Darkness Wins
Mark 15:33

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


It's somewhat surprising that John's Gospel leaves out the notation that at the crucifixion, there was a three hour period of darkness. Perhaps it's all the more surprising because light and darkness seem to be favorite themes of John both in the Gospel and in his letters.

It is Mark and the other Synoptics who tell us about this phenomenon: "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. " (Mark 15:33)

Of course right away we are quick to associate darkness with evil. Jesus Himself alludes to this when He says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19)

At the crucifixion, the lesson about this darkness is clear - Jesus confronts all of the forces of evil, He enters into the darkness, takies it on, and far from being overcome by it, Jesus ultimately overcomes the darkness by His resurrection.

Actually, the darkness theme is not new, it appears at the beginning. It was out of darkness that everything came into being. ("And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." - Genesis 1:2) There had been emptinness, chaos and darkness until God said "Let there be light."

It's interesting to find that the next to the last plague in Egypt, just before the slaughter of Egypt's firstborn and the Passover was the plague of a three day period of darkness. It was said that the Egyptians couldn't even leave their homes - such was the extent of the darkness. (Exodus 10:21)

David, while being pursued like an animal in the wilderness, called out to God, "For thou [art] my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness." (2 Samuel 22:29)

While giving His Messianic prophecy, Isaiah said, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." (Isaiah 9:2) This is a statement later quoted by Gospel writers.

The darkness theme is then brought back at the very end - there will be a return to darkness for those who do not receive the light. "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. (Revelation 16:10)

At the cross there was darkness at mid-day, certainly a phenomenon intended to symbolize the conflict of the ages. Thankfully, due to the resurrection, we know the outcome - light wins!

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