Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 12:35
Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
35. Then Jesus said ] Better, Jesus therefore said: instead of answering their contemptuous question He gives them a solemn warning.
while ye have ] The better reading is, as ye have: ‘walk in a manner suitable to the fact of there being the Light among you: make use of the Light and work.’
darkness ] that darkness ‘in which no man can work.’
come upon you ] like a bird of prey. The same Greek verb is used of the last day; 1Th 5:4; and in the LXX. of sin overtaking the sinner; Num 32:23.
for he that walketh in darkness ] And he that walketh in the darkness.
whither he goeth ] Or, goeth away; knows not to what end he is departing: comp. 1Jn 2:11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yet a little while is the light with you – Jesus did not reply directly to their question. He saw that they were offended by the mention of his death, and he endeavored to arrive at the same thing indirectly. He tells them, therefore, that the light would be with them a little while, and that they ought to improve the opportunity while they had it to listen to his instructions, to require with candor, and thus to forsake their false notions respecting the Messiah.
The light – Joh 1:4. It is probable that they understood this as denoting the Messiah. See Joh 8:12; I am the light of the world; Joh 9:4.
Walk … – Joh 11:9. Whatever you have to do, do it while you enjoy this light. Make good use of your privileges before they are removed. That is, while the Messiah is with you, avail yourselves of his instructions and learn the way to life.
Lest darkness – Lest God should take away all your mercies, remove all light and instruction from you, and leave you to ignorance, blindness, and woe. This was true that darkness and calamity were to come upon the Jewish people when the Messiah was removed; and it is also true that God leaves a sinner to darkness and misery when he has long rejected the gospel.
For he … – See Joh 11:10.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 35. Yet a little while is the light with you.] In answer to their objection, our Lord compares himself to a light, which was about to disappear for a short time, and afterwards to shine forth with more abundant lustre; but not to their comfort, if they continued to reject its present beamings. He exhorts them to follow this light while it was among them. The Christ shall abide for ever, it is true; but he will not always be visible. When he shall depart from you, ye shall be left in the thickest darkness; in impenitence and hardness of heart. Then shall ye wish to see one of the days of the Son of man, and shall not see it, Lu 17:22. Then shall ye seek me, but shall not find me, Joh 7:34. For the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to the Gentiles, Mt 21:43. If ye believe not in me now, ye shall then wish ye had done it, when wishing shall be for ever fruitless.
Instead of , with you, , among you, is the reading of BDL, seventeen others; Coptic, Gothic, Slavonic, Vulgate, Itala; Cyril, Nonnus, and Victorinus. Griesbach has received it into the text. The meaning of both is nearly the same.
Lest darkness come upon you] Ye have a good part of your journey yet to go: ye cannot travel safely but in the daylight – that light is almost gone – run, that the darkness overtake you not, or in it ye shall stumble, fall, and perish!
Reader, is thy journey near an end? There may be but a very little time remaining to thee. O, run, fly to Christ, lest the darkness of death overtake thee, before thy soul have found redemption in his blood!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Saviour thinketh not fit further to open himself as to that point concerning the Messiah, and his Divine nature; into a direct assertion of which he must have entered, had he given a direct answer to their questions; otherwise what they had objected might easily have been answered by our Saviour, by distinguishing between the two natures in his own person: according to his Divine nature he was not to die, though he died according to his human nature; and after his suffering and resurrection, his whole person, in which both the Divine and human nature were united, were to endure for ever: but he thinks not fit to discourse this point, but returns to what John had told them, Joh 1:9, and what he himself had said, Joh 9:5, that he was the light of the world, though possibly by light he here understandeth those beams of gospel doctrine which issued out from him as the fountain of light. Yet a little while, I, who am the great Light, and the true Light of the world, am with you: or, Yet a little while, the gospel, which is light, and directs you in the way to heaven, is with you, for within a few years (under forty) after this, their city was destroyed, and their nation ruined; and before that time the apostles were turned away from the generality of that nation to the Gentiles, Act 13:46; 19:9. He in the next verse expounds himself as to what he meant by walking, viz. believing: Make use of the light, both to guide your understandings and judgments, and also to direct your feet: for look on men in the world, while they have the guidance of the light of the sun, they know how to order their steps, and to direct their feet; but if once it be dark, they know not how to direct their feet in their way, but err, and stumble, and fall. So it will be with you, when I shall be gone, who am the great Light of the world while I am in the world (as he spake Joh 9:5); and not only I gone, but the gospel, which is that light which I shall leave behind me, be gone, by my apostles turning to the Gentiles, through your perverse refusal of the salvation of it, as Act 13:46; 19:9; when you shall be utterly ruined, (as it will be at the destruction of your city), then you will walk in darkness, having no means of salvation left you.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
35, 36. Yet a little while is thelight with you. Walk while ye have the light, &c.Insteadof answering their question, He warns them, with mingled majesty andtenderness, against trifling with their last brief opportunity, andentreats them to let in the Light while they have it in the midst ofthem, that they themselves might be “light in the Lord.” Inthis case, all the clouds which hung around His Person and Missionwould speedily be dispelled, while if they continued to hate thelight, bootless were all His answers to their merely speculative orcaptious questions. (See on Lu 13:23).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then Jesus said unto them,…. Not directly answering to their questions, but suggests to them their ignorance and stupidity, amidst so much light, that was about them:
