Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
5. shineth ] Note the present tense; the only one in the section. It brings us down to the Apostle’s own day: now, as of old, the Light shines in reason, in creation, in conscience, and shines in vain. Note also the progress: in Joh 1:1-2 we have the period before Creation; in Joh 1:3, the Creation; Joh 1:4, man before the Fall; Joh 1:5, man after the Fall.
in darkness ] Better, in the darkness. The Fall is presupposed.
and the darkness ] Mark the strong connexion between the two halves of Joh 1:5 as also between Joh 1:4 and Joh 1:5, resulting in both cases from a portion of the predicate of one clause becoming the subject of the next clause. Such strong connexions are frequent in St John. Sometimes the whole of the predicate is taken; sometimes the subject or a portion of the subject is repeated. By ‘the darkness’ is meant all that the Divine Revelation does not reach, whether by God’s decree or their own stubbornness, ignorant Gentile or unbelieving Jew. ‘Darkness’ in a metaphorical sense for spiritual and moral darkness is peculiar to S. Joh 8:12; Joh 12:35; Joh 12:46; 1Jn 1:5; 1Jn 2:8-9; 1Jn 2:11.
comprehended it not ] Or, apprehended it not: very appropriate of that which requires mental and moral effort. Comp. Eph 3:18. The darkness remained apart, unyielding, and unpenetrated. The words ‘the darkness apprehendeth not the light’ are given by Tatian as a quotation ( Orat. ad Graecos, xiii.). He flourished a.d. 150 170: so this is early testimony to the existence of the Gospel. This and the reference to Joh 1:3 (see note) are quite beyond reasonable dispute.
We have here an instance of what has been called the “tragic tone” in S. John. He frequently states a gracious fact, and in immediate connexion with it the very opposite of what might have been expected to result from it. The Light shines in Darkness, and (instead of yielding and dispersing) the darkness shut it out. Comp. Joh 1:10-11, (Joh 2:24,) Joh 3:11; Joh 3:19; Joh 3:32, Joh 5:39-40, Joh 6:36; Joh 6:43, Joh 8:45, &c. The word rendered ‘comprehended’ may also mean ‘ overcame;’ and this makes good sense. Comp. Joh 12:35.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The light shineth in darkness – Darkness, in the Bible, commonly denotes ignorance, guilt, or misery. See Isa 9:1-2; Mat 4:16; Act 26:18; Eph 5:8, Eph 5:11; Rom 13:12. It refers here to a wicked and ignorant people. When it is said that the light shineth in darkness, it is meant that the Lord Jesus came to teach an ignorant, benighted, and wicked world. This has always been the case. It was so when he sent his prophets; so during his own ministry; and so in every age since. His efforts to enlighten and save men have been like light struggling to penetrate a thick, dense cloud; and though a few rays may pierce the gloom, yet the great mass is still an impenetrable shade.
Comprehended it not – This word means admitted it not, or received it not. The word comprehend, with us, means to understand. This is not the meaning of the original. The darkness did not receive or admit the rays of light; the shades were so thick that the light could not penetrate them; or, to drop the figure, men were so ignorant, so guilty, so debased, that they did not appreciate the value of his instructions; they despised and rejected him. And so it is still. The great mass of men, sunk in sin, will not receive his teachings, and be enlightened and saved by him. Sin always blinds the mind to the beauty and excellency of the character of the Lord Jesus. It indisposes the mind to receive his instructions, just as darkness has no affinity for light; and if the one exists, the other must be displaced.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 1:5
The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not
How different men receive the light
1.
Some merely receive it to evidence their own darkness.
2. Some by outward profession merely.
3. Others receive and impart it as lights which are lighted by the true light. (W. Denton.)
Darkness and light
I. THE DARKNESS.
1. Of falsehood.
2. Of hatred.
3. Of death.
II. THE LIGHT IN CONTEST WITH THE DARKNESS; or, the progress of revelation in the sinful world.
1. The light shining in the darkness (the shaded, coloured light).
2. The light breaking through the darkness.
3. The meridian of gospel day. (Lange.)
Christs pre-incarnate activity
I. SHINING IN THE DARKNESS. Darkness points to the Fall. Had the union between man and the Loges continued, His life would have streamed in light around the souls of men, inspiring them with truth and arraying them in purity. But man severed the connection. Turning from the light, he chose a sphere of darkness. Nevertheless, the light continued to penetrate the dark atmosphere of ignorance and sin which thickened round man.
II. REJECTED BY THE DARKNESS. Though the light kept on shining through
(1) the teachings of nature;
(2) the intuitions of conscience;
(3) the Mosaic system and the prophets; yet men had not hold of the light, because
1. They did not fully understand it.
2. Because they did not see it.
3. Because they did not deserve it.
4. Because they hated it. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
The manifestations of the light of the Word in darkness
I. The light shone in the CONSCIENCES of men. A man without a conscience has never been born: never amidst the dreariness of heathenism–a faculty to distinguish right from wrong, to know that the SupremeBeing is pleased with righteousness and angered at wrong-doing, and that sin will be punished. But this light shone in darkness. Conscience persuades resistance of evil passions, but inclination quenches the light. Conscience warns respecting the future, but is silenced by the gratification of the present. Conscience reminds of allegiance owing to a Creator, but the inducements of other masters drown its voice.
II. CREATION glows with radiations of its Maker. But its illumination has to enter that darkest of spots, the human heart, where it is opposed by mists of passion, clouds of ignorance, the night of unwillingness to know God. Hence, in spite of the light, men abandoned themselves to every kind of unrighteousness and fell into most degrading superstitions.
III. THE PATRIARCHAL RELIGION was derived from immediate revelation. The Eternal Word shone upon man, as soon as he had transgressed, in the promises of deliverance and institutions of worship. But when men multiplied they forgot their ancestral religion while retaining some of its features, disguised and debased, but recognizable. Hence the universal prevalence of sacrifice and the hope of salvation. In every age and district of heathenism the light has thus shone, so that men, in the midst of their idolatries, are witnesses that a revelation has been vouchsafed. This light, too, preserved in the legends of paganism o! the Fall, Deluge, etc. Yet the slaves of superstition comprehended not the light.
IV. THE TYPES AND FIGURES OF THE LAW sent forth rays converging towards the Sun of Righteousness, which, in the fulness of time, was to cross mans horizon. Yet the understanding of the Jews was so cloudy, and their hearts so gross, that they substituted the type for the antitype.
V. What can be declared of those who are privileged with the full shining of THE GOSPEL? The theology of conscience, creation, tradition, type, fade away from the revelation of these last days. The true light now shineth. How? Men are insensible to it. By placing men under a variety of dispensations God would prove that no amount of light will suffice to illuminate fallen creatures unless the Holy Spirit purge the sight. The sun may be in the heavens, but if the light in us be darkness, we shall not be illumined by his beams. The Holy Spirit alone can remove that darkness. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Darkness and blindness
If persons who can see are shut up together with others who are blind, in a perfectly dark room, the seeing and the blind are in the same situation; no object is perceived by any, no colours discerned; but if light is introduced into the room, there is then a wonderful difference. To those who are endowed with sight, every object appears in its true form and just colouring; but to the blind all things remain as they were; they are in darkness still; and this because the darkness is in themselves. So it is with the outward revelation of Divine truth: while it is withheld, all are in darkness, but it may shine not only on those who live, and are awake, and can see, but also on the dead, and on the sleeping, and on the blind. (J. Fawcett, M. A.)
