J. C. Ryle: Was he scourged? It was that “through his stripes we might be healed.” Was he condemned, though innocent? It was that we might be acquitted, though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? It was that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped of his [clothing]? It was that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness. Was he mocked & reviled? It was that we might be honored & blessed. Was he reckoned a [criminal], & numbered among transgressors? It was that we might be reckoned innocent, & justified from all sin. Was he declared unable to save himself? It was that he might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did he die at last, & that the most painful & disgraceful of deaths? It was that we might live forevermore, & be exalted to the highest glory. [Was He judged to death in darkness? It was so that we might be set free to everlasting life in light!]
Jesus bore the darkness of God’s anger, so that you might enjoy the light of God’s love forever!
1. Why did God create darkness and light?
- Nick Batzig: When God first formed the heavens & the earth, Moses tells us that “the earth was without form & void, & that darkness spread across the face of the deep.” It was into this world of darkness that God spoke those very first words, “Let there be light!” The point of Gen. 1:3 is not for you to try to understand scientifically how there could have been light without the luminary bodies, but to learn the theological rationale for light in the world. 1) God made light so that man could see the glories of His handiwork in creation. 2) God made light without a sun so that man would understand that all things derived their life & preservation from God apart from the means to which we are tempted to attribute power & sustenance. 3) (& most important to our considerations here), God is telling us something about the redemptive work that will occur after the fall of man.
- R. A. Finlayson: God is at work as of old in a progressive development of light. We remember that, in the first creation, light came progressively. It was not the sun in its meridian splendor that shone; indeed there is evidence that the sun had come at a much later period than the light. But the light did come, it came to wax & grow. And it is significant that at every period in God’s creative work, we read, “And the evening & the morning were the first day, the evening & the morning were the second day”, & so on. Why should it be “evening & morning?” This is not after the manner of man’s toil; he works from morning to evening. It is not enough to say that this is a Jewish division of time. We have to get behind that Jewish division of time, & ask how it came about that the Jew was taught to regard time as moving from evening to morning. It was God’s pattern of workmanship. He is always facing the light, his back is on the evening, his face is towards the waxing light, and the rising sun. And if that was true in the natural creation, it is blessedly true in the spiritual creation. [Reformation: After darkness, light!]
2. God is sovereign over all the darkness:
Isa. 45:7: I form light & create darkness, I make well-being & create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things
3. Darkness is used by God for cursing and judgment:
- Ex. 10:21-23: the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. [The plague right before killing the of firstborn!]
- Deut. 28:5, 28: But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments & his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you & overtake you . . . The LORD will strike you with madness & blindness & confusion of mind, & you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, & you shall not prosper in your ways.
- 1 Sam. 2:9: He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.
- Nah. 1:7-8: The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, & will pursue his enemies into darkness
- Matt. 24:29: Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Rev. 16:10: The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish
- Matt. 8:11-12: I tell you, many will come from east & west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Two other places: Matt. 22:13; 25:30) (Jesus took this!)
Jesus bore the darkness of God’s anger, so that you might enjoy the light of God’s love forever!
4. Darkness represents sadness and mourning:
Job 3:1-9: After this Job opened his mouth & cursed the day of his birth. & Job said: "Let the day perish on which I was born, & the night that said, 'A man is conceived.' Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. Let gloom & deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night – let thick darkness seize it! Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it. Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark [Dark/Darkness is mentioned 42 times in the book of Job!] (Jesus took our sadness!)
5. Darkness is a curse prayed over God’s enemies:
- Ps. 35:6: Let their way be dark & slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!
- Ps. 69:23-24: Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, & make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, & let your burning anger overtake them. (Jesus bore the curse for us!)
6. Darkness is associated with death:
- Ps. 107:10, 14: Some sat in darkness & in the shadow of death . . . He brought them out of darkness & the shadow of death
- Ps. 143:3: the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. (Jesus died for us!)
7. Darkness is associated with sin:
- Prov. 4:19: The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
- Isa. 5:20: Woe to those who call evil good & good evil, who put darkness for light & light for darkness
- Matt. 6:22-23: The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness
- Jn. 3:19: this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, & people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
- Rom. 1:21: For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, & their foolish hearts were darkened.
Jesus bore the darkness of God’s anger, so that you might enjoy the light of God’s love forever!
8. The Day of the LORD is the day of God’s judgment, and it is a day of darkness:
- When you read about the Day of the LORD in the Old Testament, remember that all the anger & judgment of God associated with that day fell upon Jesus on that cross so that we might be saved!
1) On that cross, God was fiercely angry with Jesus: Isa. 13:9-13: Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation & to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens & their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, & the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, & the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, & lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, & mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, & the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.
2) On that cross, God struck down Jesus with His sword of anger: Jer. 46:10: That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour & be sated & drink its fill of their blood.
