How Dark Was the Night Jesus Endured

By Melissa McLaughlin

Darkness descended. Lightning streaked like flames across the sky. Thunder shook the house. The wind whipped in fury.

Soon golf ball-sized hail pelted the house. So, my husband and I gathered our newborn daughter and rushed to the basement.

We had never experienced a tornado in our region, but knew the telltale signs.

Our hearts pounded as the storm crashed around us. When the torrent lifted, we trembled up the stairs to assess the damage.

We peered outside to a sea of slashed trees, branches, and leaves. The storm broke windows and crushed our cars, but mercifully, our house survived.

Some storms remain etched in our memories. A residue of fear faintly whispers, and we cling to God as our only hope. These tempests remind us of God’s unmatched power and our utter smallness.

When I remember the dark storms in my life, I wonder at the darkness Jesus endured on the cross.

As Jesus gathered with others before the Passover, He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In John 12:20-24 (ESV), we read:

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Interestingly, at Jesus’ birth, wise men came from the east searching for the one born King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-2). This signified Jesus’ arrival and His mission on earth.

As Jesus’ death drew near, this time men from the west (from Greece) appeared looking for Jesus. Interestingly, the gentiles’ search for Jesus marked something ominous for Him.

Notice Jesus’ response in John 12:27-33 (ESV):

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 

Jesus was troubled, yet; He remained in total control.

Christ stated clearly in John 10:17-18, “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.”

Jesus accepted His torturous trek to the cross to save us.

Imagine the storms you have endured. I cannot call to mind those details because I was not there with you. Nor can you visualize the storms from my life.

Neither can we fully grasp Jesus’ anguish as He willingly bore the betrayal, arrest, mocking, lashing, spitting, crown of thorns, loneliness, nakedness, and nails.

Still, worse than physical suffering, the pure and holy Son of God swallowed the cup of wrath reserved for humanity’s wickedness. God poured out His just judgment against evil, sin, and rebellion on Christ. Taking our place, Jesus opened wide His heart and drank it.

Gloriously, Jesus arose from the grave! Now we stand clean, whole, and holy in God’s sight as we drink the cup of salvation in Christ.

Justice served. Mercy given. Grace lavished.

But at such a cost.

May we never forget how dark was the night the Lord passed through to rescue us from our wandering.

I leave you with the lyrics to this old hymn.

There Were Ninety and Nine (By Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane)

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.

Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”

But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me.
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.

Out in the desert He heard its cry;
‘Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.
“Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain’s track?”

“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”

“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They’re pierced tonight by many a thorn.”

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”

Do you have a Scripture, storm, or hymn that reminds you of Jesus’ unfathomable sacrifice for our sins?

Other posts you may enjoy:

Jesus and Snakes? Tracing the Path to John 3:16

The Sacrificial Lamb: Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Holding on to Jesus in the Storm

Want to learn more about Jesus throughout the Bible? Check out my book, The Whole Bible Devotional: Seeing Jesus in Every Book of the Bible.