A man wearing dark sunglasses walks into a classroom with a brown canvas backpack over his right shoulder. There are young college students sitting in most of the chairs, with a few older people mixed in. Most of the students are looking down at their cell phones. 

The man, the teacher of the class, walks past a table at the front of the room to a wooden podium near a wall of windows framing rolling hills covered with grape vines. There are a few oak trees amongst the rows of vines, and small mountains in the distance that appear light purple in the late afternoon sun. 

The teacher takes off his sunglasses and puts them in his backpack and sets it on the table. He walks to a thermostat on the wall at the front of the class and turns off the AC, then walks along the wall of windows and slides them up and open.  Warm, dry air and the smell of ripening grape vines begin to fill the room.  

The teacher appears to be around 40 years old, clean shaven with dark brown skin, brown eyes, and shoulder-length wavy black hair. He walks back to the podium and pulls a laptop out of his backpack. He connects a cable to it, linking it to a large TV screen on the wall at the front of the class. He opens the laptop and looks up at the students.  

“All right, let’s get started,” he says. “My name is Rashad Singh, and the name of this class is Supernatural Events of History.  I’m not going to bother taking role, as you’re all adults, and it’s not my job to compel you to attend this class, especially since you signed up for it and paid for it. But I will tell you it is in your best interest to attend, as the final exam, which is the only test I will be giving throughout the semester, will be based solely on my lectures.” 

Some of the students glance at each other.

“There will be a couple of writing assignments throughout the semester. I will give you more information on these when I assign them. They will make up 25% of your grade. The final exam will be 75%. It will consist of several essay questions.” 

A guy sitting towards the back of the room quickly packs up his stuff and heads for the door. “Sorry, I suck at writing,” he says. 

The teacher nods his head and smiles and watches the guy exit. He looks out at the class to see if anyone else is going to pack up and leave. When no one does, he begins teaching. 

“In the year 137 AD, a freed Greek slave named Phlegon wrote about a day where it became so dark at noon that stars became visible in the sky. It was included in a book he wrote about the Olympic Games, named Olympiads. The book is what is known as a chronicle, which is a book, or series of books, that documents facts in the order in which they occurred. His book chronicled the winners of every Olympic Games that had taken place from the first Olympics in 776 BC through his present day, which, again, was the year 137 AD.”

Some of the students begin to take notes. 

The teacher looks down at his laptop and presses a few keys. After a moment, a slide appears on the screen at the front of the class. It is a long list of Greek names with Olympic events listed next to each one. He looks at it, and then at the students. 

“Here is an excerpt from Phlegon’s book regarding the 177th Olympiad.”

He looks back at the screen and begins to read aloud what is on it.

“Victors in the 177th Olympic Games.

Hekatomnos the Milesian won three times: stadium race, double course and hoplite race.

Hipsykles of Sikyon: long course.”

He looks at the class. 

“These names are fun to read.”

He turns back and looks at the list of names and events. 

“As you can see, this list goes on for a while. I won’t bore you by reading the whole thing. I just wanted to show it to you so you could see what was included in Phlegon's book, and so you could get a feel for what his book was like. Basically, a dry presentation of facts.” 

He looks back at the students. 

“For us, the intriguing part of Phlegon’s book - when the sky became dark at noon - comes from the other things he chronicled. For in addition to documenting the winners in each Olympics, Phlegon also documented the notable events that took place during each Olympiad, which are the four-year periods that begin with the start of the Olympic games in June or July of a given year and end when the next Olympic games start four years later. Phlegon referred to these sections of his chronicle as ‘Notable Events during the Olympiad.’ Here is an excerpt from one of these sections, which is from the same 177th Olympiad I just read from.”

He clicks a key on his laptop and a new slide appears on the screen. He looks at the screen and begins reading.

“Lucullus was besieging Amisos. Leaving Murena at the siege with two divisions, he himself went ahead with three others to Cabira, where he spent the winter. He ordered Hadrianus to make war on Mithradates. He did so and overcame him. There was an earthquake in Rome and many buildings collapsed…”

He pauses and looks at the class.