Men in darkness
There are some vines that never actually come to the surface; they can scarcely be called vines–they are roots, rather, whose home is in the earth. They feed on the loam, and not on the sunshine. Grow as much as they may, they are never anything but a prolongation of fibres. They are earth-eaters; they live in the soil and they die in the soil. They add nothing to the beauty of the landscape; and among the higher orders of life and growth their names are never mentioned. So it is with some men; they are only human roots, that might become men. They live underground. All the fibres of their lives suck in earthiness. Their growth is all lateral. They spread out on all sides. They are never lifted up into moral and spiritual expression. They are of the earth, earthy. They die where they lived, and God alone knows what becomes of them. We only know that the Divine life is not in them, and, therefore, the Divine destiny cannot be. For there is no destiny that does not germinate here. (W. H. H. Murray.)
The dense darkness of the period when the true light appeared
At no time was it so universal or so deep. All the powers and principles of the world had been tried to the uttermost, and found utterly wanting. The religion of heathenism had stretched to that extent that, according to Varro, there were three hundred different gods in Rome alone. The Romans had consummated their idolatry by deifying their emperors and great men, and so had degraded themselves to the basest form of man-worship. The Greeks had speculated in religion till they had brought themselves to a conviction and acknowledgment of their ignorance, as testified in their altar inscribed at Athens, the very seat of religion (Act 17:22 ) and learning, to the Unknown God. Their wisdom and philosophy had burnt itself out; and there was no longer any one of their successive schools of doctrine, however formerly dogmatic, which now had an ascendency even among themselves. The Eclectic school had selected something from each of them, and in so doing had condemned them all; and even thus it had not obtained a privilege for itself; for so each person was, of course, at liberty to make his own selection; and so every one in effect condemned every other, and no one gave to any other, or obtained for himself, any respect. The Powers of the world were also in their last stage, both of greatness and corruption. The Babylonian empire was represented by a golden head; the Persian by a breast of silver; the Grecian by thighs of brass: and now the Roman had swallowed up all other nations, and was become universal; but its substance was iron; it was the last of the worldly empires; it was tottering to its fall with its own weight and immensity; it was but feet and toes, base, divided, corrupted, and diseased, and was about to crumble into ruins. The religion of the Jews had also run its course, and had at this time fermented into a new separation. The general mass had corrupted itself. The law of ceremonies had lost its own small portion of life–vegetable life–and had become a more dead letter only, graven in stone, as obstinate and immovable–a withered and dry tree–yet still raising its barren and leafless branches with proud and pompous pride, and self-conceit, and defiance: but its barrenness had procured it disrespect and distrust, and men refused to shadow under its shadowless top, and even its own vitality was denied and disregarded by the Sadducees. At the same time a spiritual seed had been sown, not resting in the letter; not branching from the now spiritless trunk; but, though small, and lowly, and young, and tender, having yet the real principle of life within it, and meet for the digging, and pruning, and watering of the husbandman. At this time, in the fulness of preparation and unpreparedness, of superstition and infidelity, of ignorance and learning, of power and weakness, of evil and good, of hope and unbelief, Christ came in the flesh; the Sun of light and life was embodied, to convince and dispel the darkness, to lighten the ignorance, to overcome the power, to consume the dry tree, to vivify the green tree, to divide between day and night, between the good and evil, to rule over the one, to condemn and expel the other. (S. R. Bosanquet.)
Gods candles are and have been ever shining
This world has never been given over to the unchallenged reign of darkness: there have always been souls wherein the life has been kindled, and through whom it has shot its rays into the worlds gloom–Gods candles lighted and placed according to His own will. In this respect the Father of lights has never been left without witness. (J. Culross, D. D.)
The condition of receiving the light
It is a fact in physical nature that the sunlight passes through empty space, and neither warms nor lights it. Climb up to the top of the highest mountains at noonday, and the stars come out. The air is thin–it is therefore dark; we see only by as much light as is intercepted. So with your car. That alone is music which you hear. That is pleasure which you feel. That which your nerve does not report to you does not exist. It is precisely so in morals. There must be something to intercept the light, or that light itself is nothing. It was so with Christ. He was an infinite light. He sat there where there was no soul. They do not know He was God. It is so to-day. He sits among men. He is not God to those who only call Him God. You teach a man nothing if you only teach him to do that. The souls that intercept His rays, to them He is God. There is not one to whom all of God is revealed, because there is no soul that can intercept all there was in Jesus. The light still shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. Have whatever soul we may, there is ever more soul to be gained. Even Paul said the one yearning of his soul was to apprehend that for which also he was apprehended. (Octavius Perinchief.)
The historical parallel to the truth of the text
This fact respecting Christ, that His light shone in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not, hath its parallel in history respecting all truth. All the substances of nature, and all their laws, have been in being, certainly, ever since man has existed. Why did man not see them? Steam has been a fact ever since heat was first applied to water. How was it that man knew it not? The electric current has passed round this earth ever since the earth was made. How is it man but yesterday discovered it? Facts as plain as the daylight have been staring man in the face, sporting with him, and he sat there in his blindness and knew them not. To-day, endless facts, things we sadly need, are across our path; we are stumbling over them, and yet see them not. Coal lay in the earth, how many years? oil, how many centuries? Men needed them both. Why are they but now found to be serviceable? We say that things come just as man wants them. That is true. God must look in very pity upon us. Our misfortune is, we want not yet the tithe of what He is rich enough to give: The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Men are everywhere hunting fortunes. Where are they hunting them? With the old muck-rake. Why not open the eye? Why not introduce ourselves to some of the wonders that are yearning to make themselves known to us? We think a man is crazy when he begins to see. (Octavius Perinchief.)
The light needed
Pythagoras admitted the necessity of Divine interposition to teach man his duty. Zenophanes died at the age of nearly one hundred years, and is said to have thus expressed himself: Oh, that mine were the deep mind, prudent and looking to both sides! Long, alas I have I strayed on the road of error, beguiled, and am now hoary of years, yet disposed to doubt and distraction of all kinds; for, wherever I turn to consider, I am lost in the One and All. Heraclitus, after all his researches, asserted that Vain man hath no accurate knowledge which is possessed alone by the God, but that man learns from the God as the boy does from the man. Socrates saw and confessed his ignorance, and deplored the want of a superior direction. Aristotles last prayer was, I entered the world corruptly, I have lived in it anxiously, I quit it in perturbation. Cicero confessed that no excellence could exist without a celestial afflation. Hierocles and Seneca tell us that but by the help of God no man can become either good or prosperous; so that he who would repudiate the necessity of a Divine revelation to lead him by the Holy Spirit into all truth arrogates a power which the greatest reasoners of ancient times disclaimed.
Without Christ–darkness
Varro, a Roman writer of the first century, B.C., states that, in his day, he had been at the pains to collect the various opinions on the question, What is the true object of human life? in other words, What is the supreme good? He had reckoned up as many as three hundred and twenty different answers. How needful is Divine revelation, and how essential to those who are starting in life, that a heavenly guide should teach them the true end and purpose of earthly existence!
