Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 John 2:10
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
10. abideth in the light ] Not only has entered into it but has made it his abode: see on 1Jn 2:24.
there is none occasion of stumbling in him ] There are several ways of taking this. 1. He has in him nothing likely to ensnare him or cause him to stumble. 2. He has in him nothing likely to cause others to stumble. 3. There is in his case nothing likely to cause stumbling. 4. In the light there is nothing likely to cause stumbling; the Greek for ‘in him’ being either masculine or neuter, and therefore capable of meaning ‘in it’. All make good sense, and the last makes a good antithesis to ‘knoweth not whither he goeth’ in 1Jn 2:11: but the first is to be preferred on account of 1Jn 2:11. Yet in favour of the second it is worth noting that is commonly, if not always, used of offence caused to others. The parallel expressions ‘the truth is not in him’ ( 1Jn 2:4), ‘His word is not in us’ (1Jn 1:10; comp. 1Jn 1:8), make ‘in him’ more probable than ‘in his case’. And nothing here suggests the notion that the brother-hater leads others astray: it is his own dark condition that is contemplated. Moreover, there is the very close parallel in Joh 11:9-10; ‘If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.’ Comp. Psa 119:165, ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them’; i.e. there is no stumbling-block before them. Where the LXX. is very similar to this passage, omitting the preposition ‘in.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light – Has true religion, and enjoys it.
And there is none occasion of stumbling in him – Margin, scandal. Greek, and there is no stumbling (or scandal – skandalon – in him.) The word here used, means anything against which one strikes or stumbles; and then a stumbling-block, an impediment, or anything which occasions a fall. Then it is used in a moral or spiritual sense, as denoting that which is the occasion of falling into sin. See the Mat 5:29 note, and Rom 14:13 note. Here it refers to an individual in respect to his treatment of others, and means that there is nothing, so far as he is concerned, to lead him into sin. – Robinson, Lexicon. If he has love to the brethren, he has true religion; and there is, so far as the influence of this shall extend, nothing that will be the occasion of his falling into sin in his conduct toward them, for love worketh no ill to his neighbor, Rom 13:10. His course will be just, and upright, and benevolent. He will have no envy toward them in their prosperity, and will not be disposed to detract from their reputation in adversity; he will have no feelings of exultation when they fall, and will not be disposed to take advantage of their misfortunes; and, loving them as brethren, he will be in no respect under temptation to do them wrong. In the bosom of one who loves his brother, the baleful passions of envy, malice, hatred, and uncharitableness, can have no place. At the same time, this love of the brethren would have an important effect on his whole Christian life and walk, for there are few things that will have more influence on a mans character in keeping him from doing wrong, than the love of the good and the pure. He who truly loves good people, will not be likely in any respect to go astray from the paths of virtue.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. He that loveth his brother] That is, his neighbour, his fellow creature, whether Jew or Gentile, so as to bear him continual good will, and to be ready to do him every kind office; abideth in the light-not only gives proof that he has received Christ Jesus the Lord, but that he walks in him, that he retains the grace of his justification, and grows therein.
And there is none occasion of stumbling in him.] And there is no stumbling block in him; he neither gives nor receives offence: love prevents him from giving any to his neighbour; and love prevents him from receiving any from his neighbour, because it leads him to put the best construction on every thing. Besides, as he walks in the light, he sees the stumbling blocks that are in the way, and avoids them; every part of his path being illuminated. Many fall into sin because they do not see the snares that are in the way; and they do not see the snares because they either have not received, or do not abide in, the light.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His brother, put indefinitely, must be understood universally, i.e. he that loveth not this or that fellow Christian, upon some personal or private reason, but all, upon one and the same common and truly Christian account.
Abideth in the light; shows or doth demonstrate the settled, constant power, the regenerate, Divine principle hath over him.
And there is none occasion of stumbling in him; Greek, no scandal; no inconsistent thing, that ought to occasion him to judge otherwise of himself, or others to think otherwise of him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. Abiding in love isabiding in the light; for the Gospel light not onlyillumines the understanding, but warms the heart into love.
