Day 16: Darkness At Noon: Creation Responds
Sue Ward (Luke 23:44-45; Matthew 27:45)
Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness all over the earth until the ninth hour.
Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
Everything had turned black. Literally.
The sun that had shone since the beginning of time, when God first spoke into eternity with those thunderous creative words, “Let there be light,” on this day looked different.
The sun stops shining.
Picture the scene: It is Friday. The city of Jerusalem bustles with Passover pilgrims. The markets are busy. The people are preparing. And on a hill just outside the city walls, Jesus is dying on a cross.
Suddenly, at noon – the brightest hour of the day – darkness dramatically envelops the whole land. The earth itself is shaking. Nature is responding to the Creator Himself hanging on a tree. The Word of God. The One Colossians tells us made all things — visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth — and in whom all things hold together — is now being torn apart.
For three hours, creation holds its breath. Thrown into confusion, the pilgrims can only wait and wonder: will the light ever be switched on again? This day had been foretold by the prophet Amos:
“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight… I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day” (Amos 8:9–10). Creation shares the grief as Jesus carries the unbearable weight of the world’s sins and all that separates us from our Creator.
The Light of the World is seemingly being snuffed out.
The scene shifts from the hill of crucifixion to the heart of Israel’s worship — the temple. What looks like two completely separate events are, in fact, totally intertwined. As Jesus hangs on the cross, His body torn and in anguish, something is happening miles away. The veil, woven according to God’s instructions to Moses — the barrier that marked the boundary between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place — is ripped from top to bottom. The symbolism is immense. Not only does this signify the end of the old covenant and everything that separated us from God’s presence, but the veil is Jesus Himself — the Lamb of God, broken and ripped apart for us. When Jesus’ body is torn on the cross, so is the veil. The separation between us and God collapses.
When the darkness that covered the land finally breaks and the light returns, it means far more than a change in the sky. The lifting of the darkness marks the unveiling of a new covenant. What had stood for centuries as a sign of distance now becomes an invitation for us to enter. We now have direct access to the Holy One through the blood of Jesus — and all of creation knows it.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19–22 NIV
Activation
Stand in the truth that you are welcomed and can boldly enter the very place where God dwells. Everything that once separated you and kept you at a distance has now been removed by Jesus.
Step in. The Way is open. Go ahead — you have now been made ready. Spend some time soaking as you meditate on your spiritual reality.
Take some time to recognise and thank God that creation itself was healed at the cross and is being fully restored. Col 1 v 20 NIV: “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”