The Storm Clouds Roll In!

Have you ever watched as a line of storm clouds begin to make their way towards you? What might have begun as a bright, sunny day begins to turn a bit darker. The darkness begins to increase, as the storm clouds roll in. Finally, they take over the sky and eventually burst sending down buckets of rain, at times filling the sky with lightning and thunder. 

Such was the case with Jesus’ final week—and especially his final day. The week began filled with the brightness of worship and praise, the hailing of Jesus as Messiah and King. Throughout the week, however, the sky was changing. By Thursday evening, it had become obviously darker. By Friday afternoon the storm clouds had rolled in, in full force—Jesus was being whipped, forced to carry his cross up Golgatha’s hill, and finally nailed to that cross. A deep darkness filled the earth. Then, like lightning and thunder filling the sky, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.” And he died. 

It's hard for us from our perspective to understand the depth of the darkness of that day. We call it “Good Friday” (at least in English). By doing so, I think we soften the blow. But for Jesus’ disciples who lived through that storm, it was anything but good—at least for the moment—as clouds of disappointment and hopelessness rolled into their lives; deep darkness of evil moved across the land; as the clouds burst forth raining down death and despair. 

Suddenly the storm was over. Jesus body was laid in a garden tomb. And that eerie silence that follows a devasting storm filled the land. It was now quiet, but not peaceful. Jesus’ followers were left picking up the pieces of their lives that had been blown apart by the storm. 

If we are to appreciate the meaning and depth of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we need to take time to meditate on the incredibly dark storm his disciples went through that day; more than that, we need to consider the incredibly dark storm that Jesus allowed himself to go through that day. 

Capture a sense of the depth of the darkness and by doing so, you just might catch a glimpse of the depth of his love. 

Take some time today to read Matthew 27:1-61

- Pastor Tim Harris