Lenten Darkness
The Final Hours
Personal Daily Scripture Readings
Matthew 27:32-37 (Jesus is crucified)
Matthew 27:37-44 (Jesus is mocked)
Matthew 27:45-56 (Supernatural darkness)
Luke 23:44-49 & John 19:28-37 (Final words)
Psalm 22 (Prophetic words)
Questions to Consider
What is Jesus experiencing? What is happening around Him?
As Jesus begins to show His distress, how does it affect you?
Approaching this scene through your senses, what do you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel?
Stay at the foot of the cross, offering Jesus the ministry of your presence. You can do nothing for Him other than stay.
Journal your thoughts on each reading in preparation for the group meeting
Opening Discussion
What things stood out to you in this week’s scripture reading? Was there anything surprising or confusing to you?
Related Spiritual Reading
In Jesus the King, Timothy Keller writes about the darkness of the cross:
“All four Gospel writers take pains to show us that all the critical events of Jesus’s death happened in the dark. The betrayal and the trial before the Sanhedrin all happened at night, of course, but now at the actual moment of Jesus’s death, though it is daytime, an inexplicable darkness descends…
This is a supernatural darkness. In the Bible, darkness during the day is a recognized sign of God’s wrath and judgment…
The judgment that should have fallen on us fell instead on Jesus.”
How does Keller’s perspective add to your understanding of what is happening while Jesus is on the cross?
Closing Question
How has your understanding of Jesus grown or changed this week? Has He become more real to you in any way?