a love relationship with man. So He gave man the ability to choose and an opportunity to choose. What man chose, was to go his own way, rather than God’s way, which is what the Bible calls “sin.”
God said if man chose his own way rather than God’s way, he’d know death. Literally, God said, “dying you will die.” He’d immediately know spiritual death (no communion with God - the source of all life) and eventually know physical death. And since Adam’s choice was made on behalf of the human race, everyone born into this world is born into sin and under condemnation. But Jesus came to reverse the curse, to make a way to escape sin’s consequences and condemnation. Jesus came to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.
“There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” - Romans 3:11 (NIV)
We didn’t understand our problem, so God took the initiative - He took on human form to come where we were. And because we couldn’t provide the solution, God made payment for our sin penalty Himself - by going to the cross to suffer in our place.
Oswald Chambers writes, “In the Cross we may see the dimensions of divine love.” Indeed, love takes the initiative and bears the burden necessary to make a relationship right. That’s what God did for us in Christ. You see, the cross of Christ was not just an instrument of execution, it was also an instrument of exhibition - through the cross we have exhibited the love of God for a lost world. For you and me.
2. What Jesus did.
A. Jesus reversed the curse.
The wrath due us was poured out against the sins He bore in His body on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). By His cross, He overcame the penalty of spiritual death; and by His resurrection, He overcame physical death. Jesus reversed the effects of Adam’s choice!
Now we can understand why darkness covered the earth and why Jesus cried out as He did. When He suffered for our sins, and it was as though the universe went into mourning. It was as if the sun refused to shine. It was as if what was taking place on the cross was so dark that creation itself couldn’t bear to look.
"Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in, When Christ, the great Redeemer died for man, the creature’s sin."
B. Jesus suffered hell for us.
Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” which is a quote from Psalm 22:1. In so doing, Jesus was declaring that in paying the penalty for our sins, He experienced the loneliness of sin. Jesus had always known unbroken communion with the Father. But on the cross, He experienced complete loneliness and abandonment. In His humanity, Jesus suffered hell for us as He experienced what it feels like to be abandoned by God. He experienced on the cross the horror of hell itself as the sins of the world were poured out upon Him.
When Jesus talked about hell He used many terms, but one of the terms was “outer darkness.” I’ve heard people laugh about going to hell. They make fun of it and say, “If I go to hell that’ll be all right: I’ll have plenty of company down there. We’ll have a big party together.” But the Bible describes hell as a place of darkness. You are not going to see anyone in hell. You are not going to be having a big party in hell. You are going to experience what it means to be lonely, as no human being has ever been lonely in this life. Think about it. For eternity, never to see anyone else. For eternity, to cry to God for mercy and never hear an answer.
“Jesus, the infinite Son of God, was able to suffer in a finite period of time on the cross, what you and I, being finite human beings, would have to suffer for an infinite period of time in hell.”
As symbolized by darkness and illustrated by His cry, we understand that at Calvary, Jesus suffered our hell so we wouldn’t have to.
C. Jesus made it possible for us to go from poverty to royalty.
And as we said, Jesus quoted from Psalm 22. One interesting phrase from that psalm is found in verse 6: “I am a worm and not a man . . .” The Hebrew word for “worm” is most interesting. It’s the name of a particular worm, crushed to extract its blood, to create a crimson red dye, used to dye the robes of kings. Jesus left His royal throne in glory and came to a sinful world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, being crushed for our sins, shedding His precious blood, so that we, through faith in Him, might be privileged to wear the robes of royalty!
D. Jesus fully paid our sin penalty.
After experiencing our hell for us, John says Jesus requested something to drink. I believe this was so that He might have enough strength to make the next declaration that John tells us, “It is finished!”
The words, “it is finished” comes from the Greek word, “tetelestai,” which literally means, “paid in full.” In the ancient world, when a debt was paid off, the receipt was stamped with the word “tetelestai” or “paid in full.”
Through suffering our hell for us on Calvary, Jesus fully paid the debt for sin. Our debt has been paid. God has already paid the just penalty for every sin I have ever committed or will commit. Because God is a holy and just God, every sin must be judged and will be judged. The only question is where? For us who trust in Christ, our sins are already judged and paid in full. Those who reject Christ will pay the penalty for their own sins. You can choose to pay the penalty for your own sins, and suffer the eternal loneliness of hell, or you can accept that Jesus has paid the penalty for you and experienced hell on your behalf.
Having experienced spiritual death for all mankind, Jesus let Himself experience physical death (v.37). The significance of His physical death is that He had completed the work of paying the price for our sins through suffering spiritual death (hell) for us (John 10:17b-18a). When Jesus died physically, it was only because He had completed the work of paying the price for the sins of the world.
During the civil war, law provided that if a man had a hardship situation, he could be exempt from military service, if a substitute could be secured to go in his place. One man was in just such a situation. A neighbor volunteered to go as his substitute. The neighbor not only served in his place, but died on the field of battle. This was all duly recorded. Later, the government tried to draft. The man went before a county judge to explain his situation. All he had to tell him was to look in the book of records, and there he’d find it recorded that he’d secured a substitute who’d gone in his place.
I saw that I was in a hardship situation. I was lost in my sin. I couldn’t pay the debt I owed. But it was OK, for I learned that a substitute had offered Himself. His name is Jesus. And if I accepted Him as my substitute, it would be recorded in the book that my debt had been paid. Now, I need not fear death, for when I stand before the judge of the universe, He’ll see by my name the words, “debt paid in full.” Will you be able to do the same?
“Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” - John 3:18 (CSB)
