Section 3
light failing." Instead of "The sun's light failing," some manuscripts read, "And the sun was dark ened." The sixth hour mentioned in verse 44 was, according to our way of reckoning time, twelve o'clock noon.
According to Matthew 27:45, darkness was over all the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, that is, from twelve o'clock noon until three o'clock in the afternoon. Who caused darkness to come over the land? Of course, the high priest, Pilate, and the Roman soldiers were not able to do this. The only One who could cause darkness to come at noon was God.
This darkness was an indication that the righteous God had come in to judge the Lord Jesus as our Substitute and Redeemer. He was the unique, universal Substitute for mankind. From nine o'clock until noon, He was persecuted by the Jews and Romans as a martyr. But from noon until three o'clock He was dying not as a martyr, but as the Substitute for sinners. Because God recognized Him as our Redeemer, God came in to judge Him. This means that during the last three hours the Lord was on the cross, 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