The Veil and the Darkness
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Analyzing the crucial dynamic between Jesus' hours of holy darkness on the Cross and the splitting of the Temple veil.
Text: Luke 23:44-46
Date: 02/15/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 222
Description:
In the last three hours of Jesus Crucifixion, the land was covered in darkness, during which God's eternal plan of Redemption was fulfilled on the Cross. We will analyze the nature of this "holy darkness" and particularly what it meant for the relationship between Jesus and His Father. We will then notice that Luke moves the detail of the tearing of the curtain that obscures the Holy of Holies immediately after the description of the darkness. We will analyze the deep significance of this and especially how our restored relationship with the Father flowed from what Jesus accomplished in the holy darkness. Ultimately we will realize that Luke has organized His Crucifixion narrative to emphasize the centrality of relationship to Christianity; how sin destroys our relationship with the Father, and how Christ restored it through the redemption symbolized by the Veil and the Darkness.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, Gen. 3:23-24.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 23:44-46.
A. Context
B. The final hours of Jesus on the Cross.
1. The holy darkness, vs. 44-45a.
a. The timing of the darkness, vs. 44a, Rev. 22:14-15.
b. Comprehending the darkness.
i. How did the darkness happen?
1) A natural phenomenon.
2) The power of satan.
3) The imagination of man.
4) The power of God.
ii. How extensive was the darkness? Luke 2:14, 12:51, 5:3, 23:44; Ex. 10:22-23.
iii. What is the significance of the darkness?
1) The fulfillment of prophecy, Amos 8:9-10.
2) A sign of judgment, Isa. 60:2; Joel 2:31; Amos 5:18,20; Matt. 8:12; Rev. 6:12-13.
3) Who is being judged? John 3:18-19.
2. The curtain of the temple torn in two, vs. 45b.
a. Post Tenebras Lux, Mark 15:37-38.
b. The nature of the veil.
i. Describing the veil.
ii. The purpose of the veil.
iii. The symbolic function of the veil, Gen. 3:8,24; Hab. 1:13.
c. The tearing of the veil.
i. The nature of the tear.
ii. The symbolism of the tear.
1) The end of restricted access, 1Pet. 2:5.
2) The end of temple worship, John 2:19,21; Heb. 7:27.
3) The return to Relationship.
3. The last "word", vs. 46.
a. The dramatic change in Jesus, Luke 23:34,43; John 19:26-28,30; Mark 15:34; Hab. 1:13; 2Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13.
b. The final words, John 3:35, 5:20, 10:30, 14:11; Psa. 31:5.
III. Application, Matt. 27:46; 1John 1:6.9.
IV. Conclusion
