All the talk of the Niagara region that we call home, for the entire year leading up to April 8, 2024, was the solar eclipse, whose path of totality would go right over Niagara Falls. Thousands would flock to Niagara Falls to witness the event. It mattered little that they were predicting clouds.

The Saturday prior to the special day, my wife mentioned the eclipse to our kids in Western Canada Their reaction: “What eclipse?” Wait, what? They didn’t even know?

The big day arrived. Unfortunately for us all, the predicted cloud cover was real. Apparently every once in a while they would see a fleeting image of the partial eclipse. Unfortunately, when the time for totality arrived, so did the heaviest of the cloud cover…

We did notice the sudden onset of “night”. It was like darkness rolled in, leaving our area in night-time blackness, with an orange glow off to the west. Apparently the farm chickens all went to roost…And then, three minutes later, as quickly as the darkness rolled in, it rolled out, leaving us with what looked like an ordinary cloudy day….

Today is Good Friday, the day that Christians all through the world celebrate the death of our Lord and Saviour. In some odd way, the events surrounding our April 8, 2024 eclipse remind me of Good Friday….

The most obvious parallel is how the darkness rolled in: “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.” (Matthew 27:45 NIV). I have always wondered what that must have felt like, and although the darkness from the total eclipse only lasted three minutes, it must have been just as odd when the darkness of Jesus’ death rolled in…

There are other parallels.  

Remember my western family who didn’t even know there was going to be a solar eclipse? This was because they lived outside of the region where it would occur. Unless you were specifically interested in solar eclipses, those living in parts of the world where the eclipse would not be seen would not necessarily even know it was happening.

In the same way, although Jesus’ death was predicted throughout the entirety of Jewish Scripture, these were unavailable to so much of the world and many had no clue that the world was even looking for a Saviour. We know from the story of the Magi (See Matthew 2) that some foreigners did, indeed, know about Jesus’ coming. We also know that there were non-Jewish people in Jerusalem the day Jesus died. The famous Simon of Cyrene, a Greek city in eastern Libya, for example. There was a large Jewish population in Cyrene, and Simon may actually have been Jewish. However, it is safe to say that much of the world had no clue Jesus had even come.

Those of us in Niagara were very aware of the eclipse, yet many missed it. Some because they couldn’t get time off work or other circumstances dictated they couldn’t be outside watching the sky, and some because they simply didn’t care. In the same way, those who lived in Judea were also very aware that Jesus would come. Nonetheless, so many missed it. They were looking for a warrior king who would deliver them from the Roman oppression. They weren’t interested in a humble servant. They didn’t understand that their primary need wasn’t deliverance from Rome; but rather, deliverance from sin!

And then there was the cloud cover that obscured the full eclipse from so many who were in actuality in the path of totality and watching for it. People like my wife. Yes, sadly there was — and still is! — a “cloud” barrier obscuring the eyes of so many: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NIV).

How my wife — and thousands of other people! — would have loved to have had something to remove that untimely cloud barrier. Fortunately for us, there is a way to remove that “spiritual cloud” of spiritual blindness: God’s Spirit! “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV).

The fact of the matter is, whether people knew about the eclipse or not; whether they saw it or not, this didn’t change anything: There was a total solar eclipse whose path of totality ran right through Niagara Falls. The same holds true for Jesus. It matters not whether people have heard about Jesus or not; whether they believe in Him or not. The fact is, Jesus walked this Earth for 33 years, ending His journey at the cross where He willingly gave His life for all of humanity (See John 10:17-18).

Let’s let our prayer this Good Friday be three-fold:

1. For more and more workers in the spiritual vineyard so that no one on Earth can possibly say, “Jesus? Who is He?” And for us to personally love the unbelievers enough to want to go to work bringing souls to the Lord!

2. For God’s Spirit to lift the spiritual blindness from the eyes of so many that they will believe.

3. That we will all long for Jesus as much as people longed to see the eclipse!

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries