Riverton Christian Church

If you've ever experienced a dust storm, you know how dark and chaotic they can be.  I experienced a dust storm as a teenager.  Driving home on a beautiful day, I was half way home when the sky grew, not black initially, but brown.  It was a very strange sight.  In a matter of moments the wind picked up like it does during a summer storm with straight line winds and shortly after that, dirt came flying in on the wind!  So much so that we had to turn on the headlights and drive much slower because we literally couldn't see past the end of the hood of the car! People were pulling off the side of the road, tractors and trucks with blades came out and began plowing the "dirt drifts" so that the highway would be cleared. It was a little like being in a thunderstorm without rain and it was a little like what I can only imagine being buried alive would be like.  Not good to say the least!

After the betrayal in the garden, Jesus' arrest resulted in a night of unlawful trial only to be officially tried early the next morning.  The verdict? The Romans decided there was nothing to hold him on; the Jews fought to have him crucified. By 9am, Jesus was already on the cross. By 3pm, he was dead.

You've experienced emotionally dark days as well.  You know the trauma of losing someone you love to death. You may even have experienced the darkness that comes from the presence of evil. The day of Jesus' death was the darkest of days for certain.  It was emotionally dark, but also mentally and spiritually.  Darker than the darkest day any human could possibly imagine. It was dark in more ways than we realize.  God had sent his son, but his son was now dead and for those three days was inaccessable. The Holy Spirit had not yet been sent because Jesus had not yet ascended.  But was God really gone during this time? No, but it probably sure felt like it.

But how do we know there was even a glimpse of light in the darkest day ever?  Because of the temple veil.  When Jesus gave up his spirit, the veil in the temple, that giant curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place, was torn in two from top to bottom.  Who cares? Because it was torn from top to bottom.  That means that God the Father tore that veil.  That means from that moment on there was no need for anyone to go through an intermediary anymore like a priest.  All men had access to God because of the son of God. Light emerged from the darkness. Think about it...