yet a little while is the light with you: meaning either himself, the light of the world, Joh 8:12, who was to be but a very little while longer with them, a few days more, and he was to go away from them by death, and be seen and heard no more by them: or the Gospel, which, though that was to continue somewhat longer, it being, after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, to be preached to the Jews, both in Judea, and in other parts of the world; yet that would be but for a little while, as the event has shown; for the Jews rejecting the Gospel, and putting it away from them, the apostles, as they were ordered, turned to the Gentiles,
Ac 13:46;
walk while ye have the light: that is, as it is explained in
Joh 12:36, “believe ye in the light”: which the Persic version adds here, and leaves out there: and the sense is, believe in the Messiah, and in his Gospel; embrace him and that, and walk on in him, and worthy of him and of his Gospel, as children of the light:
lest darkness come upon you; suddenly, at an unawares; either a greater degree of the darkness of ignorance and unbelief; even a judicial blindness and stupidity, which did seize on that people, and continues upon them to this day; or the darkness of afflictions, calamities, and distress, and which have come upon them to the uttermost, to the destruction of their temple, city, and nation; or else a worse darkness, even blackness of darkness, outer darkness in hell, where are weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
For he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth; he cannot see his way, nor the stumbling blocks that lie in it, and the dangers he is exposed unto; nor does he know where it leads, and what is the end of it; and just so it is with a man in a state of unregeneracy, and more especially under judicial blindness: he is not aware of the pits and snares that lie in his way, or of the dark mountains on which he stumbles; and though destruction and misery are in his ways, he knows not that he is going thereunto.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Yet a little while is the light among you ( ). is the accusative of extent of time. Jesus does not argue the point of theology with the crowd who would not understand. He turns to the metaphor used before when he claimed to be the light of the world (8:12) and urges that they take advantage of their privilege “while ye have the light” ( ).
That darkness overtake you not ( ). Purpose (negative) with and second aorist active subjunctive of . See this verb in 1:5. In 1Th 5:4 this verb occurs with (day) overtaking one like a thief.
Knoweth not whither he goeth ( ). See 11:10 for this idea and the same language in 1Jo 2:11. The ancients did not have our electric street lights. The dark streets were a terror to travellers.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1 ) “Then Jesus said unto them,” (eipen oun autois ho lesous) “Then Jesus said directly to them,” to those who were slow-hearted believers, seeking more knowledge or understanding. They did not comprehend how or why the Messiah could or should die. Why, because their false teachers had not taught them truth concerning the ceremonies, or the sacrifices, or the prophecies, etc. See Isa 53:1-12.
2) “Yet a little while is the light with you.” (eti mikron chronon to phos en humin estin) “Yet (for) a little time the light is (exists) among you all,” the “light of the world,” and the light and life-giving one, Joh 1:4-5; Joh 1:9; Joh 7:33; Joh 8:12. So little time is left to work that none should trifle it away in profitless speculation.
3) “Walk while ye have the light,” (peripateite hos to phos echete) “You all walk while you have the light,” or follow me while I give you light, understanding, guidance, from the old to the new covenant way of worship and service to my Father, Joh 8:12; Mat 5:15-16; Walk after me, and keep on walking, not after Moses, is the idea, Luk 9:23; Heb 3:1-6.
4) “Lest darkness come upon you: (hina me skotia humas katalabe) “in order that the darkness not overtake you,” and you can no longer walk, or work on, following me, and causing others to do the same, Joh 9:4; 2Co 4:4; 2Co 4:3; 1Th 5:4.
5) “For he that walketh in darkness,” (kai ho peripaton en te skotia) “And the one who walks about in the darkness,” trifling and fittering away time, in moral, ethical or questionable ways. These were among those who had followed “blind guides,” of Phariseeism and Sadduceeism, and many were about to enter eternal darkness, without hope, while they had the light of the world before them, Mat 23:24; Mat 23:26.
6) “Knoweth not whither he goeth.” (ouk oiden pou hupagei) “He does not know or perceive where he is going,” does not realize the dangers and perils before him, Joh 11:10; Jer 13:16; 1Jn 2:11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
35. Yet a little while the light is with you. Though in this reply the Lord gently admonishes them, yet at the same time he reproves them sharply; for he charges them with shutting their eyes against the light, and at the same time threatens that ere long the light will be taken away from them. When he says that yet a little while there is some remaining light, he confirms what he had already said about his death; for though by the light he does not mean his bodily presence, but his Gospel, yet he alludes to his departure; as if he had said, When I shall have gone away, I will not cease to be the light, and thus my glory will not be diminished through your darkness. When he says that the light is with them, he indirectly reproves them for closing their eyes and shutting out the light; and thus he declares that they do not deserve an answer to their objection, because of their own accord they seek an opportunity of falling into error.
Walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you. This statement, that the light does not continue to shine on them but for a little while, Applies equally to all unbelievers; for Scripture promises that to the children of God the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2) will rise, and will never go down.
The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor the moon by night, but the Lord shall be your everlasting light, (Isa 60:19.)
