Jesus Christ, the Light of the World

The Biblical Understanding of Light and Darkness

by ELIZABETH R. AGHTEMEIER

I N THE GOSPEL according to John, Jesus proclaims that he is the light of

the world (8:12; 9:5), and throughout that book the figure of light is
applied to our Lord. He is "the true light that enlightens every man55
(1:9), the light which delivers his believers from darkness (12:46,35-36;
11:9-10), the light that exposes each man's deeds (3:19-21 ).
In none of the other Gospels is this term used so prominently of Jesus.
Matthew employs it only when quoting the messianic passage from Isaiah
9 : "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light55 (Matt.
4:13-16). Luke uses the figure only in the Song of Simeon (Luke 2:32 ).
The term is not used of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.
Yet the author of John is introducing no strange concept into his por-
trayal of our Lord. Throughout the Old Testament, light is continually
associated with God and his word, with salvation, with goodness, with
truth, with life. In applying the term to Jesus, the Fourth Evangelist
gathers up much of the Old Testament revelation and shows its summa-
tion in our Lord. To understand what it means to say that Jesus Christ
is the light of the world, then, we should begin with the understanding
of light as it is found in the Book of the Old Covenant.
There are, it seems, two kinds of light in the Old Testament. First,
there is the light given by the heavenly bodies—the sun, the moon, and
the stars. This light is given to all men (Deut. 4:19; compare Matt.
5:45 ), and it serves primarily as the instrument of time. The moon and
the stars are used to mark the time of the holy festivals (Gen. 1:14) ; the
setting and rising of the sun are the measure of the limits of day and
night (Ps. 104:19-23). The heavenly bodies in their regular course allow
the regulation of life. Or as someone once put it in a Christian context,
440 Interpretation

"God made the stars in order that we might know when to keep
55
Christmas.
As would be expected, therefore, the heavenly bodies and their light
are intended solely as the instruments of God. Over against an ancient
world (and sometimes our modern one) which worshiped the hosts of
the heavens and saw in them divine powers, the Old Testament empha­
sizes the subservient nature of the heavenly lights. God has created them
(Gen. 1:14-19; Ps. 74:16; 136:7-9; Jer. 31:35), and he canuse them at
will. He can command, and the sun will not rise. He can seal up the stars
(Job 9:7). He can turn aside the heat of the sun (Ps. 121:6; Isa. 49 : ι o ;
compare Rev. 7:16), or increase its intensity (Isa. 30:26; compare Rev.
16:8-9). Upon one occasion God halted the course of the sun and the
moon in the sky (Josh. 10:12-13), according to the Hebrew understand­
ing of the universe.
Further, the Lord sometimes uses the sun and moon and stars for signs
of his coming action. The backward movement of the sun on the dial of
Ahaz is a sign that Yahweh will deliver Hezekiah and the Holy City
(Isa. 38:7-8). The darkening of the heavenly bodies is the sign of the
immediate coming of the day of the Lord (Amos 8:9; Isa. 13:9-10;
Ezek. 32:7-8; Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; compare Acts 2:20), just as in the
New Testament it is the sign of the coming of the Son of man (Matt.
24:29-30; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25; compare Rev. 6:12-14; 8:12).
Whatever the purpose for which they are used, the heavenly lights
have no independent existence. They are made to serve their Creator,
whose glory is far greater than theirs (Isa. 24:23). And for this reason
they, too, are called upon to praise him (Ps. 148:3). Only very rarely
is their light made a figure for God's glory and majesty (only in Ps.
84:11 ; Mai. 4:2 ; compare Matt. 17:2; Rev. 1:16).
In fact, it can be said that the heavenly bodies have no light of their
own; they are dependent as luminaries on a light which existed before
them. In the first chapter of Genesis, God creates the light before he
creates the sun and moon and stars. This first light (Gen. 1:3) is the
result of the creative word of God : it exists independently of the heavenly
bodies, and of all the works of creation it alone is singled out as "good"
(Gen. 1:4). The order of the creation is called "good55 in Gen. ι - *o,i2,
18,21,31—but the light itself, created by the word of God, is called good.
In thinking of Jesus as the light of the world, it is with this original light
that we have to deal.
 Jesus Christ, the Light of the World 441

