December 7

The Dark Valley

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. — Luke 23:44 BSB

A mysterious and supernatural darkness fell over the land as Jesus hung on the cross. We can say that it was nature itself mourning the death of its Creator. The darkness must have been thick and overwhelming, filling the hearts of the onlookers with dread.

Yet there was a deeper darkness surrounding the soul of Jesus. He felt forsaken by God. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He cried out in anguish. We cannot fully comprehend the depths of this moment, but we know that it was the burden of the world’s sin that brought about this sense of separation. Jesus took upon Himself the full weight of human sin and bore the forsakenness that we deserved.

In contrast, we see that for those who follow Christ, death has no such bitterness. Jesus drank the cup of suffering so that we might drink from the cup of blessing. He endured the darkness of abandonment so that we might walk through the valley of death with the light of God’s presence. His agony made our peace possible. We do not fear death, for Jesus abolished its sting. For us, death is now only a shadow, illuminated by the light of Christ’s victory.

Let us never forget that the reason we have peace in our dying moments is because Jesus experienced the darkness of separation from God on our behalf.