Jerusalem, Israel: Friday, April 3, 33 A.D. – At precisely noon today, the skies above us went black. And not simply the darkness of an eclipse or that of an impending storm moving through the area. The sun simply vanished in an unholy darkness, plunging the region into a heart-melting gloom that lasted for three hours.

The timing of this mysterious darkness coincided with the ongoing Roman crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. As reported earlier today, the controversial teacher and miracle-worker who just days ago was welcomed into Jerusalem with palm branches and shouts of praise, now hangs between two criminals outside the city wall at a place called Golgotha.

Though death by crucifixion is a horror enough to endure, the crowd present – indeed much larger than one might consider usual (that perhaps owing to the Passover celebrations) – has been relentless in the insults they have hurled upon Jesus. Some of the things said we dare not print, but it is clear they come from the very darkest pit of Hell. And, if even that were not enough, the criminals beside him have also been slinging insults at Him. These men must struggle in agony against the nails pinning them down just to draw a breath, yet they are using that breath to curse one whom many would declare an innocent man.

The depravity of the human heart never ceases to stun and sicken this reporter. And yet, neither does its capacity for change, for at some point in the morning, one of the malefactors seemed to change his mind. Witnesses within earshot report they heard him rebuke his fellow victim saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Whether from the pain of crucifixion or from a truly penitent heart we cannot be sure, but there were tears in the man’s eyes as he turned his face toward the man on the middle cross and pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  Witnesses report that Jesus looked at him and replied with compassion, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Standing near the cross was His mother, Mary, along with John, the disciple many say was closest to Him. In the shadow of the cross, Jesus turned His blood-stained face toward them. Eyewitnesses heard Him speak tenderly to His mother, saying, “Woman, here is your son,” and then to John, “Here is your mother.” Even in His death, Christ was making provision for His earthly family and calling His closest friend to take His mother into his home.

It was at this point that the darkness fell, and for a long while, hours it seemed, the crowd simply waited in stunned silence. Then, very close to 3 o’clock, a cry shattered the silence! Those nearby reported Jesus raising His voice and shouting something that sounded like gibberish, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” No one present seemed to understand what He was saying. In fact, most were stunned enough by the fact that a crucified man had the strength to utter such a cry. Some in the crowd speculated that Jesus was crying out for help from the long-raptured prophet, Elijah. Perhaps thinking Christ delirious and in need of even the slightest comfort, one man rushed forward with a sponge soaked in sour wine, lifting it to Jesus’ lips. However, the crowd, as cruel as ever, told him to stop. They said to him, “Behold, He is calling Elijah…Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

It took some doing, but someone in the crowd recognized the words as Aramaic, a language common enough among the people, but apparently not spoken by many of the people present. Translated the words mean, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” These words are pulled directly from the beginning of the twenty-second of the Jewish psalms. Though space would fail us here to recount that psalm, if ever there were words in the ancient texts to recount what this Man was going through, they can be found in Psalm 22. Why Jesus chose these particular words, we cannot now be sure. If God truly had forsaken Him, even the thief whom He had earlier promised Paradise to had reason to fear.

After this, the sky remained dark and the air thick with dread. There was another time of unbreakable silence. Then Jesus said faintly, “I thirst.” Someone ran to him again with a sponge soaked in sour wine. Though Jesus had refused such an offering before, this time He did not. It was clear the end for Him was near. Most endured crucifixion for several days before succumbing – that was what made it particularly evil. However, after all the beatings and scourging Christ had endured, it was a wonder He had lasted this long, a full six hours since the first nail was driven through His wrists.

As Jesus fell silent again, many believed it was over for Him. His naked body looked cold and lifeless, hardly like the body of a man at all. His breathing was imperceptible – surely He was dead now. But no, for we heard the cry again – perhaps all of Jerusalem heard that last cry, shattering the untimely night, “It is finished!” And then, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.”

With that, Jesus did die, but something else truly remarkable also happened. According to multiple witnesses, the moment He died, the earth shook violently. Rocks split. Graves broke open. And most remarkably, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom—something only God Himself could have done.

How these things could happen the very instant a simple wandering preacher died, we cannot say. But then again, perhaps He was not so simple. Nearby the death scene, a Roman centurion stood visibly shaken. If you have ever met a Roman centurion, you know being shaken is not a trait they often display. These men are hardened warriors. They have seen and dispensed true brutality. For them, cowardice and fear mean death. But despite all that, this man was struck with awe if not outright terror at what He saw the moment Christ died. Witnesses report him saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Was Jesus the Son of God? Rumors persist that Jesus had told His disciples long before this that He would be killed and then raised from the dead on the third day, which would be this coming Sunday. One would suppose that only the Son of God could do that. We will have to wait and see. For now, Jesus is quite dead. Some men, among them Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent man, are already removing Christ’s body from the cross to prepare it for burial. The sun has returned to the sky, but they have only a few hours left before it will set again, marking the beginning of the Sabbath when work is forbidden.

Will Jesus keep His word? Will He rise from the dead? We will keep you apprised of further developments to this story. For now though we will simply have to wait…for Sunday.