What the Hidden Reveals
When they know that a total eclipse of the Sun is coming, people get excited! Motel rooms are booked for months in advance. Why? Tens of thousands of people will converge on the region to watch “the totality” of a solar eclipse. If you are headed for the eclipse region, plan ahead. Highways have been known to shut down because of traffic; cell phone service may go down; gas stations and restaurants will have long lines. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
Why does this happen? It’s not just the excitement over the shadow of the Moon passing across the land; total solar eclipses have taught us much about the Sun, Moon, and stars that we did not know.
In 130 B.C., the Greek astronomer Hipparchus measured the Moon’s shadow and accurately predicted its distance from the Earth. In 20 B.C., the Chinese scientist, Liu Hsiang, first explained that a solar eclipse is the Moon passing between the Sun and the Earth. In May,1919, Arthur Eddington photographed and measured light from the Hyades star cluster passing near the Sun during an eclipse; he confirmed Einstein’s theory that gravity can change the course of light!
When the Moon hides the Sun in a solar eclipse, this gives us new ways to study the universe. An eclipse illustrates that, sometimes, what is hidden reveals something that was unknown. For instance, think about the way the Bible presents Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is presented in a way that creates curiosity and allows us to study Him more closely. Consider an amazing event that occurred in the Holy Land.
Sometimes, what is hidden reveals something that was unknown.
On a high mountain, Peter, James, and John witnessed a remarkable vision: Jesus Christ was transformed to appear like a bright light before them. They saw Him talking with Moses and Elijah. According to those eyewitnesses “a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.’” (Matt. 17:5). As you can imagine, those disciples fell on their faces in terror. But Jesus touched them and told them not to be afraid. And when they looked up, they saw Jesus just as He was before, standing alone before them. But Jesus commanded them, “Tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead.” (Matt. 17:9).
When that bright vision came to an end, it was as if the outshining glory of the Son of God was eclipsed. Why did He allow this?
It was because what was hidden enabled His followers to study Him more closely. Just as surely as an eclipse helps us to study the Sun in the sky, so the Son of God became a man to live a perfect life and die. But He rose again from the grave! Jesus told His disciples not to mention what they had seen on the mountaintop until He rose from the dead. Why?
What was hidden enabled His followers to study Him more closely.
It was because people were confused about the mission of the Christ: He would come to the earth twice, not just once. At his first coming, Jesus preached that sinners must repent, and by dying on the cross for those sins, He paid that deathly penalty for all those who would turn from sin. But remember, Christ will rule over the world when He comes again. At His first coming, Jesus brought the glory of God down to eyewitnesses who could testify about Him. At His Second Coming, every eye will see Christ in all His outshining glory.
God the Father, in His mercy, sent God the Son to this earth to become a man. This brought God’s magnificent glory down to a human level for a reason: so that we could study the light of God in the face of Jesus Christ. One of His apostles, named Paul, described sinful darkness and God’s glorious light this way:
At His Second Coming, every eye will see Christ in all His outshining glory.
“…the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them… For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:3-6)
This is how God brings men out of blindness and darkness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth to live the righteous life that every one of us should have lived. How righteous was He? Not even Judas, the traitor and treasurer for His followers, could testify that Jesus ever sinned. At his trial, when religious leaders tried to prosecute Jesus, the Roman governor named Pontius Pilate, said, “I find no fault in this man” (Luke 23:4). But those who hated Him stirred up the people.
This is how God brings men out of blindness and darkness.
Jesus was willing to suffer and die the cruel sinner’s death that each one of us deserved. He died on the cross in our place. Eclipsed by death for three days, Jesus then rose bodily from the grave to show us His resurrection power (1 Cor. 15:1-4). And all who will call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21).You can see God’s glorious light in the face of Jesus Christ. And when you do, you will never fear death again.
Eclipsed by death for three days, Jesus then rose bodily from the grave to show us His resurrection power
Do you believe that Jesus, the Son of God, rose from the dead? Call to Him right now as your Lord. Confess to Him that you are a sinner who falls short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Cry out to God like the tax collector who prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Ask the Lord to save you, knowing that He has promised that He will. And you will find that the Son of God who became a man reveals the glory of God to you and brings you out of darkness.
© Gordon A. Dickson, LiveServeLead.com. Live, Serve, Lead, helping others succeed. Republished by permission.
Photo credit: Buddy Nath on Pixabay
Listen to discussions about solar eclipses at www.LiveServeLead.com on the Eclipse page
Podcast/Radio Broadcast: “Science and the Solar Eclipse” conversations with Dr. George Matzko, Matzko Science Ambassadors.
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 1
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 2
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 3
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 4
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 5
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 6
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 7
Science and the Solar Eclipse, Part 8