none occasion of stumblingIncontrast to, “He that hateth his brother is in darkness, andwalketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because thatdarkness hath blinded his eyes.” “In him who loves there isneither blindness nor occasion of stumbling [to himself]: inhim who does not love, there is both blindness and occasion ofstumbling. He who hates his brother, is both a stumbling-block tohimself, and stumbles against himself and everything within andwithout; he who loves has an unimpeded path” [BENGEL].John has in mind Jesus’ words, Joh 11:9;Joh 11:10. ALFORDwell says, “The light and the darkness are within ourselves;admitted into us by the eye, whose singleness fills the whole bodywith light.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that loveth his brother,…. As such, and because he is his brother in Christ, and that cordially and sincerely, without hypocrisy and dissimulation, and by love serves him, both in things temporal and spiritual, and so observes the new, and yet old commandment,
abideth in the light: it is a plain case, that such a man is in the light of grace, and continues in it; for though it is not his love to the brethren which is the cause of his light, of his being and continuing in it, for that is owing to the spirit of light and knowledge, but on the contrary, light is the cause of his love; yet it is an evidence of it, that by which it is known, as the cause is known by the effect; see Joh 3:14;
and there is none occasion of stumbling in him, or “there is no scandal” or “offence in him”; he gives no offence to his brother, or at least, as much as in him lies, he takes care that he gives none; he avoids, as much as can be, putting a stumblingblock, or an occasion to fall, in his brother’s way, by the use of things indifferent, or by any other action; nor will he easily take offence at what is said or done unto him, for charity or love is not easily provoked, it suffers long, and bears all things; see 1Co 13:4; nor does he so much and so frequently transgress the laws of God, and particularly those which regard his neighbour or his brother, and so easily fall into the snares of Satan, because he is in the light, and walks in the light, and sees his way, and what lies in his way, and, so shuns and avoids occasion of stumbling and falling. There is not in him that wrath, and malice, and envy, which lead on to the commission of other sins; for love works no ill, but fulfils the law, and will not suffer him to commit adultery, to kill, to steal, or bear false witness against his neighbour, friend, and brother; see Ro 13:9; and such an one enjoys great peace, tranquillity, and happiness; he has much comfort in himself, and pleasure in the saints, and delight in their company; he walks inoffensively, and in an harmless manner, without hurting himself, or any other, Ps 119:165.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Abideth (). Present active indicative, continues in the light and so does not interrupt the light by hating his brother.
Occasion of stumbling (). See on Matt 13:41; Matt 16:23 for this interesting word. It is a stumbling block or trap either in the way of others (its usual sense), as in Mt 18:7, or in one’s own way, as is true of in Joh 11:9 and in verse 11 here. But, as Westcott argues, John may very well have the usual meaning here and the other in verse 11.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Abideth [] . See on ver. 6. Compare ver. 9, is in.
Occasion of stumbling [] . See on offend, Mt 5:29. For the image in John, see Joh 6:61; Joh 11:9; Joh 16:1; Rev 2:14. The meaning is not that he gives no occasion of stumbling to others, but that there is none in his own way. See Joh 11:9, 10.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light. The term “loving his brother” is an active progressive participle – indicating a continuing affection for ones brother, in contrast with the aforementioned one who progressively hates his brother. The one loving him abides or remains in the light. The other abides, remains, or dwells in shadows and darkness, outside of the will of the Lord.
2) “And there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” The loving, light-dwelling brother never offers an occasion for one to stumble, scandalize, or fall. He progressively walks and talks uprightly. No occasion ever exists in the life of a brother who walks in the light to cause another to stumble or fall. 1Co 9:26; Mat 5:15-16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
John says in 1Jo 3:11, that we falsely boast of love to God, except we love our brethren; and this is most true. But he now takes love to the brethren as a testimony by which we prove that we love God. In short, since love so regards God, that in God it embraces men, there is nothing strange in this, that the Apostle, speaking of love, should refer at one time to God, at another to the brethren; and this is what is commonly done in Scripture. The whole perfection of life is often said to consist in the love of God; and again, Paul teaches us, that the whole law is fulfilled by him who loves his neighbor, (Rom 13:8😉 and Christ declares that the main points of the law are righteousness, judgment, and truth. (Mat 23:23.) Both these things are true and agree well together, for the love of God teaches us to love men, and we also in reality prove our love to God by loving men at his command. However this may be, it remains always certain that love is the rule of life. And this ought to be the more carefully noticed, because all choose rather almost anything else than this one commandment of God.