There are several characteristics of this first light in creation. First

of all, it must be emphasized that it is given only by the word of God. It
comes from Yahweh. Therefore it is not surprising that the psalmist
55
exclaims, " . . . in thy light do we see light (Ps. 36:9). Only God gives
this light. And wherever his word is spoken, this light is created. Thus,
in Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my
55
path ; and in verse 130, "The unfolding of thy words gives light; it im­
55
parts understanding to the simple. In Psalm 19, this light given by
5
Yahweh s word is contrasted to the light given by the sun; and it is not
the sun which enlightens the eyes, but the law, the word of the Lord (Ps.
19:8). Throughout the Old Testament the affirmation is "The LORD is
55
God, and he has given us light (Ps. 118:27) ; that is, he has spoken his
word which creates light.
As would be expected from its connection with such an "active55 word,
however, this light does more than impart understanding. It gives life
and salvation. Those to whom light is given are those to whom deliver­
ance and healing are given (Mie. 7:8; Isa. 9 : 2 ; 4 2 : ι 6 ; 5 ΐ : 4 ; 5 8 : 8 ; 6 ο : ι ;
Ezra 9:8). The impartation of this light by God is synonymous with the
gift of life (Ps. 36:9; 56:13; Job 33:28-30). To express the fact that
God delivers him, the psalmist says, "Yea, thou dost light my lamp; the
55
LORD my God lightens my darkness (Ps. 18:28).
To receive the light of the word of God, then, is to be given joy
(Esther 8:16). This light is equivalent to good (Isa. 45:7) ; and in many
passages in the Old Testament the antithesis of good and evil is expressed
by the figures of light and darkness (Isa. 5:20; 59:9-10; Job 24:13-17;
30:26), as is also true in the New Testament (II Cor. 6:14; I John
i:5-7).
That the light is good is emphasized by the fact that God himself
dwells in light. He covers himself with light "as with a garment55 (Ps.
104:2). His brightness is like the light (Hab. 3:4). The light dwells
with him (Dan. 2:22), so that it can be said that he is light and salva­
tion (Ps. 27:1 ) and the flaming fire which protects Israel (Isa. 10:17).
In the Exodus story, Yahweh precedes Israel by night as a pillar of fire
( Exod. 13:21-22; Neh. 9:12 ; Ps. 78:14 ). And the New Testament pre­
serves this association of light and God by calling him "the Father of
lights55 (James 1:17), "the King of kings and LORD of lords w h o . . .
dwells in unapproachable light55 (I Tim. 6:15-16).
Therefore, to come to the light is in reality to come to God (Ps. 43:3 ),
and the call of the Old Testament is continually to "come, let us walk in
442 Interpretation

the light of the Lord55 (Isa. 2:5). As we have seen, this is an invitation
to walk according to God's word, which is the way of truth and life and
salvation.
The Old Testament has no hesitation about limiting the gift of light
to the faithful, or to those who live in fellowship with Yahweh (I Sam.
2:9). It proclaims that "light dawns for the righteous55 (Ps. 97:11 ), and
that "light rises in the darkness for the upright55 (Ps. 112:4); but it
warns that "the way of the wicked is like deep darkness55 (Prov. 4:19),
and "the lamp of the wicked will be put out55 (Prov. 13:9). God gives
light only to his own (Job 22:28), as is plainly seen in Job's wistful
remembrance :
Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me;
when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness
JOB 29:2-3
In view of this, it is interesting to note in the Exodus story that Yah-
weh sends a plague of thick darkness upon all the land of Egypt, ". . . but
all the people of Israel had light where they dwelt55 (Exod. 10:21-23).
Again, the king who rules in Israel in the fear of God becomes like the
morning light to his people (II Sam. 23:3-4). The Servant of the Lord
in Second Isaiah is given as a light to the nations (Isa. 42:6; 49:6).
And Daniel, in whom is the spirit of God, has light and understanding
and wisdom (Dan. 5:11,14).
Those who stand in living relation to the Lord are given the light of
the Lord, and they become mediators of this light to those round about
them, as in Romans 2:19-20. Thus in the New Testament the prophets
are compared to "a lamp shining in a dark place55 (II Pet. 1:19), and
John the Baptist is "a burning and shining lamp55 (John 5:35; compare
Luke 1:79). But most important, the members of the church are "the
light of the world55 (Matt. 5:14), those set to be "a light for the Gentiles55
(Acts 13:47), those who shine forth in the midst of a crooked and per-
verse generation (Phil. 2:14-16).
Fully to understand this biblical view of the light, however, we must
examine its antithesis ; that is, we must understand the nature of darkness.
In Genesis 1:2, darkness is associated with the primeval chaos (com-
pare Job 38:8-9). It is part of the waste and void with which God deals
in creation, and the nature of creation is the bringing of order out of
chaos.
 Jesus Christy the Light of the World 443