"As you can see, he presents the notable events in a straightforward manner, as he does with the winners of the events in each Olympics."

He glances back at the screen.

“It was in one of these ‘Notable Events’ sections that Phlegon described the day when night fell at noon.”  

He clicks a key on his laptop and the next slide appears. “This is it.” He looks down at his laptop and begins to read aloud.

“In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was an eclipse of the sun, greater than any which had occurred previously. At the sixth hour, the day became as dark as night, and the stars were visible in the sky.” 

He looks at the class, then back at the screen. He begins to speak in a deliberate manner.

“AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, GREATER THAN ANY WHICH HAD OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY.”

He looks at the students for a moment, then presses a few keys on his laptop and the screen at the front of the class goes black. He walks over to the front of the table next to the podium and sits down on it, his brown leather shoes dangling above the floor. He looks around the room and begins speaking.

“Based on the first Olympics taking place in 776 BC, historians have determined the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad began in July of 32 AD and ended in June of 33 AD. Historians also tell us the sixth hour, when the eclipse began, equates to noon for us, as during these times the day began at sunrise and not at midnight.” 

He glances out the window at a hawk circling in the clear, blue, late afternoon sky, then back at the class. 

“So, disclaimer: The passages I just read to you do not exist. By this, I mean a copy of Phlegon's book does not exist today. What I read to you are what are known as ‘fragments’ from his book, which are excerpts that were quoted or cited in other books written by other historians.”

He glances around the room for a moment, then continues.

“Namely, a man named Julius Africanus around 220 AD; a man named Eusebius around 325 AD; a man named Jerome around 380 AD; a man named George around 800 AD; and a man named Photius around 850 AD. Thomas Jefferson also wrote about Phlegon in a letter to a man named George Wythe in 1790, and about Phlegon’s description of the ‘darkness’ in the sky.” 

He looks up at a clock on the wall opposite the windows, then back at the class.

A guy in his early twenties with shaved blond hair, hazel eyes, stubble beard, and black t-shirt raises his hand.

The teacher looks over at him. “What’s your name?” 

“Joe.”

“Go ahead.”

Joe looks down at his desk for a moment, then up at the teacher. “So, based on what you just said, we are discussing quotes from a book that doesn’t exist?”

The teacher smirks. “Yes.” 

Joe tilts his head slightly to one side, looks down at his desk, then up at the teacher. “That doesn’t sound very scientific.” 

The teacher looks at Joe for a moment, then at the rest of the students.

“I agree. But this is not a science class. Give me a few minutes and you’ll see where we’re headed with this.”

Joe tilts his head slightly back to the other side and says, somewhat sarcastically, “OK.”

The teacher looks at the class. 

“Any other questions?” 

No one raises their hand.

“Based on the frequency and the period of time over which historians cited Phlegon, I tend to believe he wrote what is in the fragment, that the sky became dark during the middle of the day during the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad.” 

A small, thin, well-dressed Latin girl with long, straight black hair sitting in the front row raises her left hand and begins speaking, “I totally believe it.” 

The teacher looks at the girl and half smiles, amused by her sudden input. “What’s your name?”

The girl, who looks to be around 20 years old, straightens up in her chair and smiles. “Maria.” 

“Nice to meet you, Maria.” 

The teacher hops off the table and walks over to the wall of windows and gazes out for a moment at a vintner with a straw-hat walking between the rows of grape vines. He turns back to the class and puts his hands in his pant's pockets and begins to speak.   

“Our solar system is predictable when it comes to solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. By this I mean the sun and the moon and the earth move around each other in a predictable way. And so while I can’t explain to you exactly how they were able to do it, I can tell you that some really smart people at NASA, and other modern-day astronomers, have calculated when and where total solar eclipses took place in ancient times, down to the minute they began, the minute they ended, and area of the earth where they took place, and they have determined there was one total solar eclipse during the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, and that it took place at 1:40 p.m. on March 19 of the year 33 AD, and that it lasted four minutes and six seconds.” 