The darkness of the natural mind
A good many years ago, in Washington, there were two Congressioners who met once every week to talk about the immortality of the soul; but they despised the Bible. They found no comfort. Their time expired, and they went home. Years passed along. They both visited Washington at the same time, and happened to meet at the presidents levee. They saw each other at a great distance across the room. They pressed their way through the crowd until they came to each other, and, after years of absence, the first thing that one said to the other was: John, any light? No light. Then this one accosted the other, and said: Henry, any light? No light. They said nothing more; they parted to meet at the judgment. Oh, are there any who have swung off from this grand old gospel of Jesus Christ, thinking to find rest for their soul? Have you found comfort, peace, joy, heaven? From a score of souls there comes up to me the cry to-night, No light! no light! (T. deWitt Talmage.)
Christ is full of light
Going into a village at night, with the lights gleaming on each side of the street, in some houses they will be in the basement and nowhere else, and in others in the attic and nowhere else, and in others in some middle chamber; but in no house will every window gleam from top to bottom. So is it with mens faculties. Most of them are in darkness. One shines here, and another there; but there is no man whose soul is luminous throughout. But Christ presented a perfect character. Every room in His soul was filled with light. He is light. (H. W. Beecher.)
An alternative rendering
The darkness overcame it not. Sin did not succeed in extinguishing the inner light. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord–a candle lit by Gods own breath. When man fell the candle was sadly bruised, but it did not blow out. The great fundamental truths God planted in man continue to shine despite sin and its grievous consequences. Accordingly the darkness of the Fall was not complete–complete, I mean, in the sense that it could not be blacker; a little light was still continuing to glimmer–candle-light, if you like, but light all the same. Much talk is indulged in concerning original sin, though not quite as much as in former years; but we ought also to speak of original light, a light deeper and more primitive even than our sin. Do I not believe in the total depravity of the race? Yes, in the sense that every power is more or less tangled, that every faculty is more or less corrupt. No, in the sense that the derangement could not be greater, that the putridity could not be more advanced. The confusion and depravity here are great, but in hell they are considerably greater. So far a little light doubtless glimmers in the soul of every man on his coming into this world; the golden beams of the Sun of Righteousness are to be seen playing in the mental faculties of childhood. The light shineth in darkness–the darkness of our fall–and the darkness overcame it not; the light still burns. But if the darkness did not overcome the light, on the other hand the light did not overcome the darkness. In the other world, the world prior to the Incarnation, the light and the darkness confronted each other without making much impression one on the other. The darkness did not conquer the light, neither did the light conquer the darkness; and if the light is to win the victory, it must receive an ample increase, and this increase we find in the gospel of Jesus Christ. (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. And the light shineth in darkness] By darkness here may be understood:
1. The heathen world, Eph 5:8.
2. The Jewish people.
3. The fallen spirit of man.
Comprehended it not.] , Prevented it not-hindered it not, says Mr. Wakefield, who adds the following judicious note:-“Even in the midst of that darkness of ignorance and idolatry which overspread the world, this light of Divine wisdom was not totally eclipsed: the Jewish nation was a lamp perpetually shining to the surrounding nations; and many bright luminaries, among the heathen, were never wanting in just and worthy notions of the attributes and providence of God’s wisdom; which enabled them to shine in some degree, though but as lights in a dark place, 2Pe 1:19. Compare Ac 14:17; Ac 17:28-29.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The light shineth in darkness: he had said before, that life was in Christ, in him as in the fountain; and the life in him was the light of men, giving light to men. Now this light which was in him had its emanations (as light in the sun); and the darkness, that is, men of dark minds, (the abstract being put for the concrete),
comprehended (that is, received) it not. This was true concerning the Jews in former times, upon whom Christ the true Light had shined in many types and prophecies; it was also true concerning the Jews of that present age, to whom, through the favour of him who had undertaken the redemption of man, the means of grace were continued; through the blindness of their minds and hardness of their hearts, they wilfully rejected those means of illumination which God granted to them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. shineth in darkness, &c.inthis dark, fallen world, or in mankind “sitting in darkness andthe shadow of death,” with no ability to find the way eitherof truth or of holiness. In this thick darkness, and consequentintellectual and moral obliquity, “the light of the Word”shinethby all the rays whether of natural or revealed teachingwhich men (apart from the Incarnation of the Word) are favoredwith.
the darkness comprehended itnotdid not take it in, a brief summary of the effect ofall the strivings of this unincarnate Word throughout thiswide world from the beginning, and a hint of the necessity of Hisputting on flesh, if any recovery of men was to be effected(1Co 1:21).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the light shineth in darkness,…. Which, through sin, came upon the minds of men; who are naturally in the dark about the nature and perfections of God; about sin, and the consequences of it; about Christ, and salvation by him; about the Spirit of God, and his work upon the soul; and about the Scriptures of truth, and the doctrines of the Gospel. Man was created a knowing creature, but, not content with his knowledge, sins, and is banished from the presence of God, the fountain of light; which brought a darkness on him, and his posterity, and which is increased in them by personal iniquity, and in which Satan, the god of this world, has an hand; and sometimes they are left to judicial blindness, and which issues in worse darkness, if grace prevents not: now amidst this darkness there were some remains of the light of nature: with respect to the being of God, which shines in the works of creation and providence and to the worship of God, though very dimly; and to the knowledge of moral good and evil:
and the darkness comprehended it not; or “perceived it not”; as the Syriac version renders it. By the light of nature, and the remains of it, men could not come to any clear and distinct knowledge of the above things; and much less to any knowledge of the true way of salvation: unless, rather by the light should be meant, the light of the Messiah, or of the Gospel shining in the figures, types, and shadows of the law, and in the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament: and yet, such was the darkness upon the minds of men, that they could not very distinctly apprehend it, and much less fully comprehend it, so that there was need of a fresh and fuller revelation; an account of which follows;
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shineth (). Linear present active indicative of , old verb from , to shine (, ). “The light keeps on giving light.”
In the darkness ( ). Late word for the common (kin to , shadow). An evident allusion to the darkness brought on by sin. In 2Pe 2:17 we have (the blackness of darkness). The Logos, the only real moral light, keeps on shining both in the Pre-incarnate state and after the Incarnation. John is fond of () for moral darkness from sin and (, ) for the light that is in Christ alone. In 1Jo 2:8 he proclaims that “the darkness is passing by and the true light is already shining.” The Gnostics often employed these words and John takes them and puts them in the proper place.
Apprehended it not ( ). Second aorist active indicative of , old verb to lay hold of, to seize. This very phrase occurs in Joh 12:35 ( ) “that darkness overtake you not,” the metaphor of night following day and in 1Th 5:4 the same idiom ( ) is used of day overtaking one as a thief. This is the view of Origen and appears also in 2Macc. 8:18. The same word appears in Aleph D in Joh 6:17 (“but darkness overtook them,” came down on them). Hence, in spite of the Vulgate comprehenderunt, “overtook” or “overcame” seems to be the idea here. The light kept on shining in spite of the darkness that was worse than a London fog as the Old Testament and archaeological discoveries in Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Crete, Asia Minor show.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And the light shineth in darkness,” (kai to phos en te skotia phainei) “And the light (now) shines in the darkness,” continually; that is, truth and holiness in the character of life and personal teachings of Jesus Christ, now cast Divine influence in and upon spiritual darkness that shrouds the sin-darkened world, 1Jn 5:19; 2Co 4:4; Luk 1:78-79; Luk 2:32.
