Chapter 26: The Hour of Darkness
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Introduction:
Introduction:
35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” 36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS 38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
Pray
Give background and say: Jesus was that which the prophets had spoken of.
In 1961, A mathematician by the name of Peter W Stoner published a study called Science Speaks about the prophecies of Jesus Christ among other things. He and his doctoral students reviewed the prophecies and mathematically figured up the probabilities of their occurence.
The chances of just 8 prophecies coming true of Christ are 1 in 10^28 (That is the chance you have of someone naming 1 grain of sand anywhere on earth and you picking it up on the first try)
The chance of 48 prophecies coming true is 1 in 10^157 (That is more than all of the atoms in the universe)
OVER 300 came true.
You see to understand the promise.. is to understand what Jesus asked last week, He said… yes, I know who man says I am.. WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?
Heaven revealed that the One they were speaking to was the Christ.. the Name above all names. .. which brings us to this chapter, “The Hour of Darkness”
Point 1: The Name Above All Names
Point 1: The Name Above All Names
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This name isn’t like our name. This Name carries with it all authority in heaven and earth.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
What are we to understand from the hour of darkness, but the authority that rests upon that name… This name has authority and power over three worlds.
I can show you.
Point 2: Heaven Got the Message
Point 2: Heaven Got the Message
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” 55 And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar,
As Jesus hung on the cross, a darkness enveloped the land, and the heavens themselves seemed to respond. In the Gospel account of the crucifixion, it is recorded that the sun went black.
Interestingly enough, if we look into the annal of history, we will find that on the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad (this would’ve been in 33 AD) the year of the crucifixion in which passover occured on the right day that a secular historian by the name of Phlegon wrote:
"In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great eclipse of the Sun, greater than had ever been known before, for at the sixth hour the day was changed into night, and the stars were seen in the heavens. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nicæa.
You see when the One bearing that Name and that authority hung on that cross… the sky went black. Heaven got the message.
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
That name commands heaven. What are the implications of this?
It is by this Name that we are saved! It is by this name that we command devils to flee!! It is by this name that we possess the authority of heaven.
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
If the authority given to us has the power to black the sun and rend the heavens to darkness.... then why are we walking around letting the devil eat our lunch? That doesn’t make sense…
It doesn’t make sense unless you identify the fact that the only powerful army that would submit in such a way in the presence of an enemy is if they did not know their own power.
It’s TIME THAT EARTH GOT THE MESSAGE.
Point 3: Earth Got the Message
Point 3: Earth Got the Message
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
When the blood of Jesus hit the ground, it was the most holy thing to touch the soil since the hand of God when He made us from the dust. EARTH GOT THE MESSAGE!!
The word of God says:
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
This Man, with this Name, fulfillment of all those prophecies.. the one foretold in Genesis 3 that would come to save them.. foretold even before God cast them out of the garden.. This Name carries authority and earth got the message.
Why then haven’t most of us?
Just like that powerful army cowering in fear from an enemy they would vanquish, so too must we collect from our understanding of this verse and the whole of this text that it must be because they either don’t know it, or they don’t believe it.
So i’m here today, to give earth the message.
The message that the enemy has been defeated at the cross, sickness was defeated at the cross
You see to understand that these signs follow those who BELIEVE… and that the word of God contains no errors and no lies.. the only thing we say from the interpretation of Mark 16:17-18 and all these other texts is that they either don’t know or they don’t believe.
An electrician usually doesn’t find himself going to the pole to find out if there is power. There are basic things he understands, he can look around at the signs in a place to see that the problem he has been sent to fix is not a result of the absence of the power at the source.. HEAR ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT.
The electrician having seen the evidences that indicate the presence of the power (like the evidences you have seen of everything that has ever tried to kill you failing)
looks for the short circuit… sometimes the short circuit is ourselves.
It’s not as cut and dry as saying, these signs don’t follow you so you must not believe… the question is, “Do you believe that God will do it for you?” “Do you believe that you being created in the image of God, being a joint air with Christ are worth it happening for you. When you can grasp this, the signs will follow.
I’m here to give earth the message, this name has power in 3 worlds.... next week you are going to learn that just as heaven got the message, and earth got the message, HELL Got the message.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Next week you are going to learn how the grave and hell got the message.
That name holds power in 3 worlds.