Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 15:33

"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." — Mark 15:33 (ASV)

All three Synoptic Gospels report the darkness; none says what caused it. Perhaps it was dark clouds obscuring the sun or a black sirocco—a wind that comes in from the desert, not uncommon in Jerusalem in the month of April. Whatever its cause, it lasted for three hours (12:00 noon to 3:00 P. M.) and covered the entire land of Judah. There can be little doubt that Mark understood the darkness as God’s supernatural act and associated it with his judgment.