2) “And the darkness comprehended it not.” (kai he skotia auto ou katelaben) “And the darkness (overtook) overtakes it not,” does not apprehend or lay hold of it, of the truth regarding the holiness of the person and perfection of the work of Jesus Christ, and of His written Word, Joh 17:17; Psa 119:160; Joh 1:11; Joh 1:17. Darkness represents sin, ignorance, and error. Light makes darkness more conspicuous, as truth makes sin to appear exceeding sinful,” Rom 7:13. Yet, the world did not grasp it, Joh 3:19; Rom 1:21; Rom 8:7; Eph 4:14. As steam existed as a source of power, from the time heat evaporated water, and as electricity existed, long before it was discovered, so the truth of Jesus Christ has existed for men from Eden, Gen 3:15-16. Men must accept it to profit from it, see?
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5. And the light shineth in darkness. It might be objected, that the passages of Scripture in which men are called blind are so numerous and that the blindness for which they are condemned is but too well known. For in all their reasoning faculties they miserably fail. How comes it that there are so many labyrinths of errors in the world, but because men, by their own guidance, are led only to vanity and lies? But if no light appears in men, that testimony of the divinity of Christ, which the Evangelist lately mentioned, is destroyed; for that is the third step, as I have said, that in the life of men there is something more excellent than motion and breathing. The Evangelist anticipates this question, and first of all lays down this caution, that the light which was originally bestowed on men must not be estimated by their present condition; because in this corrupted and degenerate nature light has been turned into darkness. And yet he affirms that the light of understanding is not wholly extinguished; for, amidst the thick darkness of the human mind, some remaining sparks of the brightness still shine.
My readers now understand that this sentence contains two clauses; for he says that men are now widely distant from that perfectly holy nature with which they were originally endued; because their understanding, which ought to have shed light in every direction, has been plunged in darkness, and is wretchedly blinded; and that thus the glory of Christ may be said to be darkened amidst this corruption of nature. But, on the other hand, the Evangelist maintains that, in the midst of the darkness: , there are still some remains of light, which show in some degree the divine power of Christ. The Evangelist admits, therefore, that the mind of man is blinded; so that it may justly be pronounced to be covered with darkness. For he might have used a milder term, and might have said that the light is dark or cloudy; but he chose to state more distinctly how wretched our condition has become since the fall of the first man. The statement that the light shineth in darkness is not at all intended for the commendation of depraved nature, but rather for taking away every excuse for ignorance.
And the darkness did not comprehend it. Although by that small measure of light which still remains in us, the Son of God has always invited men to himself, yet the Evangelist says that this was attended by no advantage, because seeing, they did not see, (Mat 13:13.) For since man lost the favor of God, his mind is so completely overwhelmed by the thralldom of ignorance, that any portion of light which remains in it is quenched and useless. This is daily proved by experience; for all who are not regenerated by the Spirit of God possess some reason, and this is an undeniable proof that man was made not only to breathe, but to have understanding. But by that guidance of their reason they do not come to God, and do not even approach to him; so that all their understanding is nothing else than mere vanity. Hence it follows that there is no hope of the salvation of men, unless God grant new aid; for though the Son of God sheds his light upon them, they are so dull that they do not comprehend whence that light proceeds, but are carried away by foolish and wicked imaginations to absolute madness.
The light which still dwells in corrupt nature consists chiefly of two parts; for, first, all men naturally possess some seed of religion; and, secondly, the distinction between good and evil is engraven on their consciences. But what are the fruits that ultimately spring from it, except that religion degenerates into a thousand monsters of superstition, and conscience perverts every decision, so as to confound vice with virtue? In short, natural reason never will direct men to Christ; and as to their being endued with prudence for regulating their lives, or born to cultivate the liberal arts and sciences, all this passes away without yielding any advantage.
It ought to be understood that the Evangelist speaks of natural gifts only, and does not as yet say any thing about the grace of regeneration. For there are two distinct powers which belong to the Son of God: the first, which is manifested in the structure of the world and the order of nature; and the second, by which he renews and restores fallen nature. As he is the eternal Speech of God, by him the world was made; by his power all things continue to possess the life which they once received; man especially was endued with an extraordinary gift of understanding; and though by his revolt he lost the light of understanding, yet he still sees and understands, so that what he naturally possesses from the grace of the Son of God is not entirely destroyed. But since by his stupidity and perverseness he darkens the light which still dwells in him, it remains that a new office be undertaken by the Son of God, the office of Mediator, to renew, by the Spirit of regeneration, man who had been ruined. Those persons, therefore, reason absurdly and inconclusively, who refer this light, which the Evangelist mentions, to the gospel and the doctrine of salvation.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) And the light shineth in darkness.The vision of brightness is present but for a moment, and passes away before the black reality of the history of mankind. The description of Paradise occupies but a few verses of the Old Testament. The outer darkness casts its gloom on every page. But in the moral chaos, too, God said, Let there be light; and there was light. The first struggle of light into and through darkness until the darkness received it, rolled back before it, passed away into itthe repeated comprehension of light by darkness, as in the dawn of every morning the night passes into day, and the earth now shrouded in blackness is now bathed in the clear white light of an Eastern sunthis has its counterpart in the moral world. There, too, the Sun of Righteousness has shone, is ever shining; but as the Apostle looks back on the history of the pre-Christian world, or, it may be, looks back on the earthly ministry of Christ Himself, he seeks in vain for the victory of truth, for the hearts of nations, or of men, penetrated through and through with heavens light, and he sums up the whole in one sad negation, The darkness comprehended it not. Yet in this very sadness there is firm and hopeful faith. The emphatic present declares that the light still, always, shineth in darkness. True are those words of patriarch, lawgiver, prophet, as they followed the voice which called, or received Gods law for men, or told forth the word which came to them from Him; true are they of every poet, thinker, statesman, who has grasped some higher truth, or chased some lurking doubt, or taught a nation noble deeds; true are they of every evangelist, martyr, philanthropist, who has carried the light of the gospel to the heart of men, who has in life or death witnessed to its truth, who has shown its power in deeds of mercy and of love; true are they of the humblest Christian who seeks to walk in the light, and from the sick-chamber of the lowliest home may be letting a light shine before men which leads them to glorify the Father which is in heaven. The Light is ever shining, ofttimes, indeed, coloured as it passes through the differing minds of different men, and meeting us across the space that separates continents, and the time that separates ages, in widely varying hues; but these shades pass into each other, and in the harmony of all is the pure light of truth.
Comprehended it not.The meaning of this word differs from that rendered knew not in Joh. 1:10. The thought here is that the darkness did not lay hold of, did not appropriate the light, so as itself to become light; the thought there is that individuals did not recognise it. Comp. Notes on Rom. 9:30; 1Co. 9:24; Php. 3:12-13, where the same Greek word occurs. See also Eph. 3:18, which is the only passage in the New Testament, besides the present one, where the word is rendered by comprehend.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Light shineth in darkness Not only was there from the Logos a moral consciousness created in man’s original nature; but when, nevertheless, the moral and spiritual consciousness of men through sin again became dark and inert, the Logos, Christ, shed the beams of truth and love into it, unappreciated and unaccepted. This shining and rejecting existed in all ages; but specially during the incarnation, of which John is about to write.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not lay hold of it.’
John now turns to the purpose of His coming. His first emphasis here is on the fact that the world is in darkness. It is ever waiting for light. And just as at creation darkness had to be brought into subjection by the creation of light, so must spiritual darkness be overcome by spiritual light, the light of God. Into the prevailing darkness light must come (Gen 1:3). Both Greek and Jew would have agreed that this was so. The Greek would have agreed that they were still seeking greater knowledge and understanding, the Jew that they needed more light on the Torah. Thus both would have agreed that, while considering themselves more enlightened than others, they were still short of the full light. Now, says John, here is that full light. The light of the world (Joh 8:12) has come.