Maria raises her hand.

The teacher points at her. “Go ahead, Maria.”

She asks, “So that was the eclipse the guy wrote about?”

The teacher looks at her and the class and smiles sheepishly. “No. It was not.” 

Joe raises his hand and speaks before the teacher has a chance to acknowledge him. “How do you know?”

“There are two reasons why we know this was not the greatest eclipse that ever occurred, as Phlegon put it. First, the eclipse I just spoke of took place over the Indian Ocean, so it would not have been witnessed by the citizens of the Roman Empire that made up Phlegon’s audience.” 

He walks back over to the podium and rests his forearms on it and leans into them a bit.

“Second, the people at NASA have produced a list of the total solar eclipses that took place during the first century, from zero AD to 100 AD, and this eclipse of four minutes and six seconds was just an average eclipse based on the length of time it lasted. It was definitely not the greatest eclipse that had ever occurred, as far as the length of time the sky was dark.”

“So, are you saying the eclipse didn’t happen?” Joe asks.

The teacher looks at him, and then at the rest of the students.

“What I am saying is I believe the sky became dark at noon during the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad – but that it wasn’t due to an eclipse.”

Maria stares intently at the teacher for a moment, then asks, “Then what was it caused by?

“That’s a very good question.”

The teacher half-smiles and walks back over to the table at the front of the class and sits on it. He looks down at the industrial vinyl floor for a moment, then up at the class.

“This is where things get interesting.”

He glances at the clock and then around the room at the students’ faces, then asks, somewhat rhetorically: “What could have happened that would make the sky go dark in the middle of the day, that would lead people that witnessed it to recount it as the GREATEST ECLIPSE THAT EVER OCCURRED, to the point that a hundred years later Phlegon would have known about it and been compelled to include it in his book as a notable event?”

He scans the room to see if anyone has an answer to his question. No hands go up.

“There is actually a well-documented explanation…”

“Seriously?” Joe says sarcastically. “Why didn’t you just start with that?” He stares intently at the teacher.

The teacher looks at Joe and grins. “I have my reasons.”

Joe half-smiles, a confused look on his face. “Dude, you’re killing me.”

The teacher and the class laugh.

The teacher continues. “The day when night fell at noon is also documented in another ancient text, and this text provides an explanation as to why it happened.”

“Is this another fragment?” Joe says and smiles.

Maria looks at Joe over her shoulder and rolls her eyes and shushes him.

The teacher watches the exchange, smiles, and continues. “We have more than a fragment. We have the complete text, which is known as the New Testament of the Holy Bible.”

A large white guy in his late twenties sitting towards the back of the room wearing a flannel and glasses, with a bushy beard, stammers, “I – I knew – I – I knew it!”

The teacher looks at him. “What is your name?”

“C – C – Cecil.”

“Are you a Christian?”

“Yes, s – sir.”

The teacher nods and then continues. “According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, on the day Jesus was crucified the sky became dark in the sixth hour, and the darkness lasted until the ninth hour. And while we don’t know for certain the year in which Jesus was crucified, many scholars believe it took place in the year 33 AD.”

Joe mutters under his breath, “What the…”

The teacher glances at Joe and continues. “We also know from the Bible that Jesus’ crucifixion took place during Passover, and we know Passover in the year 33 AD would have taken place on Friday, April 3rd, as the date of Passover is determined by the phases of the moon which allows us to be able to calculate the date it would have occurred.” 

Most of the students write down the date.

“We also know an eclipse did not occur on April 3rd in the year 33 AD, based on the list of solar eclipses from NASA, and also because during Passover the moon is in a phase that would make it impossible for it to pass in front of the sun and cause an eclipse.”

