8-16-20 Grace - Tucson Sermon

Luke 23:44-49 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke

Under the Sun Summer Worship Series Sunday, August 16, 2020 “The Sun Is Darkened”

In our “Under the Sun” worship series, we have discussed a wide variety of aspects and events regarding the sun. Last week we heard about the sun beating down on plants, something many of us have seen in action.

Two weeks prior, the sun was beating down on a person, something else many of us can relate to. We’ve seen how the sun rises on the whole world, making no distinction between good and evil and how people have worshiped the sun. Many of these things we can understand or explain or have even experienced ourselves. Other accounts have told us about unique dreams, or about the sun doing something unexpected—like standing still or having the shadow it casts move in the opposite direction. These things are not normal, not expected. We might even say that these things are impossible.

And while it is hard to measure how impossible things are, today we might just be speaking about the most impossible sun-related event of all. The sun was darkened. At exactly the time when we would expect the sun to be at its brightest and highest and hottest, there was darkness. From noon until three in the afternoon, the sun was darkened. This happened, as we already read in our sermon text from Luke 23, on the day when Jesus died on the cross, the day we call Good Friday.

That day had much more to it than just what is found in our short reading from Luke. The other Gospels as well as this one describe what led to Jesus on the cross and share different details about what happened there. And much more happened besides the sun being darkened. We will largely focus our attention on the specifics of this reading and start with the detail that places it into our summer worship series, the sun being darkened.

There is a lot of speculation about exactly why the sun was darkened. Some have chosen to describe it something like, “the sun couldn’t bear to look on what was happening,” and to personify what took place and make us think about it a bit. But that doesn’t really explain it in any concrete way. One thing is clear: this unique activity of the sun set this event apart in a very special way. What was happening on the cross was significant and important. There is no denying that. There is no avoiding that. Other details from that day back up this truth.

But perhaps one of the best ways to understand this darkness is to realize that the Bible often uses darkness to describe sin and judgment. We live in a sinful world of darkness. Jesus spoke about letting your light shine and warned against being full of darkness. And he also spoke of the punishment of hell as outer darkness.

The sun was darkened at Jesus’ crucifixion because that darkness illustrated exactly what was happening there. The darkness of sin and the darkness of judgment were on full display. The man on the cross bore the sins of the whole world and suffered the punishment of hell that they earned. Every unclean thought, every cruel word, every unloving action that we have done contributed to that darkness. Any and every one of them deserved the punishment of hell. Any and every one of them would separate us from God now and forever.

But the sun was darkened on that day because Jesus was facing the darkness in our place. He was the sacrifice that God had appointed. He was the perfect victim who was stepping in in the place of a world of guilty sinners who have long loved darkness more than light. And he suffered every bit of the punishment that those sins deserve. He suffered every bit of the punishment that you, a sinner, deserve.

And this sermon is not about the sun casting its light again, but that must be what happened when the three hours had passed. And that would send a message, too. The message was that sin had been paid for, that the darkness had been scattered. The sacrifice was complete.

And other events of that day sent the same message as well. The curtain of the temple was torn in two. This is the thick ornamental curtain that had separated the main room of the temple from the special place where God’s presence was represented. That Most Holy Place was so special that only one man, the High Priest, could enter into it and then only once a year. And even as he entered, he needed to bring the blood of animals to atone for his sin and for the sin of the people. That thick curtain represented how sin had separated God from the people he created. A sacrifice was required to allow even that limited contact between the people and God through the priest. But at the death of Jesus, that all changed. The temple curtain was torn in two because the forgiveness of sins had removed the barrier of sin and had given people access to the Lord.

Even the end of Jesus’ earthly life proclaims the same thing. Other Gospels tell us how Jesus cried out asking why God had forsaken him as he suffered the torments of hell there on the cross. They tell us how he announced, “It is finished” when the sacrifice was complete. And Luke in these verses tells us the very end.

When the time had come, Jesus still called out in a loud voice and announced his intention to give us his spirit, and then he did. His sacrifice was done. His life had reached the goal to which it had pointed all along.

The darkness pointed to the reality of what took place on the cross, the sacrifice for the world’s sins. And our text goes on to describe the reaction to all that had happened. The centurion who was in charge of the crucifixion saw everything that took place and he glorified God. He said, “This man really was righteous.”

I suppose again here we could debate the implications of the statement. Did the centurion become a believer? Did he understand how true it was that Jesus was righteous and that his death therefore made all who believe in him righteous? The Bible is not explicit about that, but some commentators note an ancient tradition that says this man was indeed a believer.

Others reacted to everything that they had seen and heard by beating their chests. These were large crowds, we are told. They returned home after witnessing a spectacle and they were shaken by it, but they didn’t necessarily understand or appreciate what had taken place.

And finally, there were those who knew Jesus, women who followed him, other disciples. About them we are told that they stood at a distance watching these things.

Here we stand centuries later watching what took place through the reports of Scripture. We can read and imagine what the scene must have looked like as darkness fell on the land and the sun was darkened. We can take in and absorb the words and actions of Jesus. And where does it go from there? We might beat our chests like the multitudes because we know the truth of the darkness that lies in our hearts. We ought to be ashamed of so many thoughts and so many words and so many actions and so many attitudes that we sometimes prefer not to even pause to think about them.

And then we look on Jesus as the centurion did and say, “This man really was righteous.” He is much more than a great teacher who was followed by the crowds. He was much more than an encourager or a direction giver or an example for us to follow. He is and he was so much more because he is and he was righteous for us and because he died for us. And thanks be to God we also know the rest of the story: that he rose to life again for us. And that means everything. It means that we are at peace with God, that we have access to him and can bring our prayers before him. It means we are no longer separated but have been brought close. And it means that when our earthly journeys are done that we will live with him forever.

Normally, darkness hides the truth. You can’t see in the darkness. On that Good Friday, the darkness of the sun shows us the truth. It shows us the battle of sin and the judgment that sin deserves. It shows us the sacrifice and shows us our Savior. This is Jesus who once said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).

Today we celebrate once again what Jesus did for us on the cross. We marvel once again that God gave miraculous signs to mark that amazing occasion, and we commit ourselves to living in the light of his love until he calls us to his side in heaven.

The Text: Luke 23:44–49 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun was darkened. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

When the centurion saw what had happened, he began to glorify God, saying, “This man really was righteous.” 48 When all the groups of people who had gathered to see this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their chests. 49 All those who knew Jesus, and the women who followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

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