John here surely has initially in mind the ‘conflict’ between light and darkness in Gen 1:3-5 (compare how Paul uses the same idea in 2Co 4:4-6). God created light thus putting darkness to flight, and then had to separate the two so that the darkness could not overcome the light. Every night darkness overtakes the world, although not completely because of God-given moon and stars (even at its height darkness is still controlled), and every day the victory of darkness is prevented because the sun rises and puts it to flight (compare Psa 19:1-6 for the idea of the importance of the sun. See Psa 74:16 for the fact that God controls both day and night by means of ‘the luminary and the sun’. See also Psa 136:7-9). That is why in the end the cessation of the light of the sun, moon and stars is seen as an essential part of God’s judgments. When judgment comes light will be destroyed and darkness will overcome the world (Isa 13:9-10; Isa 34:4; Eze 32:7-8; Joe 2:31; Joe 3:15; Amo 8:9; Mat 24:29; Mar 13:24-25; Rev 6:12-13; Rev 8:12). Thus judgment will result in the world once again being plunged into eternal darkness. But in contrast those who are His will enjoy the Lord Who will be their everlasting light (Isa 60:19-20).
But just as the Old Testament does in places John spiritualises the idea. There can be little doubt from the language that he uses that he has Isa 9:2 in mind. There to those who ‘walked in darkness’ and ‘dwelt in darkness’ there was to ‘shine a great light’, and that light was connected with the coming of the expected King who would make all right (Joh 9:5-6). Thus when we read here that ‘the light shone in the darkness’, and that Jesus later speaks of ‘walking in darkness’ (Joh 8:12; Joh 12:35) and ‘abiding in darkness’ (Joh 12:46) we can hardly fail to see a connection. This is especially so as Matthew cites the same verse in relation to the ministry of Jesus (Mat 4:15-16). Thus the shining of the light in the darkness has in mind the coming of the Messiah.
The writer deals regularly with the theme of spiritual darkness (compare Mic 3:6; 2Sa 22:29). The world is in darkness. It is the sphere where men can hide from their sinfulness – ‘men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil’ (Joh 3:19; compare Pro 2:13; Pro 4:19; Isa 5:20; Isa 58:10). That is why they do not respond to Jesus Christ because they do not want to come into the light. It is the sphere in which men walk blindly on. Thus in Joh 8:12 and Joh 12:46 we are told that those who follow Jesus ‘will not walk or abide in darkness’ (compare Isa 9:2; Isa 50:10; Isa 59:9; Psa 107:10-14). And most importantly in Joh 12:35 it is the sphere which should be avoided at all costs (which can now be accomplished because the light has come – Isa 9:2; Isa 60:2). ‘Walk while you have the light that darkness may not overtake you’ says Jesus in Joh 12:35. There the verb is the same as here. So to be in darkness is to be away from the truth as revealed through Jesus.
But now, says John, in contrast the Light has come (compare Isa 9:2; Isa 60:1-2). Jesus, God’s very Word manifest as a human being, has come with the light of life to dispel that darkness. He is Himself as a light shining in the darkness, and as that Light He will make men aware of their sinfulness and need, and lead them into truth by bringing them to Himself. As Jesus would say later, ‘I am the light of the world, he who walks with me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life’ (Joh 8:12). Through Him it is possible for us to walk continually in God’s light (1Jn 1:7), and this through enjoying His life, through being ‘born of God’ (Joh 1:13).
Thus the word He has brought, and the truth He reveals and the life that He offers come as a light to men to take them out of darkness, and reveal to them full truth. That is why He is ‘the Word’. The Greeks thought of the light of reason, the Jews the light of the Torah. John is saying that Jesus has come to make that light fully effective within. He is a greater light than either Reason or the Torah. As he will say later, ‘the Torah was given by Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ (Joh 1:17). This last is important because it brings out that finally it is the Hebrew thought that lies at the back of John’s idea of Him as ‘the Word’. It is to be seen as in contrast to the Torah (as interpreted by men).
‘The darkness does not lay hold of it.’ The Greek verb used here has more than one meaning. This could mean that although the light is shining men refuse to grasp it because they are in darkness, (light has come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light – Joh 3:19). Or it could mean that the darkness cannot ‘lay hold of it’ and suppress it, cannot ‘overcome it’, that this new light is triumphant over all the attempts of darkness to snuff it out. Both interpretations are true and would express John’s thought accurately. The darkness is powerless against the true light. However, comparison with Joh 12:35 where Jesus speaks of ‘darkness laying hold of you’ (same verb), picturing darkness as seeking to engulf men and prevent them responding to the light, suggests that the emphasis is on the second, and this is confirmed by the comparison with Isa 9:2. Darkness will never overcome this light, even though it will overtake those who refuse the light.
So the picture is of the Word of God coming with the light of life (‘eternal life’ as it will often be spoken of from now on) and overcoming the darkness that blinds mankind. Truth has come. Darkness will be dispelled for those who respond, just as it was dispelled at the beginning. The Word has brought life (Joh 1:13; Joh 3:15-16; Joh 5:24; Joh 8:12; and often). And in receiving His life we receive light. It is this reception of life that is a central theme of the Gospel (Joh 20:31. See Joh 3:15-16; Joh 3:36; Joh 4:14; Joh 4:36; Joh 5:24; Joh 5:26; Joh 5:29; Joh 5:39-40; Joh 6:27; Joh 6:33; Joh 6:35; Joh 6:40; Joh 6:47-48; Joh 6:51; Joh 6:53-54; Joh 6:63; Joh 6:68; Joh 8:12; Joh 10:10; Joh 10:28; Joh 11:25; Joh 12:25; Joh 12:50; Joh 14:6; Joh 17:2-3; Joh 20:21). Specific mention of the light-giving aspect is mainly concentrated in chapters 8-12 (Joh 8:12; Joh 9:5; Joh 11:9-10; Joh 12:35-36; Joh 12:46; but note Joh 3:19-21). And it is no accident that, continuing the parallel with the creation account, in Joh 20:22 Jesus breathes on His disciples with the breath of life, the Holy Spirit (compare Gen 2:7). The Gospel will conclude where it began with the triumph of God’s new creation as he imparts His light-giving life.
The centrality of Jesus as the source of our life will come out later in those sayings which take us right into the heart of God, the ‘I AM’ sayings. ‘I am the bread of life’ (Joh 6:35). ‘I am the light of the world — (bringing) the light of life’ (Joh 8:12) ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (Joh 11:25). ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ (Joh 14:6). Our life as His people is totally bound up in Him. ‘He who has the Son, has life’ (1Jn 5:12).