3) On that cross, God's anger covered Jesus in darkness: Joel 2:31: The sun shall be turned to darkness, & the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
- Amos 5:20: Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
- Zeph. 1:14-15: The great day of the LORD is near, near & hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress & anguish, a day of ruin & devastation, a day of darkness & gloom, a day of clouds & thick darkness
- The Day of the LORD was executed upon Jesus on that cross so that we will never face the terrifying descriptions of the Day of the LORD at the end of history! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
9. God brings light out of the darkness:
- Ps. 18:28: For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
- Ps. 112:4: Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, & righteous.
- Isa. 42:16: I will turn the darkness before them into light (Jesus brought light like no other!)
10. God does His greatest work of love and grace and mercy in and through darkness:
Gen. 15:12, 17-18: As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. & behold, dreadful & great darkness fell upon him . . . When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land (Flood; Joseph; Exodus; Barren wombs [Sarah, Mary])
a. Jesus’ death: Matt. 27:45: Now from the sixth hour [noon] there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. [3pm] Ligon Duncan: About the time of the evening sacrifice.
- Origen quotes historian Phlegon: . . . the day was so turned into night that the stars appeared.
- Lk. 23:44-45: It was now about the sixth hour, & there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. [The sun failed!] [Lk. 22:32: I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.]
- Josh. 10 & 2 Kings 20 & Isa. 38: Sun stood still at Gibeon (battle); Shadow moved back 10 steps (Hezekiah)
- Ps. 88:6, 18: You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark & deep . . . You have caused my beloved & my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
- R. C. Sproul: The attendant darkness on the land signifies the removal of the benediction of God (“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” Num. 6:24–26). In His presence is light. The ultimate desired destination was to see the glory of God. But the darkness on the land at noon is God removing all favor from Christ, the cursed One. This dereliction is in sharp contrast to “My Beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
b. Jesus’ resurrection: Jn. 20:1: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
- Mk. 16:1-2: When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, & Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 & very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.
- B. B. Warfield: Jesus is the destroyer of all darkness.
- Jonathan Edwards: He who made the sun to be a type of Christ saw [it fitting] that when Christ died, [it] should be darkened, that while Christ's sufferings on the cross continued, and he was deprived of joy and comfort, the sun should be deprived of light. That the sun is a type of Christ was probably one reason why Christ's resurrection was about the time of the rising of the sun, i.e. its first rising by its light, because the rising of the sun is a type of the resurrection of Christ, as the sun's setting is a type of the death of Christ.
Jesus bore the darkness of God’s anger, so that you might enjoy the light of God’s love forever!
11. Jesus is the Light of the world:
- Matt. 4:16-17: the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, & for those dwelling in the region & shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
- Jn. 1:1-9: In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, & without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, & the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, & the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
- Jn. 8:12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
- Jn. 12:46: I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
- D. A. Carson: The light metaphor is steeped in Old Testament allusions. The glory of the very presence of God in the cloud that led the children of Israel to the Promised Land (Ex. 13:21-22) & protected them from those who would destroy them (Ex. 14:19-25). The Israelites were trained to sing, "The LORD is my light & my salvation" (Ps. 27:1). The word of God, the law of God is a light to guide the path of those who cherish instruction (Ps. 119:105; Prov. 6:23); God's light is shed in revelation (Ezek. 1:4, 13, 26-28) & salvation (Hab. 3:3-4). Light is Yahweh in action (Ps. 44:3). Isaiah tells us that the servant of the LORD was appointed as a light to the Gentiles, that he might bring God's salvation to the ends of the earth.
- Kennedy Adarkwa: Throughout history, nobody has made such bold, unapologetic, & emphatic statement besides Jesus. Herod the Great could not make such a statement; Caesar Augustus could not make such a proposition. Julius Caesar could not make such affirmation. Napoleon Bonaparte could not make such an assertion. Moses did not make such proclamation. Buddha could not make such a declaration. Krishna could not make such an announcement. Muhammad could not make such an utterance. The reason is obvious. These were . . . leaders in their own right, but all of them were mortals & finite. Death would not allow them to utter such a declaration. This is a statement of Deity; it is a declaration of Divinity & Immortality. [Jesus is God!]
12. God saves us by shining the light of His glory in Christ in our hearts:
- 2 Cor. 4:6: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Col. 1:13-14: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness & transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
13. In Christ, we no longer walk in darkness:
- Rom. 13:12-14: The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness & put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies & drunkenness, not in sexual immorality & sensuality, not in quarreling & jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, & make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
- Eph. 5:6-11: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good & right & true), & try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
- 1 Pet. 2:9: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- Mic. 7:7-9: I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause & executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.
- 1 Jn. 1:5-9: This is the message we have heard from him & proclaim to you, that God is light, & in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, & the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, & the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus bore the darkness of God’s anger, so that you might enjoy the light of God’s love forever!
14. We are called to turn people from darkness to light:
Acts 26:16-18: But rise & stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant & witness to the things in which you have seen me & to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people & from the Gentiles – to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
15. Someday, there will be no darkness – at all – forever:
Rev. 21:22-23, 22:3-5: I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty & the Lamb. 23 & the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, & its lamp is the Lamb . . . No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God & of the Lamb will be in it, & his servants will worship him. They will see his face, & his name will be on their foreheads. & night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, & they will reign forever and ever.
