He Shall Be Called - Day 19
Life and Death Prophecy: Darkness would come over the land at the time of the death of the Messiah
Scripture: Read the prophecy – Amos 8:9
Read the fulfillment – Matthew 27:45
Since the time of creation, the rising of the sun and the light during daylight hours had been unwavering and consistent. Everyone knew that from noon to three o’clock each day, the sun was out. Perhaps God used a solar eclipse to blot out light that day. Maybe God caused an especially dark cloud full of particulate matter to pass in front of the sun and turn the world to darkness. Whatever the cause, we learn from Matthew that the world went dark at the exact time that God’s Son hung on a cross, preparing to give up His life for the people He loved. God was showing the entire world that something unspeakably horrific was occurring on a small hill outside Jerusalem.
God used this major celestial event to show the world the enormity and tragedy of what they were doing. From noon to 3 pm, the earth went dark. Evil often seeks out the darkness. Was it a random coincidence that the sun went dark at the exact time of the crucifixion of Christ? A divine revelation to a prophet writing centuries before predicted this unsettling event. Only God could darken the sun to confirm that this prophecy and everything else He promised about the Messiah would come true.
Q1. We know that God directs and controls the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. What message do you think He was sending to His creation when the earth went dark for three hours?
Q2. Imagine you were a first-hand observer that day at Calvary. What effect would the darkness have had on you? Would the fulfillment of this prophecy convince you that Jesus was the true Messiah?
Q3. Jesus often referred to Himself as the light of the world. Is there any special significance in the fact that the light of the world went dark at the time of His death?
See Him there, the sinless one, see Him on the road to Calvary,
see the Lamb of God be crucified
But death could not stop Him, the grave could not hold Him,
His power is greater
For the cross of Christ is stronger, the power of Hell no longer claims us, the cross has saved us
But death could not stop Him, the grave could not hold Him,
His power is greater
PRAYER FOCUS: Jesus, You are the light of the world. The world needs Your light and I am the one You asked to take it to them. Help me eliminate anything in my life that keeps me from sharing Your light. Help my light shine as I reflect the light of Your glory to a world that desperately needs to overcome the darkness of evil.