To the same purpose is what follows, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him — that is, in him who acts in love; for, he who thus lives will never stumble. (65)
(65) Literally, “and to him there is not a stumblingblock;” that is, nothing that causes him to stumble or fall. He is not like him mentioned in the next verse, who “ walks in darkness and knows not whither he goeth.” The sentence seems to have been taken from Psa 119:165, with this only difference, that it is “ to them,” instead of “ to him.” There is in the Sept no preposition, but in Hebrew the preposition “to” is used; and ἐν has sometimes this meaning in the New Testament. See Col 1:23; 1Th 4:7. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
1Jn 2:10. There is none occasion, &c. There is no stumbling-block, , in him. By this expression it may be implied, that such a man lays no stumbling-block in the way of others; but it more particularly means that there is no stumbling-block lies in his way; he walks in the light, and therefore avoids all stumbling-blocks, and sees his way plainly before him. “The word in the New Testament, says Parkhurst, denotes whatever actually makes, or has a manifest tendency to make men fall,stumble, or be remiss in the ways of duty; and particularly whatever hinders men from becoming the disciples of Christ, discourages them in their new profession, ortempts them to forsake that faith which they had lately embraced.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Ver. 10. None occasion, &c. ] Gr. , No scandal, i.e. no occasion of spiritual falling, whereby a man is made any manner of way worse, and backwarder in goodness. Quod fieri potest vel dicto, vel facto, sive exemplo in moribus, saith learned Lyserus, which may be done by word, deed, or evil example.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 .] He that loveth his brother abideth in the light (i. e. the continuance of the habit of brotherly love is a measure of and a guarantee for his continuance in that light whose great command is Love), and there is no occasion of stumbling in him (so E. V., excellently. For it is clear by the parallel in 1Jn 2:11 , that this is what is meant, and not that he gives no occasion of stumbling to others, as Calov., al., “Qui fratrem odit, ipse sibi offendiculum est, et incurrit in seipsum et in omnia intus et foris; qui amat, expeditum iter habet.” Bengel. Cf. also Joh 11:9-10 , which is in more than one respect the key-text here. For it also explains the apparently difficult , occurring as it does there in 1Jn 2:10 , , , . The light, and the darkness, by which we walk safely, or stumble, are within ourselves; admitted into us by the eye, whose singleness fills the whole body with light).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Jn 2:10 . : he does not merely catch glimpses of the light but “abideth in it,” being of one mind with God, the common Father, who “is light” (1Jn 1:5 ). , “there is no occasion of stumbling, nothing to trip him up and make him fall, in his case” an echo of Joh 11:9-10 . Another interpretation, less agreeable to the context but more consonant with the common use of ( cf. Mat 13:41 ; Mat 18:7 ; Rom 14:13 ), is: Because he is winsome and gracious, there is in him no stumbling-block to others, nothing to deter them from accepting the Gospel. The love of the primitive Christians impressed the heathen. Cf. Tert. Apol. 39: “Vide, inquiunt, ut invicem se diligant: ipsi enim invicem oderunt; et ut pro alterutro mori sint parati: ipsi enim ad occidendum alterutrum paratiores erunt”. Ep. ad Diogn. 1: . This spirit disappeared, and in view of the bitter controversies of the 4th century the Pagan historian Ammianus avowed that “the enmity of the Christians toward each other surpassed the fury of savage beasts against man”. Another interpretation takes as neuter: “There is no occasion of stumbling in it,” i.e. , in the light. Cf. Joh 11:9 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
loveth. App-135.
occasion, &c. Greek. skandalon. See Rom 9:33.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] He that loveth his brother abideth in the light (i. e. the continuance of the habit of brotherly love is a measure of and a guarantee for his continuance in that light whose great command is Love), and there is no occasion of stumbling in him (so E. V., excellently. For it is clear by the parallel in 1Jn 2:11, that this is what is meant, and not that he gives no occasion of stumbling to others, as Calov., al., Qui fratrem odit, ipse sibi offendiculum est, et incurrit in seipsum et in omnia intus et foris; qui amat, expeditum iter habet. Bengel. Cf. also Joh 11:9-10, which is in more than one respect the key-text here. For it also explains the apparently difficult , occurring as it does there in 1Jn 2:10, , , . The light, and the darkness, by which we walk safely, or stumble, are within ourselves; admitted into us by the eye, whose singleness fills the whole body with light).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Jn 2:10. , there is no occasion of stumbling in him) The contrary is in 1Jn 2:11, has blinded. But the notion of the one is supplied from the other: in him who loves, there is neither blindness nor an occasion of stumbling: in him who does not love, there is both blindness and an occasion of stumbling. He who hates his brother, is a stumbling-block to himself, and stumbles against himself and everything within and without: he who loves, has a path free from obstacles.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
that loveth: 1Jo 3:14, Hos 6:3, Joh 8:31, Rom 14:13, 2Pe 1:10
occasion of stumbling: Gr. scandal, Mat 13:21, Mat 18:7, Luk 17:1, Luk 17:2, Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33, Phi 1:10
Reciprocal: Pro 4:12 – thou shalt Jer 13:16 – your Joh 11:10 – General Joh 13:35 – General 1Co 13:13 – charity 1Th 4:9 – touching Heb 13:1 – General 1Jo 1:7 – If we 1Jo 3:10 – neither 1Jo 4:7 – let 1Jo 5:1 – and every
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Jn 2:10. Occasion of stumbling denotes being the cause of another’s stumbling or committing error. If a man loves his brother he will not put any stumbling block in his way (Rom 14:13).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The cause of stumbling is hatred in the heart. Hatred causes the hater to stumble in his or her walk with God.
". . . whoever loves his brother remains in the light; and being in the light he can both see where he is going, and therefore avoid yielding constantly to temptation, and also (as a result) avoid causing others to fall." [Note: Smalley, p. 62.]
"Want of love is the most prolific source of offenses." [Note: Westcott, p. 56.]