But all ought to walk cautiously, because contempt of the light is followed by darkness. This, too, is the reason why night so thick and dark sat down on the world for many centuries. It was because there were few who deigned to walk in the brightness of heavenly wisdom; for Christ enlightens us by his Gospel, in order that we may follow the way of salvation, which he points out to us. For this reason, they who do not avail themselves of the grace of God extinguish, as far as lies in their power, the light which is offered to them.
And he who walketh in darkness knoweth not where he goeth. To strike them with still deeper alarm, he reminds them how wretched is the condition of those who, being destitute of light, do nothing but wander throughout the whole course of, their life. For they cannot move a step without the risk of falling or even of destruction. But now Christ declares that we are in darkness, unless he shine upon us. Hence infer what is the value of the sagacity of the human mind, when it is the sole guide and instructor, apart from Christ.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(35) Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you.It is better, as we have often seen, to read Therefore for Then. The word connects what follows closely with what has gone before. It was because of their question that Jesus said this. And yet it is not said that He answered them, because what He said was not a direct answer. They are asking questions in which we may trace the spirit, if not the very words, of the formal, literal objectors who had, with like technicalities, stifled the truth whenever it was springing up in their minds. Such questions cannot be really answered, because they are not really questions. And now the day has gone, and the night is at hand. The old thought comes back to Him (Joh. 9:4; Joh. 11:9). The last rays of light are shining. It is but a little while, and He warns them with all the solemnity of this thought.
Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.The better reading is, Walk according as ye have the lighti.e., Walk as men who are conscious that the light is among them, use your opportunities; do not ask questions to raise objections, but ask them in order that you may know the truth. The man who thus used the light would by no means walk in darkness, but would have the light of life (Joh. 8:12). For him that neglected to use the means and faculty he had, both would cease to exist. (Comp. Note on Rom. 1:21.)
The words come upon, or overtake, is used of some sudden seizure. There are two parallels in Biblical Greek, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that the day should overtake you as a thief (1Th. 5:4), and Be sure your sin will find you out (Num. 32:23).
He that walketh in darkness.Comp. Notes in Joh. 8:12; Joh. 9:4; Joh. 11:9; and 1Jn. 2:11.
Knoweth not whither he goeth.The last word means goeth away, departeth. The frequent use of the word by St. John to express departure to the other world suggests that meaning here. He was going away. They ask, Who is this Son of man who is lifted up, who goes away? He warns them lest darkness seize them, and they go away into darkness. In the next four chapters the same word is used twelve times of Christs departure. (Comp. e.g. Joh. 13:3; Joh. 13:33; Joh. 13:36.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light lest the darkness overtakes you, for he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become the sons of light”.’
As we have seen Jesus did not answer directly. He was not concerned with theological discussion but with genuine response from those in the crowd. Let them rather consider their present position. There is One among them Who is revealing God’s truth, revealing the light. While He is with them they need to take full advantage of the situation, otherwise there will come a time when He has gone and they will be left only in darkness.
Then they will be left wandering around blindly not knowing where they were going (perhaps Deu 28:65 was in Jesus’ mind here). Instead of having the light they will be left with the blind leaders of the blind. So now while He is still here they must seize their chance. They can respond now to His truth in full faith, thus becoming sons of light, those who are the product of the shining Light, or the alternative will be to be left in darkness. They must stop arguing about the niceties of the Son of Man and the Messiah, and concentrate on His present light. Then all else will begin to fall into place.
‘The light is with you for a little while longer’. The first reference was to Jesus and His soon departure. But the words may include the thought that that light would continue to shine on them through His disciples until darkness descended on Jerusalem through its final destruction in 70 AD. It also reminds us that we too have but ‘a little while longer.’
‘Walk while you have the light.’ Light will not always be there. Men must respond when it shines otherwise their hearts may become hardened with the result that they find themselves in darkness. Then they will become lost and unable to find the way.
‘Sons of light.’ Let them be born again through the light that shines on them and thus go on to reveal the light through their lives, demonstrating that they are truly sons of light, the seed of Him Who is the Light of the world (Joh 8:12). The term ‘sons of light’ was in current circulation in Palestine at the time and is evidenced at Qumran. But different parties gave it different emphases. To Jesus it meant those who followed Him as the light of the world. To the Qumranis it indicated those who brought themselves within the community covenant and obeyed their teaching.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 12:35-36 . Jesus does not enter upon the question raised, but directs the questioners to that one point which concerns them, with the intensity and seriousness of one who is on the point of taking His departure. To follow this one direction must indeed of itself free them from all those doubts and questions.
] among you .
. ] On the reading , see the critical notes. Walk as you have the light , i.e . in conformity with the fact that you have among you the possessor and bearer of the divine truth (comp. on Joh 8:12 ); be not slothful, but spiritually active, and awake in the enjoyment of this relation, just as one does not rest and lie still when he has the bright light of day, but walks in order to attain the end in view before the darkness breaks in (see what follows). On as assigning the motive ( in the measure that ), comp. generally on Joh 13:34 , and here especially on Gal 6:10 . Ellendt aptly says, Lex. Soph . II. p. 1008: “nec tamen causam per se spectatam, sed quam qnis, qualis sit, indicat.” The signification quamdiu (Baeumlein) is not borne by , not even in Soph. Aj . 1117 (see, Schneidewin in loc .), Phil . 635. 1330.
