Mark 15:27 And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left. 28 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was counted with the lawless." 29 And those who were passing by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 Save Yourself and come down from the cross! 31 Likewise also the chief priests with the scribes mocked Him with one another and said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with Him also reproached Him. 33 And when the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.
in John 2:19. Those who blasphemed Him also said that He saved others, but could not save Himself. If the Lord had saved Himself, He could not have saved us. Verse 33 says that at the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land. At exactly noontime darkness came over the whole land and remained until the ninth hour, until three o'clock. This darkness was caused by God, and it was an indication that God had come in to judge the One who was hanging on the cross. The Lord was crucified beginning from the third hour, our nine o'clock. He was suffering on the cross for six hours. In the first three hours, He was persecuted by men for doing God's will; in the last three hours, He was judged by God for the accomplishment of our redemption. It was during this time that God counted Him as our suffering Substitute for sin (Isa. 53:10). Hence, darkness came over all the land because our sin and sins and all negative things were dealt with there, and God forsook Him (v. 34) because of our sin. The first three hours were the time of man's persecution. We may say that during those hours the Lord Jesus was a martyr. Then at noon, with darkness coming upon the whole land, God came in. This darkness was a sign of God's judgment of sin. It was in these hours that God put all our sins upon Him and considered Him a sinner as our Substitute. The darkness was a symbol that God had come in to judge Christ as our Substitute for our sins. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 405-406. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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