For thus says the LORD,

who created the heavens
(he is God!)
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it a chaos,
he formed it to be inhabited ! )
ISA. 45:18

To create this order which can be inhabited, God limits the chaos.
The chaotic waters, or deep, are held in check above the firmament and
below the earth (Gen. 1:6-7). The darkness is separated from the light
and given the boundaries of night (Gen. 1:4-5). The creation, there-
fore, is maintained intact and in order only by the power of God and his
creative word. If this word is withdrawn, the creation will return to its
primeval state of waste and void, completely without light (Jer. 4:23).
Darkness, then, has the nature of evil in the Old Testament because it
is opposed to God's will to create the good order of life; and those who
are godless or who oppose Yahweh5s will are invariably creatures of the
dark (as in Ps. 8215). Thus, the adulterer seeks the harlot "in the twi-
light, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness55 (Prov. 7:8-9).
Those who follow their own will and not Yahweh5s do their deeds in the
dark (Isa. 29:15). Those who worship other gods do so in the gloom
(Ezek. 8:12). It is "the dark places of the land55 which are "the habita-
tions of violence55 (Ps. 74:20). Those who forsake the paths of upright-
ness walk in the ways of darkness (Prov. 2:13; compare Eccles. 2:14;
5:i7).
This identification of darkness and evil is found also in the New
Testament. Jesus tells the mob which seizes him, "When I was with you
day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is
your hour, and the power of darkness55 (Luke 22:53). And St. Paul
writes that "we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against
the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this
present darkness . . .55 (Eph. 6:12).
In view of this, it is perhaps significant when the Fourth Gospel says
that Judas went out from the last supper, "and it was night55 (John
13:30). And it is twice repeated that Nicodemus, before his new birth,
"came to Jesus by night55 (John 3:2 ; 19:39). Further, in John 6:16-21,
we find the raging of the sea, with the disciples helpless before the mercy
444 Interpretation

of the deep, and the statement that "it was now dark, and Jesus had not
55
yet come to them. The temptation to interpret this passage in the con­
text of Genesis ι is almost irresistable, since the Lord proves his mastery
over the chaotic waters and darkness by walking on the sea, and the
disciples are then immediately delivered safely to the land.
It would seem that in both Old Testament and New, men participate
5
in a cosmic struggle between God s light and the darkness of chaos
through their belief or unbelief. For, as we read in Isaiah 45:19, God is
not made known through darkness and chaos, but through his creative
and active word.
It is not surprising that Sheol, the place of the dead in the Old Testa­
ment, is also a place of darkness (Job 10:21-22 ; 17:13 ; Ps. 49:19 ; 88:6,
18 ; 143:3 ; Eccles. 6:4 ; 11:8; Lam. 3:6). Orginally, Sheol was beyond
the reach of Yahweh (Ps. 88:12 ). In the New Testament those cast into
hell for the punishment of their sins are those who are committed to pits
of nether gloom (II Pet. 2:4,17; Jude 6,12-13). Darkness, in the Bible,
is evil and opposed to God.
Yet we must not think that the Bible is dealing with a cosmic dualism
of light and dark or good and evil, as in the religion of Zoroaster. It is
not. There is no thought that the darkness is equal in power to God5s
light. Rather, the Bible is being realistic. It recognizes that the power
of darkness is still at work in the world and that evil is abroad. But there
is no question in either Old Testament or New as to who is the absolute
sovereign. God rules over the darkness and the powers of evil. This is
expressed in many ways. First of all, God knows the darkness. He knows
where it is (Job 38:19), and he knows what it contains (Dan. 2:22). If
those who do the evil works of darkness think that God cannot see them
or observe their deeds (Isa. 29:5-6; Ezek. 8:12), they are mistaken;
"There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide them­
selves55 (Job 34:22). To Yahweh, that which is done in the dark is as
that which is done in the light (Job 12:22 ; Ps. 90:8) :