, . . .] in order that which would smite you as a penal destiny in retribution of your darkness (the element opposed to the divine truth of salvation, which still at present shines upon you) may not seize you , like a hostile power. Comp. Joh 1:21 : . On , comp. 1Th 5:4 ; also in the classics very frequently of danger, misfortune, and the like, which befall any one. Arrian, Alex . i. 5. 17 : .
., . . .] and how dangerous would this condition be! This is brought home in a sentence from ordinary life; comp. Joh 11:9 , Joh 9:4 .
] whither he is departing , Joh 3:8 . Thus the goes away, without knowing the unhappy end, into everlasting destruction; comp. 1Jn 2:11 . For the opposite of this , see Joh 8:14 ; Joh 8:21 , Joh 16:5 , et al .
. ] Repeated and placed first with great emphasis.
. , , . . .] More minute designation of that which was previously intended by the figurative .
.] Enlightened persons. See on Luk 16:8 ; Eph 5:8 .
] not be , but become . Faith is the condition and the beginning of it; comp. Joh 1:12 .
] The situation in Joh 8:59 is different. He now, according to the account of John, withdraws from them into concealment, probably to Bethany, in order to spend these last days of life, before the arrival of His hour, in the quiet confidential circle, not as a prelude, “summi judicii occultationis Domini” (Lampe, Luthardt), which is not indicated, and is all the more without support, that the last discourse was not condemnatory, but only hortatory.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1675
THE DUTY OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT
Joh 12:35-36. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.
THE perverseness of men in resisting the means of conviction, is apt to beget an asperity in the minds of their instructors, and to make them cease from their labours of love. But we are required in meekness to instruct them that oppose themselves. And our blessed Lord affords us in this respect an admirable example. He had plainly told the Jews, that he must be crucified: and their very answer shews, that they understood his meaning. But, instead of receiving the information aright, they cavilled at it, and concluded from thence, that he could not be the Messiah [Note: ver. 3234.]. Our Lord did not judge it proper at that time to afford them any farther means of conviction, when they had so abused those that were already afforded them: but he most affectionately warned them to improve their present advantages, before they should be finally withdrawn from them.
The words being equally applicable to us, we shall consider,
I.
The duty enjoined
Christ is here spoken of as the light
[We might consider the term light in general, as referring to the Gospel: but here it undoubtedly relates to Christ himself [Note: Joh 1:9; Joh 8:12; Joh 12:46.]. He is justly characterized by this name, not only as being the eternal fountain of light, but as enlightening the world by his doctrines and life.]
In him, under this character, we are to believe
[All that he has spoken respecting his person, work, and offices, together with all his promissory, or threatening declarations, should be received by us without gainsaying, and be relied upon without hesitation.]
In him also we ought to walk
[We view earthly things in the light of the material sun; and avail ourselves of its light, every step we take. Precisely thus should we act with respect to Christ, the Sun of Rightousness. We should view sin and holiness, time and eternity, yea, every thing without exception, in the light that he, by his word and conduct, reflects upon it. Nor should we take any one step in life, without a direct reference to his word as our rule, and his life as our example [Note: 1Jn 2:6.].]
To render this injunction more impressive, let us consider
II.
The arguments with which it is enforced
There are three topics mentioned in the text, from whence we may urge this important duty:
1.
From the shortness of the time that we shall enjoy the light
[The Jews now had the light; but it was to be extinguished within the space of four days. Hence our Lord repeatedly urges this consideration, Walk, while ye have the light. And how strongly does this argument apply to us! You have the light at present, yea, even greater light than the Jews enjoyed under the ministry of Christ: (for there were many subjects, which he did not fully open; and the things he did utter could not be perfectly understood, till the day of Pentecost; whereas you have Christ exhibited to you in all his glory; and the fulness, the freeness, the suitableness of his salvation constantly set before you.) But how soon may it be removed from you, or you from it [Note: Rev 2:5. Amo 8:11-12.]! O then, while ye have the light, believe, and walk, in the light.]
2.
From the danger we incur by disregarding the light
[If we will not attend to the voice of Christ, a darkness will come upon us, even darkness that may be felt. They who never have had Christ preached unto them, are indeed in an awful condition; but by no means so awful as that of those who have despised the Gospel [Note: ver. 39, 40.]. The darkness of which the text speaks, is judicial, sent them by God as the punishment of their iniquity; and the very light that shines around them, serves only to increase their blindness, and to aggravate their guilt [Note: 2Co 2:15-16. 2Th 2:11-12.]. In this state, they stumble at the noon-day, and wander, not knowing whither they go; till at last they fall into that pit of destruction, where is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth for evermore.
Should not then the dread of such a state lead us to a just improvement of our present privileges?]
3.
From the benefit arising to those who rightly improve the light
[By children of light, we may understand either children of God (who is light) or, truly enlightened persons [Note: Thus is used Eph 2:2.; and , 2Pe 2:14. is so translated, as may be here.]. In either sense the general import is the same, namely, that, by believing in Christ, we shall attain the knowledge and enjoyment of God. Compare this state with that of those who are in darkness; and how great will this benefit appear!
