By Bernard James Mauser
I recently heard someone express, “We shouldn’t believe the Bible because scientists have proven that there could not have been an eclipse during Jesus’s crucifixion.”
For those of us who believe in the Bible, we may wonder why there is any problem in believing in anything the Bible says. Many have grown up with, the Bible says it, so I believe it. Although it is true that we should believe it because the Bible says it, that does not mean we shouldn’t prepare to give an answer for those who don’t believe in the Bible. After all, Peter commands us to “always be ready to give a reason for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect.” (1 Pet. 3:15) Here are four reasons we can give for believing in the account about the darkness that covered the land during Jesus’s crucifixion.
First, there is the historical testimony. The first century historian Thallus said there was great darkness that happened at that time. The historian Edwin Yamauchi has attested to the authenticity of this account. This darkness was reported by the second century historian Julius Africanus as well. We should also recognize the Scripture serves as a historical testimony about this event that is not contradicted in any early critics of Christianity. This lends support to its testimony.
Second, there is the fact that if God exists, miracles are possible. One can’t rule out that God intervened with a miracle in causing darkness to cover the land unless one first can prove God does not exist. The fact is God does exist. Paul explains we all know it at some level (part of the theme of Romans 1). The philosophers have proven it in many ways in their arguments. Even the scientists, who showed up late to the party, discover overwhelming evidence for God’s existence. Robert Jastrow puts it this way in his work God and the Astronomers:
“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
Third, there is evidence that God supernaturally raised many dead people that day and on the Sunday following the Lord’s death in raising Jesus from the dead. God also did many other miracles through Jesus over the course of his life. This was a testimony that Jesus was both the son of God, and the only one who could save us from our sins if we would only trust in Him. It would be nothing for God to cause darkness compared to all the other miracles people had witnessed during Jesus’s three year ministry.
Fourth, it is never mentioned that the darkness over the land was necessarily an eclipse. We know that God caused a plague of darkness to effect the entire land of Egypt for three days as described in Exodus 10:21-23 that didn’t occur where the Israelites lived. The three hour darkness would not be a normal eclipse if it was one as the longest these last is only a couple minutes. It is probably better to think of it as comparable to what God had done in Exodus 10.
These four reasons for this one event are just the tip of the iceberg for Biblical evidence. We have an abundance of testimony, evidence, and reasons to believe that Christianity is true. God invites us all to have confidence that we can indeed trust in Him for every good thing.
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