Darkness and Lightning at Calvary as the Crowd Falls ProstrateBible World
15:33Mark 15:33
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
From noon until three in the afternoon a darkness lay over the whole land at Christ's crucifixion at Calvary outside Jerusalem. It was not from an eclipse or any natural cause, but a supernatural midnight darkness in which the sun hid its light. God and the angels were present in that thick darkness, with the Father close beside His Son yet concealing His glory lest it destroy the spectators and hiding Christ's last agony from prying eyes. There Christ endured His deepest anguish bearing the world's sin, feeling the Father's sustaining presence and approving smile withdrawn under the weight of divine displeasure against sin and the penalty of death, without hope beyond the tomb. The gloom struck the mocking multitude silent with terror amid thunder, earthquake, rent rocks, opened tombs and lightning, and it lifted from the people when He died as God's testimony that the Son of God was dying.
Time, Extent and Setting
The sixth hour to the ninth hour is three hours of darkness at midday, from noon until three in the afternoon. The darkness covered the land during the crucifixion of Jesus. It covered the cross and its surroundings.
The darkness was over the whole land and over the earth, not only around the cross and not only at the place where the cross stood. Yet it enveloped the cross, and spread as a dense cloud over Jerusalem and the plains of Judah. It enveloped the cross even where the sun shone elsewhere.
The verse belongs to the leading of Jesus from the judgment-hall to Calvary to be crucified. News of His condemnation had spread through Jerusalem, and a vast multitude of people of all classes and ranks flocked toward the place of crucifixion. Priests and rulers were bound not to molest His followers, and disciples and believers from the city and the surrounding region joined the throng that followed the Saviour.
The setting is Christ's crucifixion at Calvary outside Jerusalem. There He suffers as humanity's substitute. There He redeems people from the curse of the law.
God's Presence in Darkness
The darkness was supernatural and miraculous, with no eclipse or other natural cause. It was as deep as a moonless, starless midnight, the sun hid its light from the scene and the heavens were covered. It lasted three hours at midday and surrounded the cross during Christ's death.
God and the heavenly angels were present within the thick darkness, which was God's dwelling and His hiding of His glory from human eyes. The Father with His heavenly angels was enclosed in that darkness, close beside His Son, though He did not manifest Himself to Him or to any human being. God concealed His glory in the darkness because one ray of His glory and power would have destroyed every human spectator, and even extinguished them.
In that darkness God mercifully hid Christ's last human agony from prying eyes and from human sight. He clothed nature with sackcloth and mourning as a veil over His suffering and humiliation, so she might not look upon her suffering, dying Author in His last humiliation. Christ's countenance at His trial had revealed to all who saw Him innocence, serenity, benevolence, and the image of God, but His accusers would not heed the signet of heaven, and now that countenance was hidden by God's mantle.
The darkness was an emblem of the soul-agony, terror and horror surrounding Christ as He bore sin, symbolizing the agony and horror weighing on His heart and the deeper gloom enshrouding His suffering soul. When it lifted from the people it still surrounded Jesus, and though the sun shone again it still enveloped the cross. The darkness expressed nature's sympathy and groaning for its dying Creator, with the darkened sun refusing to look upon the scene. Even nature groaned in sympathy with its dying Creator under the weight of sin borne in that terrible hour.
The miraculous darkness was God's testimony to confirm the faith of later generations, given as a miraculous sign from God to strengthen them. The darkened sun, together with the earthquake and torn rocks, testified that the Son of God was dying.
Suffering, Terror and Signs
In the darkness Christ endured His deepest anguish as He bore the sin of the world, with the Father's sustaining presence and approving smile and assurance withdrawn from Him. He felt the full weight of sin, the Father's displeasure and wrath against sin, and its penalty which is death, and this pressed Him into despair. He could not see beyond the tomb to His resurrection and the Father's acceptance of His sacrifice, and was tempted to fear that His Father had forever left Him. He suffered alone without comfort from the Father's presence, and in that setting uttered the cry of abandonment.
The gloom brought fear and silence upon the people at Calvary, and flashes of lightning revealed Jesus upon the cross. The crowd fell silent and prostrate in terror, and grief and terror filled those below the crosses. They stopped cursing and reviling, struck with terror by the darkness and by the rent rocks and convulsed earth. They feared that the time of their retribution had come, and executioners and spectators and those who had taken part in His mock trial trembled.
The darkness was accompanied by violent upheaval, with thunder and a violent earthquake, splitting and torn and bursting rocks, opened tombs and broken sepulchres casting out the dead, and fierce lightnings. Together with the darkness and with Jesus' cry that it was finished, these signs troubled His enemies. His murderers and the executioners and spectators trembled with terror at the darkened sun testifying that the Son of God was dying.
The darkness over the earth passed away at the very moment Jesus died. It lifted from the people so that the sun shone again, while it still surrounded Jesus and enveloped the cross, symbolizing the agony and horror weighing on His heart and the deeper gloom enshrouding His suffering soul. It lifted briefly when He cried in trumpet tones that His work was finished and commended His spirit to the Father, when light encircled the cross and His face shone like the sun before He bowed His head and died. Then darkness settled again over the earth, and the cloud settled over Jerusalem and the plains of Judea, where darkness and fierce lightning directed against the city signified God's wrath against the doomed city.
The verse shows the taking away of the Bridegroom from the disciples. With Jesus lifted up and dying as a malefactor in the hands of wicked men, in whom their hopes of eternal life were centered, the disciples had cause to mourn and fast. It was days of trial and temptation when faith was tried, and hope and courage failed. It was a time when the presence of the Comforter was not clearly discerned.