But now there is a sudden change in emphasis. Up to this point John has been somewhat philosophical, looking at the grand scope of things. But now he goes on to ground the idea of the coming of the Word firmly in history. For the Word ‘was made flesh and dwelt among us’ (Joh 1:14). He wants them therefore to know that he is not writing simply in order to bring some new ideas for men to consider. Rather he is writing in order to introduce them to the Word as One Who is made flesh and living among us (Joh 1:14). The dispelling of spiritual darkness by the Light has become an actuality. And that is what the Gospel will go on to reveal.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 1:5. And the light shineth in darkness; We have observed in the former verse, that Christ is the fountain of all spiritual light, so that nothing can be spiritually discerned but by his Spirit. This light shone in the heathen world, and under the dispensation of Moses, and still shineth in darkness, even upon the minds of the most ignorant and wicked part of mankind; darkness being not only used for a state of ignorance, whether wilful or natural, but likewise for a state of obstinate wickedness. See Eph 5:8. It is not easy to determine with exactness the sense of the original word , which we render comprehend. Some have observed, that it signifies to attend to, or embrace, so as to attain or enjoy the end and benefit designed by a thing. Thus it is applied to the knowledge of the law, Sir 15:7 and to justice, or righteousness, Sir 27:8 of the same book. Darkness, as we have intimated, is used for persons involved in darkness.Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are light in the Lord; where we may note the same double use in the word light, which darkness, in St. John’s gospel is capable of admitting; as it first signifies persons enlightened, and then simply light itself.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 1:5 . Relation of the light to the darkness.
] and the light shineth; [78] not “ and thus, as the light , the Logos shineth” (Lcke). The discourse steadily progresses link by link, so that the preceding predicate becomes the subject.
] Present, i.e. uninterruptedly from the beginning until now; it embraces, therefore, the illuminating activity of the [79] and . As it is arbitrary to supply the idea of “still present” (Weiss), so also is its limitation to the revelations by the prophets of the O. T ., which would make merely the descriptive praesens historicum (De Wette). For the assumption of this, however, in connection with pure preterites there is no warrant; comp. rather , Joh 1:9 . According to Ewald, Jahrb . V. 194 (see his Johann. Schr . I. 121), represents as present the time in which the Light, which since the creation had enlightened men only from afar, had now suddenly come down into the world, which without it is darkness, and was shining in the midst of this darkness. An antithetic relation is thus assumed ( “only from afar, but now suddenly in the midst” ) which has no support in the present tense alone, without some more distinct intimation in the text. The stress, moreover, is not on , but the (tragic) emphasis is laid on the , which with this object precedes it. It is the continuation of the discourse, Joh 1:7 ff., which first leads specially to the action of the Incarnate One (this also against Hengstenb.).
The is the negation and opposite of the , the condition and order of things in which man does not possess the divine , but has become the prey of folly, falsehood, and sin, as a godless ruling power, with all its misery. Here the abstract term “darkness,” as the element in which the light shines, denotes not the individual subject of darkness (Eph 5:8 ), but, as the context requires, that same totality which had been previously described by , consequently mankind in general, in so far as in and for themselves they have since the fall been destitute of divine truth, and have become corrupt in understanding and will. Melancthon well says, “genus humanum oppressum peccato vocat tenebras.” Frommann is altogether mistaken in holding that differs in the two clauses, and means (1) humanity so far as it yet lay beyond the influence of the light, and (2) humanity so far as it was opposed thereto. But Hilgenfeld is likewise in error, when, out of a different circle of ideas, he imports the notion that “light and darkness are primeval opposites, which did not first originate with the fall;” see on Joh 8:44 .
] apprehended it not, look not possession of it; it was not appropriated by the darkness, so that thereby the latter might have become light, but remained aloof and alien to it. Comp. Phi 3:12-13 , 1Co 9:24 , and especially Rom 9:30 ; also expressions like . , Sir 15:1 ; Sir 15:7 . The explanation apprehended, i.e. , Joh 1:10 (Eph 3:18 ; Act 10:34 ; Act 4:13 ; Plato, Phaedr . p. 250 D; Phil. p. 16 D; Polyb. viii. 4. 6), is on one side arbitrarily narrowing, on another anticipatory, since it foists in the individual subjects of the , which is conceived of as a realm . It is erroneous to interpret, as Origen, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus, Bos., Schulthess, Hoelemann, p. 60, also Lange: “The darkness did not hem it in, oppress it; it was invincible before it.” Linguistically this is allowable (see Schweighaser, Lex. Herod . II. p. 18), but it nowhere so occurs in the N. T., and is here opposed to the parallels, Joh 1:10-11 .
Observe that , which presupposes no Gnostic absolutism, but freedom of moral self-determination (comp. Joh 1:11-12 ), reflects the phenomenon as a whole , and indeed as it presented itself to John in history and experience; hence the aorist . Comp. Joh 3:19 .
[78] , lucet , not interchangeable with , which means apparet . See on Phi 2:15 . Godet’s criticism of the distinction is erroneous.
[79] Godet thinks that the law written in the heart, the light of conscience , is meant (Rom 2:14 ), which the Logos makes use of; and this His relation to all mankind is essential and permanent. But this would be utterly inadequate to the fulness of meaning expressed by , especially in its antithesis to . The shines as divine light before Christ (by revelation and prophecy), and after Him. It is supernatural, heavenly . Comp. 1Jn 2:8 . There is no mention here of the .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Here is drawn the line of distinction between the character of those who from the natural blindness of a fallen state, unawakened by the Holy Ghost, have no perception of the person and glory of Christ; and those who from grace-union with him, are called out of darkness into his marvellous light. Pause, Reader! and contemplate the vast privileges of the Lord’s people.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Ver. 5. And the light shineth ] The light both of nature and of Scripture. The former is but a dim half-light, a rush candle, that will light a man but into utter darkness. The latter is a clear thorough light: the commandment is a lamp, et lex, lux, and the law is light, Pro 6:23 . As for the gospel, it is set up as a beacon on a hill,Tit 2:11Tit 2:11 , , or as the sun in the firmament, Luk 1:78-79 , bringing “life and immortality to light,” 2Ti 1:10 ; where God by his Holy Spirit enlighteneth organ and object, Act 26:18 , and shineth on the heart, in the face of Jesus Christ, 2Co 4:6 .
And the darkness comprehendeth it not ] Nor will be comprehended by it, Phi 3:12 , but repels it, rebels against it, Job 24:13 ; imprisons it, as those wizards did, Rom 1:18 ; spurns at it (as Balaam the devil’s spelman did, Num 24:1-2 , when he set his face toward the wilderness, and resolved to curse howsoever); execrates it, as the Ethiopians do the rising sun. (Herodot.) The morning is to such as the shadow of death,Job 24:17Job 24:17 ; for being born in hell, they seek no other heaven.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5. ] As light and life are closely connected ideas, so are death and darkness . The whole world, lying in death and in darkness, is the here spoken of: not merely the (Eph 4:18 ; see ib. Eph 5:7-8 ), but the whole mass , with the sole exception (see below, Joh 1:12 ) of (compare ch. Joh 3:19 : 1Jn 5:19 ).
This is not merely the historical present, but describes the whole process of the light of life in the Eternal Word shining in this evil and dark world; both by the O.T. revelations, and (see ch. Joh 10:16 ; Joh 11:52 ) by all the scattered fragments of light glittering among the thick darkness of heathendom.
. ] and the darkness comprehended (understood, apprehended) it not . That this is the meaning, will be clear from the context. John states here as a general fact, what he afterwards states of the appearance of the Incarnate Word to the chosen people, Joh 1:11 . The sentences are strictly parallel. . . [7] , and . . . [8] . In the first, he is speaking of the whole shining of this light over the world; in the second, of its historical manifestation to the Jews . In both cases, the Divine Word was rejected . is used in the second case as expressing the personal assumption to oneself as a friend or companion: see reff.
[7] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25 , the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified , thus, ‘ Mk.,’ or ‘ Mt. Mk.,’ &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others .
