What an Afternoon! (Luke 23:44-49)

Jesus has been on the cross since 9am. Luke has told us about two matters that have happened before noon: the prayer by Jesus for the soldiers who had crucified him and the assurance he then gave to the penitent criminal about his place in Paradise later that day. Now Luke moves on to describe what happened in the afternoon of this unique and amazing day.

There are some details in other Gospels that Luke does not mention. Regarding the seven sayings on the cross, Luke does not mention numbers three, four, five and six, but he does mention the seventh (as well as the prayer for the soldiers and the promise to the criminal). He does not include (1) the arrangement of care that Jesus made for his mother through his disciple John, (2) the cry about Jesus being forsaken by God, (3) the cry that Jesus was thirsty, and (4) the cry that Jesus had completed the work he was engaged in doing. Although he does not mention them, he does include several important details for his readers to consider. So we can focus on those details at this time.

The unusual darkness (vv. 44-45)

An astonishing event took place at around noon when darkness replaced daylight and this change lasted for three hours, from noon until three o’clock. Apparently, it could not have been an eclipse because at that time of year, Passover, there is a full moon, and solar eclipses don’t occur when that is the case. Moreover, an eclipse lasts for a few minutes and not for three hours.

It is not clear if the darkness affected the land or the earth (the Greek word is used for either). There are Roman historical records of an unusual darkness coming on the earth, although if it did affect the world, there would be some places where it would have happened in the morning or in the evening because of different time zones. The physical darkness was a sign from God that something very significant was taking place – it was the time when Jesus cried out that he was forsaken.

What does the darkness during daytime signify? Perhaps it was the divine method of preventing people observing the agony of Christ’s soul and it could be a divine message to tell us not to speculate about the nature of his sufferings. After all, who is capable of explaining what it means to experience the wrath of God? In the Old Testament, in Amos 8:9, such an event as darkness at noonday had been used to illustrate divine judgement. But it had never literally occurred until it happened when Jesus was on the cross.

I suspect the darkness at noonday was and is designed to shock us into silence, to become serious in our thoughts, to consider what was taking place and why it had happened.

The rending of the curtain (v. 46)

Luke also mentions another unique event when he says that that the curtain that separated the holy of holies from the holy place was torn in two. Matthew and Mark say that it was torn from top to bottom, clearly a way of saying that the tearing was not performed by humans but by God himself. God was definitely saying something when he did this action; or perhaps we should say that God was showing something when he did this. 

The daily evening sacrifice was offered in the temple at the ninth hour, so there would have been many people in the temple at the time when all those events mentioned by Luke took place. The Holy of Holies symbolised the presence of God, a secret place to which access was only given on the annual Day of Atonement. Now it was open to view.

Because the tearing happened just before Jesus died, was God revealing to people where the spirit of Jesus had gone, to an open heaven? The public may have assumed that his death was the end for him, but this sign perhaps indicated that he had gone into God’s presence because he had completed why he had been sent. Or it could be that the rending of the curtain was to show that no more animal sacrifices were needed, and the worship rituals of the temple were no longer required. A third possibility is that the removal of the curtain illustrated that access to God was available to everyone. Maybe all three suggestions are included in the meaning of the tearing of the curtain.

Seventh saying of Jesus on the cross (v. 46)

Luke’s description of this saying reveals that Jesus had been given strength in order to cry with a loud voice. His head was raised as he said these words (John tells us that Jesus bowed his head before dismissing his spirit). This saying is a quotation from Psalm 31:5, and this is another example from his experience on the cross of Jesus’ mind being focussed on the scriptures.

No doubt, many comments could be made on this saying. One that is often made is that here we have an example of how to die in faith. We know that Jesus would have had perfect faith in that he exercised it without any defects, and often we correctly realise that in many areas of life we will fall far short of a steady and consistent faith like he possessed. But we should observe that he quoted a petition that had originally been made in a psalm composed by a sinner (as all of scripture is). The fact that the saying was used by the sinless Saviour and a sinful psalmist indicates for us that it is an example of how to die in faith. And Stephen was to use a similar expression when he came to die.