If I say, "Let only darkness cover me,

and the light about me be night,"
even the darkness is not dark to thee,
for night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with thee.
PS.139:11
 Jesus Christ, the Light of the World 445
The Old Testament writers even came to recognize that Sheol, the
land of forgetfulness, did not in its gloom lie beyond the rule of the Lord
(Ps. 139:8; Amos 9:3). And the ultimate statement of Yahweh5s sover-
eignty came when Second Isaiah declared that the darkness, too, had
been created by God (Isa. 45:7 ; compare Amos 4:13 ; 5:8).
This power of God over the forces of evil is expressed, moreover, by the
fact that God uses the darkness. He uses it to hide himself from the sight
of men (Ps. 18:11). Thus, at the Mount of Sinai, Yahweh5s presence is
veiled by "darkness, cloud, and gloom55 (Deut. 4 : 1 1 ; 5:22-23; Heb.
12:18). In the Temple, the Holy of Holies has no lamp, for Yahweh
"has said that he would dwell in thick darkness55 (I Kings 8:12; II
Chron. 6:1). In the Psalms, thick darkness is under God5s feet (Ps.
18:9), and "clouds and thick darkness are round about him55 (Ps. 97:2 ).
And when Yahweh draws near to Abram to cut a covenant, the patriarch
is shielded by a deep sleep and by a "dread and great darkness55 which
falls upon him ( Gen. 15:12).
That Yahweh uses the darkness to hide himself is largely an act of his
mercy, for man could not look on his glory and remain alive. Yahweh5s
covering of darkness in no way hinders his revelation of himself to his
people (Jer. 2:31; Job 22:12-20), and yet it must be noted in the New
Testament that this covering is completely done away (Heb. 12:18-24;
compare Luke 23:45 ).
God uses the darkness in another way. He uses it to bring his judg-
ment upon evildoers. This is a conception which is found in every part
of the Old Testament. In the list of curses in Deuteronomy 28, those
who do not obey the Lord will be smitten with "blindness and confusion
of mind55 and "shall grope at noonday as the blind grope in darkness55
(vss. 28-29). Or in the confession of Joshua 24, it is said that the Lord
destroyed the Egyptians at the Exodus by bringing darkness between
them and the Israelites (vs. 7). This darkness is again reminiscent of
Genesis 1 since it is connected with the sea, or chaos, in which the
Egyptian troops are then drowned (Isa. 51:9-1 o).
In the prophetic writings, God5s use of darkness in his judgment is a
common thought. The proud might of Egypt (Ezek. 30:18-19) o r As-
syria (Nah. 1:8) or Babylon (Isa. 47:5) will be plunged into darkness
by the Lord. But a sinful Israel will also be overwhelmed by thick gloom,
as in Lamentations 3:1-3,6. In Isaiah 5:30, Yahweh will unloose the
primeval chaos on his people—and chaos is characterized again, as in
446 Interpretation

Genesis 1, by the sea and darkness without light. In Jeremiah 25:10,

Israel is deprived of the light of the lamp (compare Rev. 18:23), and
the same prophet warns his people :

Give glory to the LORD your God

before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the twilight mountains,
and while you look for light
he turns it into gloom
and makes it deep darkness.
JER. 13:16

In both Micah 3:6 and Jeremiah 23:12, the reward of the false prophets
will be night without vision and darkness without divination and black-
ness in the day. And in Isaiah 8:22, those who consult mediums instead
of the word of the Lord will behold "distress and darkness, the gloom of
anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness.55
It is in this context that the psalmists call upon the Lord to send dark-
ness upon their enemies (Ps. 3 5 : 6 ; 6 9 : 2 3 ; compare Rom. 11:10), and
it is in this framework that the friends of Job argue that the wicked meet
with night (Job 5:14; 15:22,30; 18:5-6,18; 20:26; 2 2 : 1 1 ) . Indeed,
Job himself acknowledges that God "has set darkness upon my paths 55
(Job 1 9 : 8 ) , and from out of the whirlwind God declares to Job, "From
the wicked their light is withheld 55 (Job 3 8 : 1 5 ; compare Prov. 2 0 : 2 0 ) .
It is not surprising, therefore, that in the Gospel according to Matthew
the unfaithful are cast "into the outer darkness55 ( 8 : 1 2 ; 2 2 : 1 3 ; 25:30),
and that in the Apocalypse of John the kingdom of "the beast55 is plunged
into gloom (Rev. 16:10). God uses the darkness as an instrument of his
judgment, which is another way of saying that he has absolute power
over it.
Thus, the day of Yahweh 5 s ultimate judgment, the day of the Lord, is
always in the Old Testament a day of darkness and not light (Amos
5:18,20; Joel 2:2 ; Zeph. 1:15). It is the day when Yahweh looses upon
a rebellious world the gloom and thick darkness of the primeval chaos.
And against this background we should perhaps understand Luke's ac-
count of the Crucifixion: "It was now about the sixth hour, and there
was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun5s
 Jesus Christy the Light of the World 447

light failed55 (Luke 23:44-45). For as Amos had prophesied of the day
of the Lord :
And on that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
AMOS 8:9