From noon until three in the afternoon a darkness lay over the whole land at Christ's crucifixion at Calvary outside Jerusalem.
It was not from an eclipse or any natural cause, but a supernatural midnight darkness in which the sun hid its light.
God and the angels were present in that thick darkness, with the Father close beside His Son yet concealing His glory lest it destroy the spectators and hiding Christ's last agony from prying eyes.
There Christ endured His deepest anguish bearing the world's sin, feeling the Father's sustaining presence and approving smile withdrawn under the weight of divine displeasure against sin and the penalty of death, without hope beyond the tomb.
The gloom struck the mocking multitude silent with terror amid thunder, earthquake, rent rocks, opened tombs and lightning, and it lifted from the people when He died as God's testimony that the Son of God was dying.
Time, Extent and Setting
The sixth hour to the ninth hour is three hours of darkness at midday, from noon until three in the afternoon. The darkness covered the land during the crucifixion of Jesus. It covered the cross and its surroundings.
The darkness was over the whole land and over the earth, not only around the cross and not only at the place where the cross stood. Yet it enveloped the cross, and spread as a dense cloud over Jerusalem and the plains of Judah. It enveloped the cross even where the sun shone elsewhere.
The verse belongs to the leading of Jesus from the judgment-hall to Calvary to be crucified. News of His condemnation had spread through Jerusalem, and a vast multitude of people of all classes and ranks flocked toward the place of crucifixion. Priests and rulers were bound not to molest His followers, and disciples and believers from the city and the surrounding region joined the throng that followed the Saviour.
The setting is Christ's crucifixion at Calvary outside Jerusalem. There He suffers as humanity's substitute. There He redeems people from the curse of the law.
God's Presence in Darkness
The darkness was supernatural and miraculous, with no eclipse or other natural cause. It was as deep as a moonless, starless midnight, the sun hid its light from the scene and the heavens were covered. It lasted three hours at midday and surrounded the cross during Christ's death.
God and the heavenly angels were present within the thick darkness, which was God's dwelling and His hiding of His glory from human eyes. The Father with His heavenly angels was enclosed in that darkness, close beside His Son, though He did not manifest Himself to Him or to any human being. God concealed His glory in the darkness because one ray of His glory and power would have destroyed every human spectator, and even extinguished them.
In that darkness God mercifully hid Christ's last human agony from prying eyes and from human sight. He clothed nature with sackcloth and mourning as a veil over His suffering and humiliation, so she might not look upon her suffering, dying Author in His last humiliation. Christ's countenance at His trial had revealed to all who saw Him innocence, serenity, benevolence, and the image of God, but His accusers would not heed the signet of heaven, and now that countenance was hidden by God's mantle.
The darkness was an emblem of the soul-agony, terror and horror surrounding Christ as He bore sin, symbolizing the agony and horror weighing on His heart and the deeper gloom enshrouding His suffering soul. When it lifted from the people it still surrounded Jesus, and though the sun shone again it still enveloped the cross. The darkness expressed nature's sympathy and groaning for its dying Creator, with the darkened sun refusing to look upon the scene. Even nature groaned in sympathy with its dying Creator under the weight of sin borne in that terrible hour.
The miraculous darkness was God's testimony to confirm the faith of later generations, given as a miraculous sign from God to strengthen them. The darkened sun, together with the earthquake and torn rocks, testified that the Son of God was dying.
Suffering, Terror and Signs
In the darkness Christ endured His deepest anguish as He bore the sin of the world, with the Father's sustaining presence and approving smile and assurance withdrawn from Him. He felt the full weight of sin, the Father's displeasure and wrath against sin, and its penalty which is death, and this pressed Him into despair. He could not see beyond the tomb to His resurrection and the Father's acceptance of His sacrifice, and was tempted to fear that His Father had forever left Him. He suffered alone without comfort from the Father's presence, and in that setting uttered the cry of abandonment.
The gloom brought fear and silence upon the people at Calvary, and flashes of lightning revealed Jesus upon the cross. The crowd fell silent and prostrate in terror, and grief and terror filled those below the crosses. They stopped cursing and reviling, struck with terror by the darkness and by the rent rocks and convulsed earth. They feared that the time of their retribution had come, and executioners and spectators and those who had taken part in His mock trial trembled.
The darkness was accompanied by violent upheaval, with thunder and a violent earthquake, splitting and torn and bursting rocks, opened tombs and broken sepulchres casting out the dead, and fierce lightnings. Together with the darkness and with Jesus' cry that it was finished, these signs troubled His enemies. His murderers and the executioners and spectators trembled with terror at the darkened sun testifying that the Son of God was dying.
The darkness over the earth passed away at the very moment Jesus died. It lifted from the people so that the sun shone again, while it still surrounded Jesus and enveloped the cross, symbolizing the agony and horror weighing on His heart and the deeper gloom enshrouding His suffering soul. It lifted briefly when He cried in trumpet tones that His work was finished and commended His spirit to the Father, when light encircled the cross and His face shone like the sun before He bowed His head and died. Then darkness settled again over the earth, and the cloud settled over Jerusalem and the plains of Judea, where darkness and fierce lightning directed against the city signified God's wrath against the doomed city.
The verse shows the taking away of the Bridegroom from the disciples. With Jesus lifted up and dying as a malefactor in the hands of wicked men, in whom their hopes of eternal life were centered, the disciples had cause to mourn and fast. It was days of trial and temptation when faith was tried, and hope and courage failed. It was a time when the presence of the Comforter was not clearly discerned.