A second detail that we can see in this saying is the authority of Jesus to dismiss his spirit. When the psalmist used the words, he did so because he was in a place of danger and needed God’s help. Jesus used them in a place of triumph, of achievement. We can see that was the case by comparing Luke’s account with that of John. John records that just prior to dismissing his spirit Jesus cried, ‘It is finished.’ He had completed the work given to him by the Father. Earlier in his ministry, he had referred to his death in this words: ‘For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father’ (John 10:17-18). This action by Jesus was an expression of the authority he had received when he agreed to be the Servant of the Father.

A third detail to note is the anticipation that Jesus had when he spoke in this way about the hands of the Father. Regarding his coming into the world, he had said to the Father, ‘A body you have prepared for me’ (Heb. 10:5), which has the idea of being formed and shaped by his Father. Now his human nature is going to be separated in that his spirit will go to heaven and his body will go into a tomb, but he knew that the Father who had formed it would take care of it and ensure that the planned amazing future would take place. When Jesus says this saying, he is describing the end of one stage and the commencement of another in his life. In a moment, his human soul will be in Paradise, but afterwards he will experience wonderful things.

The response of the centurion (v. 47)

The centurion no doubt had supervised many executions in addition to the three that had taken place on this day. But he had never seen one like the death of Jesus. It is important to note that Luke describes the centurion’s response as an expression of praise to God. This must mean that he spoke his words to God and not merely to those around him. His words were not merely a comment to his colleagues about the impression made on him.

Why would this soldier want to speak in this way? One suggestion is that Jesus is the first innocent man he had seen die. Perhaps we can extend it to say that Jesus was the only innocent man he had seen die. Consider what the centurion would have seen. Jesus had shown no malice as he was nailed to the cross, Jesus had spoken wonderfully to the penitent criminal, Jesus had taken care of his mother, Jesus had referred to his Father in a trusting manner, Jesus had undergone an incredible agony during the hours of darkness, Jesus had died in a dignified, awe-inspiring way. What kind of man was this who could have such experiences on the cross! Moreover, Mark tells us that the centurion confessed that Jesus was the Son of God.

Here we have an example of the power of the intercession of Christ. People in deepest spiritual darkness can be brought into the light with no obvious explanation for the change apart from the grace of God. One truth that every conversion reveals is the effectiveness of the intercession of Christ. And we can also see that a consequence of his work is that the recipient wants to praise him.

The distress of the crowds (v. 48)

Luke also informs his readers that many people had gathered together near the cross and were affected by what they saw. He had already mentioned the people who had watched Jesus walk to the cross. Beating their breasts was a way that indicated distress and sorrow. There may have been strong sympathy for Jesus which is not the same as faith in Jesus. It could be, of course, that those who lamented his death were later affected by the news of his resurrection, but it is also possible that all they had was a temporary reaction which was eventually forgotten. Such a short-lived response is not uncommon when people hear the gospel and are asked to consider its implications.

The presence of interested contacts (v. 49)

It is not entirely clear whom Luke has in mind by acquaintances. No doubt, some of his relations would be in Jerusalem for the Passover. Maybe even some of the disciples ventured there. What is stressed by Luke is the loyalty of the women like Mary Magdalene and others to Jesus. Their feelings were probably very different from the distress of the crowd. They would have more than sorrow because Jesus was their Master in a personal way. In him, all their hopes had been placed, and now everything seemed to have come to a sudden and disastrous end. Nevertheless love compelled them to be as close to Jesus as was possible for them.

There is a sense in which we can say that we have spent an afternoon at Calvary. Luke was guided by the Holy Spirit to provide an account of what took place. Although we are not tourists, we should stop at each point in the story and remind ourselves of what took place there. We have seen an interceding Saviour, a promise-giving Saviour, and a dying Saviour. We have seen cosmic disturbance, the dismantling of the Old Testament economy, and the surprising confession of the centurion. Maybe Luke would want us to imitate what people did when they were at Calvary. Like the penitent criminal, we should speak to Jesus and obtain comfort from his promises; like the converted centurion, we should speak about Jesus when we are offering praise to God; like the distraught crowd, we should mourn over what happened to Jesus because we know that our sins were the cause of his distressing experience; and like the acquaintances of Jesus and the women, we should desire to watch together what happened to Jesus (we can do that by reading what the Gospels and other Bible passages say about what happened at the cross). It is often the case that after we have been somewhere people will ask us, ‘What did you see?’ Perhaps someone will ask us tomorrow where we were today and what did we see.