Shall not then this blessed prospect allure us to embrace the Gospel? Or shall we still prefer sin and misery to holiness and glory?]
Application
[Let us no longer withstand the solemn warnings and affectionate exhortations of the Lord Jesus; but improve to the utmost this accepted time, this day of salvation.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Ver. 35. Yet a little while is the light, &c. ] The day of grace, which is very clear and bright, is usually a short one. Therefore break off your sins by repentance; be abrupt in the work, for life is short, opportunities headlong, and once past, irrecoverable. He is the wise man that prefers opportunity before time, in laying hold upon eternal life; but fools are semper victuri, saith Seneca, they will, and they will, &c.; so they trifle, and by futuring, fool away their own salvation. Amend before the draw bridge be taken up. Charles, king of Sicily and Jerusalem, was called Cunctator the Delayer: not in the sense as Fabius Maximus, because he stayed till opportunity came, but because he stayed till opportunity was past. Too many such. Manna must be gathered in the morning, or not at all; and not kept till the morrow, lest it stink.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
35. ] He does not answer them, but enjoins them to make use of the time of His presence yet left them. , as, not exactly ‘ while: ’ walk, according to your present state of privilege in possessing the Light: which indeed can only be done while it is with you .
, ‘Myself’ see ch. Joh 7:33 ; Joh 8:12 ; Joh 9:4-5 .
., among you: see ref., and ch. Joh 15:24 (or in the deeper meaning of ch. Joh 11:10 , which see, and note).
The light is an easy transition from their question, if, as above supposed, Psa 89:36 was alluded to: “His (David’s) seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me.”
., i.e. ‘ make use of the Light, do your work in it, and by it.’
. . ., ‘has no guide nor security, no principle to lead him.’
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 12:35 . . In replying Jesus vouchsafes no direct solution of their difficulty. It is as if He said: Do not entangle yourselves in sophistries. Do not seek such logical proofs of Messiahship. Allow the light of truth and righteousness to enter your conscience and your life. “Yet a little while is the light with you.” “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness overtake you” ( cf. 1Th 5:4 ), that is, lest Jesus, the light of the world, be withdrawn. , cf. Joh 11:10 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
John
A PARTING WARNING
Joh 12:35 – Joh 12:36
These are the last words of our Lord’s public ministry. He afterwards spoke only to His followers in the sweet seclusion of the sympathetic home at Bethany, and amid the sanctities of the upper chamber. ‘Yet a little while am I with you’; -the sun had all but set. Two days more, and the Cross was reared on Calvary, but there was yet time to turn to the light. And so His divine charity ‘hoped all things,’ and continued to plead with those who had so long rejected Him. As befits a last appeal, the words unveil the heart of Christ. They are solemn with warning, radiant with promise, almost beseeching in their earnestness. He loves too well not to warn, but He will not leave the bitterness of threatening as a last savour on the palate, and so the lips, into which grace is poured, bade farewell to His enemies with the promise and the hope that even they may become ‘the sons of light.’
The solemnity of the occasion, then, gives great force to the words; and the remembrance of it sets us on the right track for estimating their significance. Let us see what lessons for us there may be in Christ’s last words to the world.
I. There is, first, a self-revelation.
So then, most distinctly here, in His final appeal to the world, He draws back the curtain, as it were, takes away the shade that had covered the lamp, and lets one full beam stream out for the last impression that He leaves. Is it not profoundly significant and impressive that then, of all times, over and over again, in the compass of these short verses, this Galilean peasant makes the tremendous assertion that He is what none other can be, in a solitary and transcendent sense, the Light of Mankind? Undismayed by universal rejection, unfaltering in spite of the curling lips of incredulity and scorn, unbroken by the near approach of certain martyrdom, He presents Himself before the world as its Light. Nothing in the history of mad, fanatical claims to inspiration and divine authority is to be compared with these assertions of our Lord. He is the fontal Source, He says, of all illumination; He stands before the whole race, and claims to be ‘the Master-Light of all our seeing.’ Whatsoever ideas of clearness of knowledge, of rapture of joy, of whiteness of purity, are symbolised by that great emblem, He declares that He manifests them all to men. Others may shine; but they are, as He said, ‘lights kindled,’ and therefore ‘burning.’ Others may shine, but they have caught their radiance from Him. All teachers, all helpers, all thinkers draw their inspiration, if they have any, from Him, in whom was life, and the Life was the Light of men.
There has been blazing in the heavens of late a new star, that burst upon astonished astronomers in a void spot; but its brilliancy, though far transcending that of our sun, soon began to wane, and before long, apparently, there will be blackness again where there was blackness before. So all lights but His are temporary as well as derived, and men ‘willing for a season to rejoice’ in the fleeting splendours, and to listen to the teacher of a day, lose the illumination of his presence and guidance of his thoughts as the ages roll on. But the Light is ‘not for an age, but for all time.’
