Healing Rays of Righteousness

On Easter morning, many Christians will joyfully sing of Christ’s glorious resurrection as though the cross and crucifixion was nothing more than a temporary inconvenience for Jesus; similar to a trip to the dentist, painful but endurable and over quickly.

In their story of Good Friday, both Mark and Luke record that “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.” (Mk. 15:33).Jesus had hung on the cross for three hours, and then at noon darkness came over the whole land. And for three more painful hours, Jesus suffered in the dense darkness that blocked out the mid-day sun.

From the larger story, we know that this darkness was more than just a fact of the day’s appearance. It was also the description of the deep darkness of abandonment that was overwhelming Jesus’ body, soul, and spirit.

The physical torture of crucifixion, with its excruciating pain, was designed by the governing authorities to send waves of darkness and fear coursing through the victim’s body. But for Jesus there was also the painful darkness of being ridiculed, abandoned, and rejected by His own people, including His dear friends and disciples.

And added to this darkness was the deeper darkness of taking on and forgiving the world’s sin, reconciling the world to himself. It was this darkness of the world’s sin that separated him from his heavenly Father, who “is light: and in (whom) is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5).

Pause a moment and try to imagine the story. The heavens went dark and silent, covering the world in darkness, and he could not see nor hear his Father. Jesus felt utterly alone, with nobody near who could fully understand and empathize with him and his suffering? Nobody! And we hear Jesus verbalize his agony when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  But even though Jesus felt forsaken by all, he reaffirmed his relationship with the Father by crying out “My God, my God.”

So where was God on that terrible dark Friday? Betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and deserted by his friends and disciples, did God also abandon him? Really? It is true that God would not stand between Jesus and sin’s darkness, holding off the painful suffering and protecting him from death, which is the judgement of sin.

However, I am convinced that God was very much there, as loving, grieving Father, silently watching and agonizing with his Son as he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life for the sins of the world. He was there expectingly waiting, and when Jesus loudly cried “Finished” and died, Father God burst forth with earth-shaking, rock-splitting, brilliant light that completely tore the Temple curtain in two from top to bottom, causing the centurion guard to testify, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:38-39).

For me, the good news of Good Friday is that the God of light is also God in the darkness. Yes, God is in the darkness of His people’s pain and suffering. No, God does not stand between us and pain, holding it off, bringing us only good news, but God does stand, sit, and even hangs with us on our cross of painful, frightening darkness. However, this comforting, encouraging truth is most often only seen in the rear-view mirror of living.

For those of us who choose not to make a quick leap from the wondrous revealing light of Palm Sunday to the glorious resurrection light of Easter, the discovery that God is very much present in the awful suffering darkness of Good Friday is most encouraging.

The Scriptures repeatedly reassure us that when we feel most alone, God is with us in the darkness. As the psalmist declares in Psalm 139 – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? …if I make my bed in depths, you are there. …even the darkness will not be dark to you;” And again in Psalm 23 – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  Thank you, Jesus!

<><><><><> 

Ray M. Geigley – “Healing Rays of Righteousness” – www.geigler13.wordpress.com – 4/16/25