Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going

 

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  

 

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 

- John 12:27–36 

 

Yesterday we read that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the Passover feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour."  Jesus refers to "this hour" -- the time of His death, which He also calls His glorification (in yesterday's reading, above).  He makes it clear to the disciples that He goes willingly to the Cross.  As a human being, His soul is troubled.  My study Bible says it is the mark of humanity to abhor death, which Jesus clearly expresses for us here.  But it is according to His divine nature that He willingly goes to the Cross.  In so doing, He expresses His will to be one with the Father's, and also the priority of submitting one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2). 

 

"Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  My study Bible explains that the Father's name is an extension of His Person.  It says that the Son's death completes the purpose of the Father, and shows His love for all -- thus glorifying Him.  Effectively, Christ is saying, "Father, lead Me to the Cross," and it is Christ's divine response to the human prompting to avoid it.  God the Father's response refers to the signs which have already been performed by Christ, and to the death and Resurrection to come.  

Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."  My study Bible says that, although the Father spoke clearly, some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder because they lacked faith.  Those with a little faith heard the words but did not know the source, thinking it was an angel.  But the disciples knew that the Father Himself had spoken ("This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake").

 

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  My study Bible explains that lifted up is a reference to Christ being hung on the Cross.  It is an expression He has used before as well -- see John 3:14-15; 8:28.  This death will bring salvation to all peoples, my study Bible says, and at the same time render judgment on the faithless and destroying once for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world.  

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  The light is a reference to Christ, as used consistently in John's Gospel (John 1:4-9; 8:12).  My study Bible states that Christ's teaching here has several facets of meaning.  In the first place, Jesus will be completing His public ministry soon.  Moreover, our lives are very limited; we have but a short time to repent and believe in Christ before death.  And finally, the second coming of Christ is but a little while when it is compared to all eternity.  

There is so much in today's reading that it is hard to pick one thing to write about.  Possibly we can begin with what Jesus says in the "ending" verses for today's reading, when He speaks of Himself as the light.  Jesus says to the people, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  In John's Gospel, we know that He is addressing the religious leaders when it uses the terms "the Jews," as this is meant as a type of political label.  When Jesus addresses the disciples, the text also makes that clear.  Here, we're told, He is addressing the people.  In Greek, this word is ὄχλος/ochlos.  It means crowd or throng, a multitude.  So the indication here is for all of the people who are attending the Passover.  These words, exhorting the people to walk while you have the light, and telling them that it is but a little while longer that the light is with you, are clearly meant as attempts to save them, to gather them as the Good Shepherd before His death on the Cross.  Jesus tells them, "Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you."  This word in Greek, translated as "overtake," is the same word translated as "comprehend" in the Prologue to John's Gospel, when we're told, "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:5).  He is setting out for them the clear path, about which He's preached all along, that He is in the world to offer guidance, for all those who would become His sheep.  This image He sets out for us here is one of extreme contrast, and that is significant, for darkness is not something that is gentle and lowly in heart; it is painful and enslaving.  The light He offers us is Himself, as the door, and as the path, the way.  Finally, He says, "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  And there we encounter a promise, something that has to do with the opening of a mystery.  How may human beings become sons of light?    Jesus is offering a kind of "preview" of what is to come, and is speaking about taking on characteristics of the light by walking in the light.  He is speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the grace that is to come, of the "much fruit" that will be produced by His going to the Cross.  (See yesterday's reading, above, in which He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.")  He is contrasting the way of darkness, which is broad and wide, with the way of light, of the Good Shepherd, who offers His life for the sheep, because He follows the command of His Father (John 10:11-18).  Let us for now consider what this means, as we go through Holy Week, and delve into the transformational way of the Cross, and this light He offers to us, so that we may become sons of light by walking the path He illumines.