The teacher puts his hands on the table and pushes himself up and hops off and walks over to the podium. He begins searching for something on his laptop.

After a moment, he looks up at the class. “I’m going to read you Mark’s description of the event from his Gospel.” He glances down for a moment, then back up at the class. “Many scholars believe Mark wrote his Gospel around 65 AD, so this would have been written roughly 32 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, if it took place in 33 AD.”

He glances down at his laptop as though he is going to begin reading, but then looks back up at the class . “This is from the second oldest complete Bible in existence, the Codex Sinaiticus, which has been dated to between 330 AD and 360 AD.”

An older woman with short brown hair and wire-framed glasses sitting a few rows back from the front of the class raises her hand.

“Yes.”

“Can you say the name of the Bible again?”

“Codex Sinaiticus. It is called a codex as it is a compilation of scrolls, or pages, that are not bound together as a book, like books we’re familiar with.”

The woman looks down at the notepad on her desk and begins to write down the name.

“I’m going to begin a few verses before Mark’s description of the day night fell at noon to provide you with some depth and context as to why it happened.”

Maria asks, “Can you spell the name of the Bible?”

“S-I-N-A-I-T-I-C-U-S. The name is derived from Mt. Sinai, as the codex was discovered at a church, St. Catherine’s, located at the base of Mt. Sinai. I chose this bible because I wanted to use a version that was written as close to the event as possible, and because I think it’s interesting to see how they wrote in the year 330 AD.”

The teacher pulls a water bottle from his backpack and opens it and takes a sip. He screws the lid on and sets it on the table.

“Please hold your questions and comments until after I finish reading.” He looks at Joe.

Maria looks back at Joe and smiles.

Joe looks at her, makes a face, and shakes his head.

The teacher looks down at his laptop and begins reading.

"And they led him out to crucify him, and they impressed one, Simon a Cyrenian, as he passed by coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

And they bring him to the place Golgotha, which is, when translated, the place of a skull. And they gave him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not receive it. And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting a lot on them what each should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation written on him was, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And with him they crucify two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads and saying: Aha, thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself by coming down from the cross.

In like manner also the chief priests deriding among themselves with the scribes said: Others he saved, himself he cannot save. Christ the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reproached him.

And when the sixth hour had come, there came a darkness over the whole land till the ninth hour.”

The teacher pauses and looks up at the class for a moment, then looks back down at his laptop and continues reading.

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthanei, which is, translated: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

And some of those that stood by, hearing it, said: Lo, he calls for Elijah. But someone ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, and putting it on a reed, gave him to drink, saying: Wait, let us see if Elijah is coming to take him down. But Jesus having uttered a loud cry expired. And the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom.

And the centurion that stood by opposite to him, seeing that he thus expired, said: Truly this man was the Son of God.”

The teacher looks up at the class and walks back over to the front of the table and sits on it. 

Cecil blurts out: "Po - pow - po - th - that is frick - frick - fricken' po - powerful!"

The teacher smiles. "It is." He looks out at the other students.

Maria raises her hand.

The teacher looks at her. “Go ahead.”

“Was Phlegon a Christian?” 

“Good question. No. Or at least there is no evidence that he was. And it would seem he would have referenced Jesus being crucified if he was, instead of just referencing the solar eclipse – or what he thought was a solar eclipse.”

Maria nods her head.

The woman with short brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses asks, “Do they know if Mark was alive when it happened?”

The teacher looks over at her. “It’s possible Mark was alive in the year 33 AD, but we don't know for sure. But even if he wasn’t, we know Mark learned about the event from Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, as Mark served as Peter’s interpreter as he traveled throughout the Roman Empire preaching.”

The teacher goes to speak, then hesitates, and looks at the woman. “What’s your name?”

“Heather.”

“That was a very good question, Heather.”

She smiles and looks down at her notepad on her desk.

The teacher looks around the class. “I like to learn your names, as you can probably tell.”

The class laughs a bit.