[8] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25 , the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified , thus, ‘ Mk.,’ or ‘ Mt. Mk.,’ &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others .
Lcke observes (i. 313), that the almost tragic tone of this verse is prevalent through the Gospel of John and his First Epistle, see ch. Joh 3:19 ; Joh 12:37 ff. alli [9] .: and is occasionally found in Paul also, see Rom 1:18 ff.
[9] alli = some cursive mss.
The other interpretation of , ‘ overtook ,’ ‘ came upon ’ (for that of ‘ overcame ’ (Orig [10] , Theophyl., Euthym [11] ) is not admissible, the word never importing this), is unobjectionable as far as the usage of the word is concerned (see ch. Joh 12:35 : Mar 9:18 ); but yields no sense in the context.
[10] Origen, b. 185, d. 254
[11] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
The connexion of the two members of our verse by is not, ‘The Light shineth in the darkness, and therefore (i.e. because darkness is the opposition to light, and they exclude one another) the darkness comprehended it not;’ but, ‘The Light shineth in the darkness, and yet (notwithstanding that the effect of light in darkness is so great and immediate in the physical world) the darkness comprehended it not:’ see below, Joh 1:11 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 1:5 . , “and the light shineth in the darkness”. Three interpretations are possible. The words may refer to the incarnate, or to the pre-incarnate experience of the Logos, or to both. Holtzmann and Weiss both consider the clause refers to the incarnate condition ( cf. 1Jn 2:8 ). De Wette refers it to the pre-incarnate operation of the Logos in the O. T. prophets. Meyer and others interpret as meaning “present, i.e. , uninterruptedly from the beginning until now”. The use of the aorist seems to make the first interpretation impossible; while the second is obviously too restricted. What “shining” is meant? This also must not be limited to O. T. prophecy or revelation but to the light of conscience and reason ( cf. Joh 1:4 ). , in the darkness which existed wherever the light of the Logos was not admitted. Darkness, or , was the expression naturally used by secular Greek writers to describe the world’s condition. Thus Lucian: . Cf. Lucretius:
“Qualibus in tenebris vitae, quantisque periclis,
Degitur hoc aevi quodcunque est”.
. The A. V [23] renders this “and the darkness comprehended it not”; the R. V [24] has “apprehended” and in the margin “overcame”. The Greek interpreters understood the clause to mean that the darkness did not conquer the light. Thus Theophylact says: , . Some modern interpreters, and especially Westcott, adopt this rendering. “The whole phrase is indeed a startling paradox. The light does not banish the darkness: the darkness does not overpower the light.” This rendering is supposed to find support in chap. Joh 12:35 , where Christ says, “Walk while ye have the light,” ; and is the word commonly used to denote day or night overtaking any one (see Wetstein). But the radical meaning is “to seize,” “to take possession of,” “to lay hold of”; so in Rom 9:30 , 1Co 9:24 , Phi 3:12 . It is also used of mental perception, as in the Phaedrus , p. 250, D. See also Polybius, iii. 32, 4, and viii. 4, 6, , difficult to understand. This sense is more congruous in this passage; especially when we compare Joh 1:10 ( ) and Joh 1:11 ( ).
[23] Authorised Version.
[24] Revised Version.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
shineth. Greek. phaino. App-106.
darkness = the darkness. Pre supposing the Fall. Gen 3:18.
comprehended it. This is direct from the Vulgate. The Greek kata is so rendered only here. It means, overcame or overpowered Him not. See 1Th 5:4 (overtake). Mar 9:18. Mar 8:3, Mar 8:4 (take); Joh 12:35 (come upon hostilely).
it. Referring grammatically to phos, the light (neuter); but logically to the Word. Quoted by Tatian (AD 150-170), Greekt. ad Graecos, xiii. Note the Figure of speech Parechesis (App-6) in the Aramaic (not in the Greek or English), “darkness comprehended”. Aramaean. k’bel kabel.
not. Greek. ou. App-105.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5.] As light and life are closely connected ideas, so are death and darkness. The whole world, lying in death and in darkness, is the here spoken of:-not merely the (Eph 4:18; see ib. Eph 5:7-8), but the whole mass, with the sole exception (see below, Joh 1:12) of (compare ch. Joh 3:19 : 1Jn 5:19).
This is not merely the historical present, but describes the whole process of the light of life in the Eternal Word shining in this evil and dark world; both by the O.T. revelations, and (see ch. Joh 10:16; Joh 11:52) by all the scattered fragments of light glittering among the thick darkness of heathendom.
.] and the darkness comprehended (understood, apprehended) it not. That this is the meaning, will be clear from the context. John states here as a general fact, what he afterwards states of the appearance of the Incarnate Word to the chosen people, Joh 1:11. The sentences are strictly parallel. . . [7] , and . . . [8] . In the first, he is speaking of the whole shining of this light over the world; in the second, of its historical manifestation to the Jews. In both cases, the Divine Word was rejected. is used in the second case as expressing the personal assumption to oneself as a friend or companion: see reff.
[7] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25, the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified, thus, Mk., or Mt. Mk., &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others.
[8] When, in the Gospels, and in the Evangelic statement, 1Co 11:23-25, the sign () occurs in a reference, it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in the other Gospels, which will always be found indicated at the head of the note on the paragraph. When the sign () is qualified, thus, Mk., or Mt. Mk., &c., it is signified that the word occurs in the parallel place in that Gospel or Gospels, but not in the other or others.
Lcke observes (i. 313), that the almost tragic tone of this verse is prevalent through the Gospel of John and his First Epistle, see ch. Joh 3:19; Joh 12:37 ff. alli[9].: and is occasionally found in Paul also, see Rom 1:18 ff.
[9] alli = some cursive mss.
The other interpretation of , overtook, came upon (for that of overcame (Orig[10], Theophyl., Euthym[11]) is not admissible, the word never importing this), is unobjectionable as far as the usage of the word is concerned (see ch. Joh 12:35 : Mar 9:18); but yields no sense in the context.
[10] Origen, b. 185, d. 254
[11] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
The connexion of the two members of our verse by is not, The Light shineth in the darkness, and therefore (i.e. because darkness is the opposition to light, and they exclude one another) the darkness comprehended it not; but, The Light shineth in the darkness, and yet (notwithstanding that the effect of light in darkness is so great and immediate in the physical world) the darkness comprehended it not: see below, Joh 1:11.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 1:5. , and) From this verse the doctrine of evil and its rise, receives much light.- , in darkness) This darkness is not said to be made. For it is a privation, which men have incurred [To wit, that state of the human race is expressed by this word, which has prevailed since Adams transgression down to the appearance of the true Light.-V. g.] It is in the darkness that the glory of the Light is the more conspicuously seen.-, shines) The present time has the same force as in , Joh 1:9. It always , shineth. The Light was always nigh at hand, even in the Old Testament, ready to apply a remedy to darkness and sin. The same word , shineth, as regards the New Testament, 1Jn 2:8, The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.–, and-not) Similarly and-not, Joh 1:10-11.- , the darkness) i.e. men wrapt in darkness.- , [comprehended it not] did not attain to it) Men, it seems, were too much averse from the Light, as well as too deeply sunk in darkness. When they did not comprehend the , The Word unclothed in flesh, He was made flesh, Joh 1:14.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 1:5
Joh 1:5
And the light shineth in the darkness;-[This verse is a bridge to verses 7 and 8. The thought advances from the light in the abstract to the visible exhibition of the light, shining with a brilliance that men had never seen before, the incarnate logos, the incarnate life, the incarnate light.]
and the darkness-[The world of humanity in the condition to which sin had brought it-ignorance and sin.]
apprehended it not.-[The people rejected the light, preferred the darkness, and so the darkness was not dispelled by the light. Did not take hold of it. Did not realize what had come into its midst. The thought is in regard to the condition of the world in the years of Christs life preceding John the Immersers testimony. The light was already shining. It was morally impossible for Jesus to be among men and not give forth divine light. But the world knew him not, even as John the Immerser himself knew him not till he saw the sign of God at his baptism. We have thus been led in the prologue from the profundity of eternity to the reality of the ministry of John. All the wonders of the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke are chronologically comprehended in these verses.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
comprehended
Or, apprehended; lit. “laid not hold of it.”
