Darkness at Noon
Scripture Reading — Luke 23:44-49
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.
When Jesus was born, there was a bright light at night (Luke 2:8-14). When Jesus died, there was darkness at noon. Even the sun hid its face from the terrible suffering of the Son of God. Jesus’ suffering was not only physical but, more deeply, spiritual. Even though his pain was indescribable, from the flogging and torture he endured to the excruciating agony of crucifixion, Jesus’ greatest suffering was that he was separated from the Father and subjected to the torments of hell.
Jesus became a curse for us. Our transgressions lay fully on him. The ugliness of our sin covered him with shame and pain. The crushing weight of our iniquities was cast on him. Because he was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), the law demanded his death, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
In the darkness of that day, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, and Jesus opened for us “a new and living way” to God (Hebrews 10:20). Through his death we are reconnected with God.
On the cross, Jesus opened for us the door to heaven!
Father, the darkness that inhabited my heart has been dispelled by your light. The glory of your majesty has filled my soul with the presence of Jesus. In him I give thanks! Amen.
About the author — Hernandes Lopes
Rev. Hernandes Dias Lopes grew up in a Christian home in Brazil. Following his 1981 graduation from Seminário Presbiteriano do Sul in Campinas, Brazil, he served two congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Brazil. In 2000, he earned a doctor of ministry degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Rev. Lopes has been the voice of the television program Verdade e Vida (“Truth and Life”) since 2006. In 2010 he was appointed Portuguese ministry leader for Back to God Ministries International. Rev. Lopes and his wife, Tinha, have two college-age children.
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