The teacher looks down at the floor for a moment, then continues. “Most scholars believe it was during this period, when Mark served as Peter’s interpreter, that he learned of the stories of Jesus’ ministry that he recounted in his gospel.”

“But how do we know that?” Joe asks. “Is it written down somewhere?” He smiles. “Is there a fragment?” he asks sarcastically.

The teacher half-smiles. “Actually, there is a fragment…” 

He and the class laugh.

“It’s from a book written by a Bishop named Papias. He wrote five books around 100 AD that set forth what he learned of Jesus’ life and ministry by speaking with elders of the Christian church that were alive at the time Jesus’ disciples were alive and preaching the gospel. Like Phlegon’s fragment, Papias’ fragment about Mark has been cited by many historians that lived after Papias wrote his books.”

Joe raises his hand and says, “But this all assumes Jesus was an actual person.”

The teacher looks at Joe and pauses for a moment to think about his statement.

“Yes.  It does.”

A confused look comes over Joe’s face.

The teacher hops off the table and walks back to the podium and looks down and begins searching for something on his laptop. After a moment, he clicks a few keys and some text appears on the screen. He glances at the screen then looks at the class.

“Here is Papias’ fragment about Mark. It is said to have been in the preface to one of his five books.”

The teacher looks at Joe.

“Will you read it for us?”

A surprised look comes over Joe’s face, and he squirms a bit in his chair. After a moment, he smiles and says, “No.”

Maria turns and looks at him over her shoulder.

The teacher looks at him and half-smiles.

Joe looks at Maria, then at the teacher. “OK. Fine, I’ll read it.”

He looks up at the screen, clears his throat, and begins reading.

“Mark, in his capacity as Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately as many things as he recalled from memory – though not in an ordered form – of the things either said or done by the Lord.  For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied him, but later, as I said, Peter, who used to give his teachings in the form of chreiai…”

Joe looks up at the teacher for help pronouncing the word.

The teacher looks up from his laptop. “Cray-eye.  They were anecdotes used by teachers.”

Joe gives it a try. “Cray-eye.”

The teacher nods his head in approval.

Joe looks at the screen and continues reading aloud.

“…but had no intention of providing an ordered arrangement of the logia…”

Joe again looks at the teacher for help with the word, an exasperated look on his face.

The teacher thinks for a moment, then says, “Logia are sayings. In this case, things Jesus said or parables he taught when he was preaching.” 

Joe nods his head then looks at the screen and continues reading.

“…logia of the Lord. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong when he wrote down some individual items just as he related them from memory. For he made it his one concern not to omit anything he had heard or to falsify anything.”

The teacher looks up from his laptop at Joe.

“Good job.”

He looks at the class.

“So based on this, we know that when Mark wrote his Gospel, he tried to recount exactly what he had heard Peter say when he was serving as his interpreter. We also know from Mark’s Gospel that Peter was in Jerusalem at dawn on the day night fell at noon, as it states in his gospel the night before Jesus was crucified Roman soldiers came and arrested him and took him to the chief priest’s compound, and that Peter was with him when this happened and followed him and the soldiers to the compound.”

The teacher looks down at his laptop and begins searching. “Give me a moment…”

After a few seconds he finds what he was looking for. “Here we go.”

He looks up at the class. “I’m going to read some more from Mark’s Gospel. Some of you, like Cecil, may already be familiar with these passages…”

He looks at Cecil and then down at his laptop for a moment, as if he is going to start reading, then looks up at the class.

“As I did earlier, I am going to start with the verses that come before the passage we are concerned with to give you some context.”

He looks down at his laptop, hesitates, then looks back at the class.

“So, again, the Roman soldiers have come and arrested Jesus and are taking him to the chief priest…” He looks down at his laptop and begins to read. 

“Peter followed him at a distance, till within the court of the chief priests; and he was sitting with the attendants, and warming himself at the fire.

