Introduction
Most people are aware of the death of Jesus Christ, but they have little understanding of its significance. Each year at Easter, many people hear about the crucifixion and resurrection. What does the death and resurrection of Christ mean? History tells us that thirty-thousand Jews were crucified by the Romans around the time of Jesus Christ. Why do we remember only one of them? Even the two thieves who died on either side of Christ remain nameless. Surely others died because they were uncompromising in something they stood for. Certainly others were examples of love, character, honesty, and integrity. So why does history celebrate only the death of Jesus Christ? In what way is it significant? The answer is in the Word of God.
A. The Meaning of the Cross in the Old Testament
Genesis 3:15 promised the coming of One called the “seed of the woman.” Everyone knows it’s the man, not the woman, who has seed. The title then refers to a virgin birth. Verse 15 says the One born of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, even though He would be bruised in the heel. While Christ was being bruised on the cross, He was fatally bruising the one who was bruising Him– the devil.
We learn more about the meaning of the cross through the lives of Abraham and Isaac. God called Abraham to offer his son on the altar as a sacrifice (Gen. 22:2). As he was ready to kill his son, Abraham discovered that God provided an alternative–a ram caught in the thicket (22:12-13). Here we learn about the provision of a substitute for one who ought to die.
The Mosaic law, and all the ceremonies and sacrifices accompanying it, delineate the need for a blood sacrifice to atone for sin. Other passages in the Old Testament fill in other details about the cross (e.g., Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12).
B. The Meaning of the Cross in the New Testament
The apostle Paul tells us that God made Christ a curse for us when He was put on the cross (Gal. 3:13). The apostle Peter says He who was just suffered the sins of the unjust (1 Pet. 3:18). The apostle John describes Jesus as a lamb slain (Rev. 5:9). The writer of Hebrews tells us Christ was offered once for the sins of the world (Heb. 10:10).
If we want to know the meaning of the cross, we have only to look from beginning to end in holy Scripture. However, I believe one monumental description of the meaning of the cross is often overlooked: the one given in Matthew 27:45-53.
Six miracles attended the death of Jesus Christ. They are God’s commentary on the meaning of the cross.
I. SUPERNATURAL DARKNESS (v. 45)
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”
Luke 2:9-11 tell us that when Christ was born, a great light appeared in the sky. The prophet Isaiah said the Messiah would be a light to the Gentiles (Isa. 49:6). Of Himself Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness” (John 8:12). He also said, “While ye have light, believe in the light” (John 12:36). Associated with the birth, life, and ministry of Christ is light. But associated with His death is darkness.
A. The Time of the Darkness
From the sixth hour (twelve noon) to the ninth hour (three in the afternoon), the sun became dark. That is the time of day when the sun is at its zenith. Mark 15:25 tells us Jesus was crucified at the third hour (nine in the morning). Jesus had been on the cross for three hours by the time it became dark. He remained there another three hours before He died at the ninth hour (three in the afternoon.) During those hours He endured the mocking and jeering of the passers-by, the Jewish leaders, and the thieves.
Jesus Breaks His Silence
Jesus broke His silence only three times during the first three hours He hung on the cross.
1. To offer forgiveness
The first time He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He said that on behalf of the Roman soldiers who crucified Him.
2. To save a thief
Later, He broke the silence again by saying this to the repentant thief hanging beside Him, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
3. To care for His mother
He broke silence a third time when He saw the apostle John and His mother, Mary, standing at the foot of the cross. Knowing they would be lost without Him, He committed them to each other (John 19:26-27).
Apart from those three occasions, the three hours from nine to noon were unbroken by any word from Christ.
B. The Extent of the Darkness
As the second three hours began, the land became dark instantaneously. The Greek word translated “land” is ge. It could also be translated as “earth.” We don’t know if the darkness engulfed the land of Israel only, Jerusalem and its environs, or the half of the earth normally engulfed in sunlight. God could do any of those things.
1. The examples
a) Exodus 10:22-23–God made it dark in the land of Egypt only. He can create localized darkness if He desires.
b) Joshua 10:12-14–Here the Lord made the sun stand still–it stayed in one spot in the sky. That means the earth had to stop revolving for a period of time while God did His work. What an impact that must have made on the world!
c) 2 Kings 20:9-11–The shadow on a sundial went backwards as a sign to King Hezekiah that he would recover from his illness. God again performed a miracle with the earth’s revolution.
There are some indications from extrabiblical literature to suggest that the half of the earth in daylight went black. Third century church father Origen referred to a statement by the Roman historian Phlegon, who mentioned that unusual darkness (Against Celsus II.33). Tertullian, when referring to the darkness to his pagan audience, said, “you yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives” (Apology XXI).
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