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Joh 1:10, Joh 3:19, Joh 3:20, Joh 12:36-40, Job 24:13-17, Pro 1:22, Pro 1:29, Pro 1:30, Rom 1:28, 1Co 2:14
Reciprocal: Gen 1:3 – Let Exo 40:24 – General Zec 14:6 – not Joh 3:3 – he cannot Joh 12:35 – Walk Joh 12:46 – am Eph 5:8 – but 1Jo 2:8 – and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
The light shineth refers to the general favors of a spiritual character that Christ has offered to the world. What John says about the attitude of men in darkness toward the light has been and always will be true. (See chapter 3:19, 20.) Comprehended is from KATALAMBANO, and Thayer defines it, “To lay hold of so as to make one’s own, to obtain, to attain; to appropriate.” The thought is that even though the Lord has offered the benefits ob divine enlightenment to the darkened world, the men groping in darkness (as a rule) refuse to take advantage of the light.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
[And the light shineth in darkness.] This light of promise and life by Christ shined in the darkness of all the cloudy types and shadows under the law and obscurity of the prophets. And those dark things ‘comprehended it not,’ i.e. did not so cloud and suppress it but it would break out; nor yet so comprehended it, but that there was an absolute necessity there should a greater light appear. I do so much the rather incline to such a paraphrase upon this place, because I observe the evangelist here treateth of the ways and means by which Christ made himself known to the world before his great manifestation in the flesh; first, in the promise of life, Joh 1:4; next, by types and prophecies; and lastly, by John Baptist.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Joh 1:5. And the light shineth in the darkness. The darkness here spoken of is not an original darkness coexistent with created being (Joh 1:3). It belongs to the development of thought begun at Joh 1:4, and is coexistent only with the moral process of rejecting the Word, implied, though not expressly stated, in that verse. The Word through whom all come into being offers Himself at the same time to all as their light. Let them acknowledge and accept Him, they have life (chap. Joh 8:12); let them reject Him, they are in a darkness for which they are responsible, because they have chosen it. It is a fact, however, that many always did, and still do, reject the light; and thus the darkness has been and is a positively existing thing. Yet the Light has not forsaken the world. No merely present point of time is indicated; in that case John could not have immediately added the past tense, overcame. The idea is general. The Light, as it had existed, had shone; as it exists, it shines, always seeking to draw men into the full brightness of its beams.
And the darkness overcame it not. Such is the most probable meaning of these words, and so were they understood by the most ancient Christian writers. The verb which we have rendered overcame occurs not unfrequently in the New Testament; but (when used, as here, in the active voice) it has not, and cannot have, the meaning comprehend (i.e. understand), which is given to it in the Authorised Version. The most important guide to the meaning is chap. Joh 12:35, where the same word is used, and where also the metaphor is similar: Walk . . . lest darkness overtake you,come over you, seize you. In the verse before us we read of light shining in the darkness; the darkness, ever antagonistic to the light, yet does not overtake or come over the light. The idea of seizing, in connection with this figure, is equivalent to overcoming or intercepting the light. Even if comprehend were possible as a translation, it would be nothing to tell us that the darkness did not comprehend the light. That is implied in the fact that the darkness is self-chosen (comp. on Joh 1:4). But it is much to tell us that, in the conflict between the darkness and the light, the darkness failed to overcome (or eclipse) the light. The light, though sometimes apparently overcome, was really victorious; it withstood every assault, and shone on triumphantly in a darkened world. So far, therefore, from our finding here a wail (as some have said), we have a note of exultation, a token of that victory which throughout the whole Gospel rises to our view through sorrow.
We thus close what is obviously the first paragraph of the Gospel; and although it relates to the Pre-incarnate Word, and expresses the principles of His dealings in their most general form, the development of thought is precisely the same as that which the history of the Incarnate Word will be found to present. Through the Word all things have come into being. To all He offers Himself, that He may make them not only exist in Him, but, in the free appropriation of what He offers, live in Him. Some receive Him, and He becomes their light; others reject Him, and are immersed in the darkness which they choose. The darkness opposes and seeks to destroy the light, but the light shines on to victory.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Second Section: Unbelief. 1:5-11.
This Logos, light of the world, appears in the world buried in the darkness of sin; He is not recognized and is rejected (Joh 1:5). And yet God had taken all precautions to prevent such a result (Joh 1:6-8). But the impossible is realized (Joh 1:9-11).
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 5
And the light, &c. The meaning is, that the light shone into this world of darkness and sin, but the world would not receive it.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:5 {3} And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness {m} comprehended it not.
(3) The light of men is turned into darkness, but yet there is enough clearness so that they are without excuse.
(m) They could not perceive nor reach it to receive any light from it, no, they did not so much as acknowledge him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
As light shines (present tense for the first time) in the darkness, so Jesus brought the revelation and salvation of God to humanity in its fallen and lost condition. He did this in the Incarnation. As the word of God brought light to the chaos before Creation, so Jesus brought light to fallen humankind when He became a man.
Furthermore the light that Jesus brought was superior to the darkness that existed both physically and spiritually. The darkness did not overcome (Gr. katelaben, "lay hold of," cf. Joh 6:17; Joh 8:3-4; Joh 12:35; Mar 9:18) and consume the light, but the light overcame the darkness. John did not view the world as a stage on which two equal and opposing forces battle; He was not a philosophical dualist. He viewed Jesus as superior to the forces of darkness that sought to overcome Him but could not. This gives humankind hope. The forces of light are stronger than the forces of darkness. John was here anticipating the outcome of the story that he would tell, specifically, Calvary. Though darkness continues to prevail, the light can overcome it. [Note: See David J. MacLeod, "The Creation of the Universe by the Word: John 1:3-5," Bibliotheca Sacra 160:638 (April-June 2003):187-201.]
"The imagery of John, though limited to certain concepts and expressed in a fixed vocabulary, is integrated with the total theme of the Gospel. It expresses the conflict of good with evil, culminating in the incarnation and death of Christ, who brought light into darkness, and, though He suffered death, was not overcome by it." [Note: Merrill C. Tenney, "The Imagery of John," Bibliotheca Sacra 121:481 (January-March 1964):21.]
Tenny’s article just quoted contains discussion of about 20 images that John used.
Throughout these introductory verses John was clearly hinting at parallels between what Jesus did physically in Creation and what He did spiritually through the Incarnation. These parallels continue through the Gospel, as do the figures of light and darkness. Light represents both revelation and salvation. Likewise darkness stands for ignorance and sin (Joh 3:19-20; Joh 8:12; Joh 12:35; Joh 12:46).