And the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrim sought testimony against Jesus, to put him to death, and found none; for many testified falsely against him, and their testimony did not agree. And some arose and testified falsely against him, saying: We heard him say that I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days build another made without hands. And not even thus did their testimony agree.

And the chief priest arose in the midst and asked Jesus, saying: Answerest thou nothing? What do these testify against thee? But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the chief priest asked him and said to him: Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 

And Jesus said: I am; and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the chief priest rent his clothes…”

The teacher looks up at the class.

“Rent means to tear.’”

He looks back down at his laptop and continues reading.

“…And the chief priest rent his clothes and said: What further need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy: what think you? And they all condemned him to be worthy of death.

And some began to spit upon him, and to cover his face, and to strike him with the fist, and say to him: Prophesy; and the attendants, striking him with the open hand, took him into custody.

And while Peter was below in the court, there came one of the maidservants of the chief priest, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked on him and said: Thou also wast with Jesus the Nazarene. But he denied, saying: I neither know nor understand what thou sayest. And he went forth without into the entrance, and a cock crew.

And the maidservant saw him and began again to say to those standing by: This man is of them. But he again denied.

And after a little while again they that stood by said to Peter: Truly thou art of them; for thou art a Galilean. But he began to call down curses on himself, and to swear: I know not this man of whom you speak. And immediately a second time a cock crew. And Peter remembered the word as Jesus spoke to him: Before a cock shall have crowed twice, thou shalt deny me three times. And when he thought on it he wept.”

The teacher looks up at the class.

“I didn’t mention it earlier, but as alluded to in the last few lines, before Jesus was arrested by the Roman soldiers, he told Peter that he would deny knowing him three times later that night before the rooster crowed twice. Jesus had said this in response to Peter telling him that he would never deny knowing Jesus and believing in him.”

Maria raises her hand and begins speaking. “Peter must have felt so bad…”

The teacher looks at her for a moment.

“Yes. And this speaks as well to Jesus’ ability to see the future, which is something we could spend some time talking about. But we will save that for another class, another day, maybe.”

Joe suddenly asks, “What kind of class is this?”

The teacher looks at him and grins.

Maria chimes in, “I think it’s super interesting.”

The teacher looks at her. “Me, too.”

He looks at the rest of the class, then continues. “So based on the passages we just read where Peter denies knowing Jesus, we can be certain Peter would have been in the vicinity of Jerusalem on the day night fell at noon, as only six hours would have passed after he wept upon hearing the rooster crow for the second time.”

The teacher walks over to a window and stares out at the mountains in the distance for a moment.

“Because there were no cars or planes or trains back then, so even if Peter wanted to hightail it out of Jerusalem because he was scared he might be arrested, as Jesus was, he would either be walking, running, or riding on the back of a horse or a donkey.”

Still looking out the window, he pauses to think for a moment, then continues. 

“The point being, he would have experienced the sky going dark in the middle of the day first-hand, and Mark would have learned about it from him and then written about it in his Gospel.”

He turns back to the class and puts his hands in his pant's pockets.

“So, what I am trying to get at here, ultimately?"

“Good question,” Joe blurts out.

The teacher looks at Joe and the rest of the class. When no one answers, he continues.

“What I am trying to get at is that when night fell at noon on that day in 33 AD, when Jesus was being crucified, it was a supernatural event.”

The teacher walks over to his laptop and searches for something, then begins reading.

“The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines supernatural as, ‘departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature…’”

He looks up and glances around the room, then looks back at his laptop and continues.

“They also define it as, ‘of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially: of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil.’”

He looks up at the class.

“Based on what we know about the day night fell at noon, how it transcended the laws of nature, how it was related to Jesus’ crucifixion, how it was caused by God – I think it must be considered a supernatural event.”

“Definitely – if it happened,” Joe says sarcastically.

The teacher looks at Joe, amused by his statement, but at the same time a bit frustrated.  He glances up at the clock, then back at the class, and says, “And that is going to do it for today. See you next week.” 

THE END