Now, brethren, this is Christ’s estimate of Himself. I dwell not on it for the purpose of seeking to exhaust its depth of significance. In it there lies the assertion that He, and He only, is the source of all valid knowledge of the deepest sort concerning God and men, and their mutual relations. In it lie the assertion that He, and He only, is the source of all true gladness that may blend with our else darkened lives, and the further assertion that from Him, and from Him alone, can flow to us the purity that shall make us pure. We have to turn to that Man close by His Cross, on whom while He spoke the penumbra of the eclipse of death was beginning to show itself, and to say to Him what the Psalmist said of old to the Jehovah whom he knew, and whom we recognise as indwelling in Jesus: ‘With Thee is the fountain of life. Thou makest us to drink of the river of Thy pleasures. In Thy light shall we see light.’
So Christ thought of Himself; so Christ would have as to think of Him. And it becomes a question for us how, if we refuse to accept that claim of a solitary, underived, eternal, and universal power of illuminating mankind, we can save His character for the veneration of the world. We cannot go picking and choosing amongst the Master’s words, and say ‘This is historical, and that mythical.’ We cannot select some of them, and leave others on one side. You must take the whole Christ if you take any Christ. And the whole Christ is He who, within sight of Calvary, and in the face of all but universal rejection, lifted up His voice, and, as His valediction to the world, declared, ‘I am the Light of the world.’ So He says to us. Oh that we all might cast ourselves before Him, with the cry, ‘Lighten our darkness, O Lord, we beseech Thee!’
II. Secondly, we have here a double exhortation.
‘Trust in the light.’ The figure seems to be dropped at first sight; for it wants little faith to believe in the sunshine at midday; and when the light is pouring out, how can a man but see it? But the apparent incongruity of the metaphor points to something very deep in regard to the spiritual side. We cannot but believe in the light that meets the eye when it meets it, but it is possible for a man to blind himself to the shining of this light. Therefore the exhortation is needed-’Believe in the light,’ for only by believing it can you see it. Just as the eye is the organ of sight, just as its nerves are sensitive to the mysterious finger of the beam, just as on its mirroring surface impinges the gentle but mighty force that has winged its way across all the space between us and the sun, and yet falls without hurting, so faith, the ‘inward eye which makes the bliss’ of the solitary soul, is the one organ by which you and I can see the light. ‘Seeing is believing,’ says the old proverb. That is true in regard to the physical. Believing is seeing, is much rather the way to put it in regard to the spiritual and divine.
Only as we trust the light do we see the light. Unless you and I put our confidence in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, we have no adequate knowledge of Him and no clear vision of Him. We must know that we may love; but we must love that we may know. We must believe that we may see. True, we must see that we may believe, but the preliminary vision which precedes belief is slight and dim as compared with the solidity and the depth of assurance with which we apprehend the reality and know the lustre of Him whom our faith has grasped. You will never know the glory of the light, nor the sweetness with which it falls upon the gazing eye, until you turn your face to that Master, and so receive on your susceptible and waiting heart the warmth and the radiance which He only can bestow. ‘Believe in the light.’ Trust it; or rather, trust Him who is it. He cannot deceive. This light from heaven can never lead astray. Absolutely we may rely upon it; unconditionally we must follow it. Lean upon Him-to take another metaphor-with all your weight. His arm is strong to bear the burden of our weaknesses, sorrows, and, above all, our sins. ‘While ye have light, trust the light.’
But then that is not enough. Man, with his double relations, must have an active and external as well as an inward and contemplative life. And so our Lord, side by side with the exhortation on which I have been touching, puts the other one, ‘Walk in the light.’ Our inward emotions, however deep and precious, however real the affiance, however whole-hearted the love, are maimed and stunted, and not what the light requires, unless there follows upon them the activity of the walk. What do we get the daylight for? To sit and gaze at it? By no means; but that it may guide us upon our path and help us in all our work. And so all Christian people need ever to remember that Jesus Christ has indissolubly bound together these two phases of our relation to Him as the light of life-inward and blessed contemplation by faith and outward practical activity. To walk is, of course, the familiar metaphor for the external life of man, and all our deeds are to be in conformity with the Light, and in communion with Him. This is the deepest designation, perhaps, of the true character of a Christian life in its external aspect-that it walks in Christ, doing nothing but as His light shines, and ever bearing along with it conscious fellowship with Him who is thus the guiding and irradiating and gladdening and sanctifying life of our lives, ‘Walk in the light as He is in the light.’ Our days fleet and change; His are stable and the same. For, although these words which I have quoted, in their original application refer to God the Father, they are no less true about Him who rests at the right hand of God, and is one light with Him. He is in the light. We may approximate to that stable and calm radiance, even though our lives are passed through changing scenes, and effort and struggle are their characteristics. And oh! how blessed, brother, such a life will be, all gladdened by the unsetting and unclouded sunshine that even in the shadiest places shines, and turns the darkness of the valley of the shadow of death into solemn light; teaching gloom to glow with a hidden sun!
But there is not only the idea of activity here, there is the further notion of progress. Unless Christian people to their faith add work, and have both their faith and their consequent work in a continual condition of progress and growth, there is little reason to believe that they apprehend the light at all. If you trust the light you will walk in it; and if your days are not in conformity nor in communion with Him, and are not advancing nearer and nearer to the central blaze, then it becomes you to ask yourselves whether you have verily seen at all, or trusted at all, ‘the Light of life.’
