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“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying…. My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me”? (Matthew 27:45-46).
As I write this today (April 8, 2024) there was a total eclipse of the sun, and it was quite visible in our part of Canada. We live right in the direct path for the best view of its totality. For days and even weeks ahead of this event, people have been getting ready to watch and study it. Today thousands flocked into strategic cities, buying the special viewing glasses, doing sun-dances and enjoying general partying.
As the time came and the day darkened, I watched an eerie gloom spread across the sky. It was all over in 4 minutes; the sky brightened and the sun shone once more. I could not help thinking of those terrible three hours of darkness at midday nearly 2000 years ago. God was punishing His beloved Son for my sins, and yours, if you will accept Him as your Savior. Three hours. We will never know what happened during that time, for God saw to it that it was dark, not just gloomy.
After the sky brightened, I sat down and re-read those accounts in the gospels … Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I thought about why the hours of darkness are not mentioned in the gospel of John. Do you have any ideas? We will write about that tomorrow.
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