Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, March 29, 2015 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister MESSAGE 3 of 3 in Remembering The Cross Sermon Series The Darkness of Golgotha Luke 23:44-49 (NKJV) Today as we conclude our three part series on Remembering The Cross I would like for you to please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter twenty three. And let's read vs. 44-49. Luke 23:44-49 (NKJV) 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous Man! 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. P R A Y E R ***************
I N T R O D U C T I O N Jesus was crucified at 9:00 o'clock in the morning. From 9:00 o'clock until NOON there was daylight. For three hours GOD allowed man to see the ugly wretchedness of his sin in broad daylight. For three hours God allowed man to see the savagery of this heinous act against His only begotten son: the blood... the gaping wounds all over His body...his nail pierced hands and feet...the shameful nakedness...the labored breathing... the cries of a man in sheer agony...god allowed man to see what he had done. For three hours there was a carnival atmosphere on Golgotha's hill. People laughing...people mocking...people taunting. The most innocent human being who ever lived was dying for their sins and to all of them it was a big joke. For three hours, all the participants in this gruesome act had their moment in the sun if you will. The Roman Soldiers, the Chief Priests, the Scribes, the Elders of the people, and the angry mob partied as if their team had just won the Super Bowl. But at HIGH NOON the comedy suddenly turned into a sobering drama.
vs. 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. We often breeze right past this verse without really stopping to consider the depth of its meaning, so let's take a few minutes this morning and do just that. First, I would have you to consider... I. The SHOCKING Reality of The DARKNESS 1. For three hours the enemies of Christ had their fun, but in an instant God took center stage and the party was over. 2. At HIGH NOON, right in the middle of the day when the SUN is shining the brightest, the SUN suddenly goes out like your house lights go out in a power failure. Instantaneously there is pitch darkness; not just on Golgotha's hill, but all across the earth. There is no moon. There are no stars. 3. The people knew what they had been doing...all that laughing and mocking and poking fun at JESUS. Can you imagine the sense of fear and panic that suddenly fell over that crowd?
4. All the sudden their whole world was in total darkness. Because it happened in the middle of the day no one would have had an oil lamp, a torch, or even a lighted candle. They were smothered in darkness! 5. One minute they were laughing and mocking Jesus, the next there was an eerie, deafening silence. 6. No doubt they tried to console themselves with explanations as to what might have caused the darkness. Perhaps many thought it was a solar eclipse. But this darkness was unlike any of them had ever witnessed with an eclipse. And besides that, it was the Passover, and the Passover was always set according to a full moon, and it is not possible to have an eclipse when there is a full moon. 7. The truth is, probably everyone there knew down in the depths of their wretched souls the cause of the darkness. They knew it was an act of God! 8. Just as God brought total darkness upon the land of Egypt when the Israelites in captivity, GOD BROUGHT A JUDGMENT OF DARKNESS ACROSS THE EARTH ON THE DAY HIS SON WAS CRUCIFIED.
II. The SOLEMN Cries In The DARKNESS 1. The scriptures record seven sayings or seven statements Jesus made while He was hanging on the cross. Seven is the number of holy perfection. 2. Jesus made three of those statements during the three hours of daylight. The first statement, Jesus made to His heavenly Father: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. (Lk.23:34) The second statement, Jesus made to the repentant thief: Today you will be with Me in paradise. (Luke 23:43) The third statement, Jesus made to His mother, and the Apostle John: Dear woman, here is your son,' and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother. (John 19:26,27) 3. The final four statements Jesus uttered from the cross were spoken in the darkness of Jesus' final hour on the cross.
(A) My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Mt.27:46) Just the night before, Jesus had told His disciples that in this hour of His great trial they would all forsake Him, yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. (John 16:33) But now in this hour of darkness at the very climax of His passion on the cross, it was necessary for His heavenly Father to stand aside and allow Jesus to die alone for the sins of the world. He who was without sin was made to be sin in order that He might take to full brunt of God's wrath upon Himself in order to save us. He became forsaken by God so you and I could be accepted as sons of God. The second solemn cry Jesus made in the darkness was... (B) I thirst. (John 19:28) In the prophetic 22 nd PSALM we find a very vivid description of the physical agony Jesus would go through on the cross. Listen to Psalm 22:14,15 (NLT) 14 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. (NEW LIVING TRANSLATION)
Earlier Jesus had refused to drink a drugged wine narcotic that would ease some of the intense pain He was going through. But now, just moments from death His cry for thirst was met with a sponge dipped in wine vinegar. This would moisten his lips and mouth enough to make His final two statements on the cross. Jesus third solemn cry in the darkness was... (C) It is finished. (John 19:30) The Greek word for finished in this verse means accomplished. It is accomplished! The DEBT had been paid...the SACRIFICE had been made... The Mission for which God had sent His Son into this world had now been accomplished! IT IS FINISHED! And then Jesus made His final solemn cry in the darkness: (D) Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit. (Lk. 23:46) It is interesting to note that in Jesus' first statement on the cross and His last statement, He addressed His heavenly Father. This final statement tells us Jesus' life didn't just slowly ebb away, but that He had consciously given up His own life as a sacrifice, so you and I could have eternal life.
We have considered: The SHOCKING Reality of The DARKNESS and The SOLEMN Cries in The DARKNESS. Finally, let's consider... III. The SYMBOLIC Meaning of The DARKNESS 1. What are we to make of The Darkness of Golgotha? What did those three hours of darkness mean? The Gospel writers don't tell us what the darkness meant, but there are several possiblities. (A) It could symbolize THE MORAL DARKNESS OF MAN. Jesus had said to His enemies when they came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemene, Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. The fact that man would nail the most innocent man who ever lived to a cross, and then stand there and laugh at Him and mock Him, and insult Him, reveals the depth of man's moral darkness and the wretchedness of man's soul.
(B) The darkness of Golgotha could also symbolize THE DARKNESS OF SATAN'S TEMPORARY VICTORY OVER JESUS. Throughout the Bible Satan's kingdom is characterized by moral and spiritual darkness. Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Jesus' death on the cross seemingly meant Satan and his kingdom of darkness had defeated Christ. But this was no victory for Satan, this was his crushing defeat! (C) But the most likely meaning of the darkness of Golgotha is that it was A DEMONSTRATION OF GOD'S WRATH AND JUDGMENT AGAINST SIN. Who turned off the light of the sun in the middle of the day? GOD! Who cloaked the earth in supernatural darkness? GOD!
DARKNESS is often associated with God's judgment in the scriptures. Remember God brought three days of darkness upon the land of Egypt. (Exodus 10:21-29) In the future, during the time of the Great Tribulation, the fourth Trumpet Judgment will be when God darkens the sun and moon. (Revelation 8:12) And of course the ultimate judgment against sin is when the lost will be cast into the outer darkness of hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12) When Jesus was dying on the cross He was receiving the full brunt of God's judgment against sin; thus darkness shrouded the earth. *************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N (VIDEO ILLUSTRATION: Picture of Jesus on The Cross while I read What Wondrous Love Is This? What Wondrous Love Is This What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! What wondrous love is this, O my soul! What wondrous love is this That caused the Lord of bliss To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, When I was sinking down, sinking down, When I was sinking down Beneath God s righteous frown, Christ laid aside His crown for my soul for my soul, Christ laid aside His crown for my soul. And when from death I m free, I ll sing on, I ll sing on; And when from death I m free, I ll sing on. And when from death I m free I ll sing His love for me, And through eternity I ll sing on, I ll sing on, And through eternity I ll sing on. ( American Folk Hymn)