III. Thirdly, there is here a warning.
And if Christian men and women do not advance in their knowledge and their conformity, like clouds of darkness will fall upon them. None is so hopeless as the unprogressive Christian, none so far away as those who have been brought nigh and have never come any nigher. If you believe the light, see that you growingly trust and walk in it, else darkness will come upon you, and you will not know whither you go.
IV. And lastly, there is here a hope and a promise.
And so, dear friends, all of us may hope that by degrees, as the reward of faith and of walking, we still may bear the image of the heavenly, even here on earth. While as yet we only believe in the light, we may participate in its transforming power, like some far-off planet on the utmost bounds of some solar system, that receives faint and small supplies of light and warmth, through a thick atmosphere of vapour, and across immeasurable spaces. But we have the assurance that we shall be carried nearer our centre, and then, like the planets that are closer to the sun than our earth is, we shall feel the fuller power of the heat, and be saturated with the glory of the light. ‘We shall see Him as He is’; and then we too ‘shall blaze forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
unto = to. them: i.e. the people around Him.
light. App-130.
with. Greek. meta, as in verses: Joh 12:8, Joh 12:17, but all the texts read en, among.
while. All the texts read “as”.
lest darkness = in order that (Greek. hina) dark ness may not (Greek. me. App-105).
come upon = seize. Greek. katalambano. Same word as in Joh 1:5. Mar 9:18. Php 1:3, Php 1:12, Php 1:13; 1Th 5:4.
knoweth. Greek. oida. App-132.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
35.] He does not answer them, but enjoins them to make use of the time of His presence yet left them. , as, not exactly while: walk, according to your present state of privilege in possessing the Light: which indeed can only be done while it is with you.
, Myself-see ch. Joh 7:33; Joh 8:12; Joh 9:4-5.
., among you: see ref., and ch. Joh 15:24 (or in the deeper meaning of ch. Joh 11:10, which see, and note).
The light is an easy transition from their question, if, as above supposed, Psa 89:36 was alluded to: His (Davids) seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me.
., i.e. make use of the Light, do your work in it, and by it.
. . ., has no guide nor security, no principle to lead him.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 12:35. [326] , as yet) Jesus does not reply to their objection, but subjoins truths which are most necessary for them.-, a little while) The antithetic words are, for ever, Joh 12:34. The Jews were supposing that the Christ, when once He came, would never be but with them [would always remain with them].- , among [with] you) The Light itself remains, but not always among [with] you. So , among them, ch. Joh 15:24. is for the Hebrew .-, walk) with onward progress. What is required of us is, to walk, not to dispute. Faith is not indolent, but active in [using] the light, Joh 12:36.-, overtake) unexpectedly.-, and [for]) The conjunction for the relative; in which darkness he who walketh, etc. So , and, is used, Luk 24:18, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and (who therefore) hast not known the things? etc.-, where) whither.
[326] , Thou sayest) We have them therefore confessing, that Jesus presented Himself to them, so as to be known and acknowledged as the Christ.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 12:35
Joh 12:35
Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you.-Jesus was the light of the world. While he was with them they should listen to his teaching and walk by the light of his wisdom. When he was gone they would have none to give light. This is the same as he told his disciples, A little while, and ye behold me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see me. (Joh 16:16).
Walk while ye have the light,-[Turn your footsteps into the path of faith which it marks out while the light is shining.]
that darkness overtake you not:-[Out of the pathway of duty, for it will then be so difficult to find it. The thought is-seek the light and walk in it while you have an opportunity, for the opportunity may soon pass away and you be left in the dark unsaved.]
and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.-[He stumbles over the many obstacles in his path. Since the rejection of Jesus by the Jews, Israel has wandered in the wilderness of this world, as a caravan without a goal and without a guide.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Yet: Joh 7:33, Joh 9:4, Joh 16:16, Heb 3:7, Heb 3:8
Walk: Joh 12:36, Joh 12:46, Joh 1:5-9, Joh 8:12, Joh 9:5, Isa 2:5, Isa 42:6, Isa 42:7, Rom 13:12-14, Eph 5:8, Eph 5:14, Eph 5:15, 1Th 5:5-8, 1Jo 1:6, 1Jo 1:7
lest: Joh 12:39, Joh 12:40, Psa 69:22-28, Jer 13:16, Jer 13:17, Rom 11:7-10, 2Co 3:14
for: Joh 11:10, Pro 4:19, 1Jo 2:8-11
Reciprocal: Exo 16:21 – General 2Ch 14:7 – while the land Job 24:13 – they know Psa 56:13 – the light Psa 82:5 – walk Pro 2:13 – walk Ecc 11:8 – yet Isa 9:2 – walked Isa 55:6 – Seek Isa 59:10 – grope Jer 6:16 – and walk Jer 23:12 – in the Zec 11:9 – I will Mal 4:2 – the Sun Luk 13:33 – I must Luk 13:35 – Ye shall not Luk 17:22 – when Luk 18:37 – they Luk 19:42 – in this Joh 1:4 – the life Joh 8:21 – I go Joh 11:9 – he stumbleth not Joh 12:8 – but Joh 13:33 – yet Joh 14:19 – a little Act 26:18 – and to 2Co 4:4 – lest Gal 6:10 – opportunity Eph 5:16 – the days 1Jo 1:5 – that God 1Jo 2:11 – he that 3Jo 1:4 – walk
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
Jesus did not give the people a direct reply, for he had already given them many lessons about his great work in cooperation with his Father, and they seemed to be overlooked by most of them. But he intimated that his personal instructions would soon be ended, and they should make use of them while they could.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 12:35. Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Not so much words of pity and tenderness in order to clear away the doubts of a sincere desire to learn, as words of solemn warning that they had a day of grace granted them, but that it was now drawing to a close, and that, if they did not pass beyond all doubts to faith, they would be overtaken by darkness.
