In the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, the US Naval base Pearl Harbor received a surprise attack by approximately 200 Japanese aircraft. More than 2,400 American soldiers perished from the remorseless bombing from Japan and it became the action that tipped the scales of the United States’ decision to make its appearance in the infamous World War II. The day of this heinous act of violence and hatred will be forever remembered as “a date that will live in infamy” (President Franklin D. Roosevelt). Sadly, it was not the first time (nor would it be the last) that tragic dates such as this one would “live in infamy” to remain as a constant reminder of how far human indifference can truly go. Yet, although this event is horrific, it pales in comparison to an event that left its print on the world several centuries before and continues to resonate in the minds of men until this day. Unlike the 2,400 men and women whose lives were torn away from this world, on that day (several centuries prior) the life of only one man was mercilessly and hatefully ripped away from this earth. On that day, there on the place called Golgotha, Jesus of Nazareth painfully hung on His cross for what would be His final six hours (from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon) in this world. Condemned for a crime He did not commit, the Master remained silent before His accusers and hecklers as He endured the agonizing torture the cross was meant to inflict upon His battered body. For His enemies, His body hung on the cross as a trophy paying homage to their victory over the Man who constantly exposed their hypocrisy and lack of loyalty toward Jehovah God. In their wicked minds, all their troubles would soon dissipate with this Man’s last breath. They savored in their triumph gleefully since they believed that this Thorn would finally be removed from their conscience. Their joy, however, would be short lived due to the extraordinary, supernatural events that manifested in His final three hours on that cross. In an amazing attempt to yet again open their eyes to the harsh reality of Whom they were assassinating, in the sixth hour (12:00 pm our time) the Almighty allowed “darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour [3:00 pm our time]” (Mark 15:33). There has been much speculation as to what was the cause of this mysterious darkness that engulfed the land. One suggestion has been that perhaps it was a solar eclipse, but two things immediately debunk this theory. First, an eclipse (whether solar or lunar) cannot last three hours since by definition it is a moment when either the moon is between the sun and the Earth (solar) or when the Earth’s shadow is on the moon (lunar). Undoubtedly, it is simple to comprehend why it is impossible to believe that a lunar eclipse is described by both Matthew and Mark. Although the suggestion that a solar eclipse is appealing, it is unwise to accept this theory because a solar eclipse does not last three hours. Secondly, the Master had been crucified on the day before the Passover feast. How does this fact reject this theory? The Passover was celebrated by the Jews on a full moon. The importance and significance of this scientific fact is that a solar eclipse is impossible when there is to be a full moon on that same night. With this in mind, we begin to see the manifestation of Divine Power. Let us recall that this was not the first time our God had brought darkness upon the land in an attempt to enlighten the mind of those who opposed Him. When Moses appeared in Egypt to liberate God’s people from Egyptian bondage, Pharaoh vehemently refused to comply. The results were ten debilitating plagues that God poured upon Pharaoh and his kingdom, seeking the compliance to His command. In His penultimate plague, God orders Moses “stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt” (Exodus 10:21). Therefore, we see that the hand of Jehovah God has brought darkness upon the land before when He sought to free His people from bondage. It is dire also to understand the substance this connection makes to those final three hours of the Lord upon His cross. To amplify this lesson, let us bring to memory that Christ was crucified on “the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath” which is when the Jews killed their sacrificial lambs to celebrate the Passover (Mark 15:42). They would perform these rituals on this day because it was unlawful to work on the Sabbath (or Day of Rest). On this “Preparation Day,” the priests would make the morning sacrifices at the third hour (9:00 am
our time) and the evening sacrifices at the ninth hour (3:00 pm our time). With this knowledge in mind, when we compare the Lord’s crucifixion we see that He was hung on the cross at the third hour and perished at the ninth hour (Mark 15:25, 34-37). In other words, this revelation proves that “indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1st Corinthians 5:7). When God brought darkness upon the land of Egypt, He did so before He ordered the people of Israel to celebrate the very first Passover. Once more, it was the ninth (penultimate) plague that Egypt had endured due to Pharaoh’s obstinacy in letting God’s people go free. The plague that followed was the death of all the firstborn children of Egypt. His wrath did not pour on the children of Israel, but rather passed over those homes that had lamb’s blood “on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat” (Exodus 12:7, 12-13). Here is where we are able to see the connection between the two. Before Christ, our sacrificial lamb was offered so that the wrath of God would pass over us, darkness engulfed the land. A darkness that was without a doubt unnatural and lasted for three hours, similar to the three days that it lasted in the land of Egypt. In both occasions, God was seeking to free His people from the bondage of slavery. As a prelude to His wrath that was about to pour over the unrighteousness of sin, God (through His prophet) states that “in that day…I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight” (Amos 8:9-10). God’s judgment was poured upon Him since “He made Him, who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2nd Corinthians 5:21). With this darkness, our Father was demonstrating the sinful abyss from where our Passover Lamb was delivering us from.