Walk as ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not. That is, Walk in accordance with the fact that the light now shines around you.
And he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. If they do not thus walk, thus come to the light (chap. Joh 3:21), the darkness will overtake them; and instead of going to the glory to which Jesus goeth, they will go blindly to destruction.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 35, 36. Jesus therefore said to them, The light is with you only a little while longer; walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; and he that walks in the darkness knows not whither he goes. 36.While you have the light, believe on the light, that you may become children of light. Jesus said this to them; then, departing, he hid himself from them.
Jesus does not reply to them directly. It was no longer the time to teach and discuss. He addresses to their hearts a last warning, a final appeal, by making them feel the decisive importance of the present hour for themselves and for their whole people. This is the reason why John says he said, declared, not , he answered. The day of salvation is at its end; the sun which still enlightens Israel is going to disappear in a few moments. When the sun sets, those who have a journey to make must hasten before the night comes on. By this journey, Jesus means the act of believing, for all those who are still far removed from Him. When once the heavenly revealer shall be no longer present, the unbelieving people will be like a traveler lost in the night, who wanders at a venture without seeing either pathway or end. If Joh 12:31-32 sum up the whole history of the Church, it may be well said that Joh 12:35 contains that of Israel from the day on which Jesus was speaking to the present hour.
The apostolic preaching was no doubt still granted to this people, but how, when once launched on the declivity of unbelief, could Israel, as a people, have changed its course. And when the preaching of the apostles, that last gift of grace, had rescued a certain number of individuals from the ruin, it was soon withdrawn from the nation. Since then, Israel wanders in the wilderness of this world, as a caravan without a goal and without a guide. The two readings: with you and among you differ only in the figure. It is not altogether so with the readings , while (T. R.) and , as or according as. Meyer, Weiss, Luthardt, Keil, adopting the second, give to its ordinary logical sense: as, conformably to the fact that: Walk according as you have the light, that is to say: Because of the fact that you still have the light, come to it, believe! It is with reason, as it seems to me, that Baumlein declares this explanation of impossible. The words: yet a little time, force us to give it the temporal sense. We must, therefore, either understand it in the sense of when which the French comme so often has (comp. for this use of in the New Testament, Luk 12:58 : As thou goest, for: While thou goest), or read , while, notwithstanding the Alexandrian authorities. The initial of this word was undoubtedly confounded with the final of the preceding word . I should not be surprised, however, if it were otherwise in Joh 12:36, and if the true reading here were .
The idea of because of the fact that is much more admissible in this sentence, Because of the fact that you have the light, believe in the light; comp. Gal 6:10, where the may be explained in the same way. This is precisely the reading of the Sinatic MS. It is the more easily explained, in this case, how in Joh 12:35 the may have been substituted for . In two sentences so near together and so similar, the copyists may have made either the first conform to the second, or the reverse. An equal solemnity reigns in these two appeals of Joh 12:35-36; only in the former the tone of pity prevails; in the latter, that of tenderness. The last word of the Saviour to His people was to be an invitation, not a menace: Since you still possess in me the living revelation of God (, the light), acknowledge it, believe on it, to the end that you may become () children of light. Through faith in Christ man is so penetrated by light that he himself becomes luminous.
Such was the farewell of Jesus to Israel. The words: He said these things, signify that He gave them no other response. Thereupon He withdraws; and on the following day He does not reappear. The people waited for Him in the temple as usual (Luk 21:38); but in vain. It was at this time no longer a mere cloud which veiled the sun; the sun had set, the night was come.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
12:35 {8} Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
(8) Unmeasurable is the mercy of God, but a horrible judgment follows if it is condemned.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus did not answer their question. He already had done so when He explained that He and the Father were One (cf. Joh 5:18). The paradox of His dying and living forever would become clear with His resurrection.
Instead of answering, Jesus urged His hearers to walk in the light as long as they had it. If they would do that, the darkness would not overpower them when the light departed (cf. Isa 50:10). If they did not do that, they would be lost. They needed to believe in Him then, before the Cross. After the Cross, when the Light was no longer present with them, it would be harder for them to believe. If they believed, they would become sons of light, namely, people who display the ethical qualities of light (cf. Eph 5:8; 1Th 5:5).
"The Semitic idiom ’sons of’ describes men who possess the characteristics of what is said to be their ’father’. In our idiom, we should probably say ’men of light’, cf. our expression ’a man of integrity’." [Note: Tasker, p. 153.]