Throughout the Old Testament, light is given to the faithful by God,

while for the unfaithful there is only darkness and gloom. Yahweh, as
the Lord of darkness and light, rules over his world.
We are now in a position to understand the proclamation of the
Fourth Gospel. Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God, that creative
Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3). He is the Word
which was first spoken when God said, "Let there be light55 (Gen. 1:3).
So he is the source of light. He is the light of the world, and without
him there is no light (John 9:4-5; 11:9-10; 12:35-36). Paul has the
same thought and reference to Genesis 1 when he writes, "For it is the
God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,5 who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ55 (II Cor. 4:6). Jesus Christ is the creative Word of God
which, as in the Old Testament, is the sole source of light for all men
(John 1:9).
In John, as in the Old Testament, darkness is acknowledged as still in
the world. And yet, as with the Lord of Israel, Jesus Christ is sovereign
over this force of evil. He is the light which shines in the darkness and
which the darkness cannot overcome (John 1:5).
Moreover, consonant with the Old Testament witness, Jesus Christ is
life-giving light. In him is life (John 1:4), and those who follow him
"will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life55 (John 8:12).
Indeed, those who believe in him, who walk in a personal relationship of
trust and obedience with him, will become sons of light (John 12:36).
They will not remain in darkness (John 12:46), but will walk in the
day. Throughout the New Testament, the good news is that Jesus Christ
has brought light and eternal life to all men (Acts 26:23 ; II Tim. 1:10).
The church, then, is often designated in the New Testament by the
title, "the sons of light55 (Luke 16:8; I Thess. 5:5), since it is the church
which clings to the one source of light, the Word of God, Jesus Christ.
Indeed, it is said in I Peter 2:9 that the church is "a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God5s own people, that [it] may declare
448 Interpretation

the wonderful deeds of him who called [it] out of darkness into his
marvelous light.55 It is the church which shares in "the inheritance
of the saints in light,55 because it is the church which God has de-
livered from the dominion of darkness55 and transferred to "the king-
dom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
sins55 (Col. 1:13-14). Put in other words, God has delivered the church,
through his Son, from the power of evil, and has set it under his own rule.
Like Israel in the Old Testament, the church is therefore to be a
mediator of the light. It is to be the body through which God5s light
shines forth to all the world. Its good, its light, is not to be hid under a
bushel or in a cellar, but it is to shine before men so that they may see
the good works of light and glorify God, who is the source of light (Matt.
5:14-16; Luke 11:33-36; compare Matt. 6:22; Luke 8:16-18). The
church, like Paul, is sent to all peoples "to open their eyes, that they
may tum from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God . . .55
(Acts 26:18).
In short, the church is to witness to the light in word and in deed. It
cannot do the works of evil and claim to be good; it cannot walk in
darkness and claim to have light (I John 115-7). "The fruit of light is
found in all that is good and right and true,55 in all that is "pleasing to
the Lord55 (Eph. 5:9-10). And unless the church serves its Lord, it will
join the forces of darkness.
So the church is to "cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor
of light55 (Rom. 13:12). That is, the church is to cling to Jesus Christ
and his will. Since it belongs not to the night but to the day, it is to put
on "the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of sal-
vation55 (I Thess. 5:4-8). The church, through its faith in the Light of
the World, is to join forces with God in his cosmic struggle against the
evil powers of darkness.
As in the Old Testament, there is no doubt about the outcome of the
battle. God is the Lord of light and of darkness. He will put down once
and for all the forces of evil. The Old Testament writers were sure of his
victory. Thus, Trito Isaiah could speak of a coming kingdom in which
The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
ISA. 60:19
 Jesus Christy the Light of the World 449

Before there dawned ever an Easter morn, Zechariah prophesied of a

time when "there shall be continuous day . . . not day and not night, for
at evening time there shall be light55 (Zech. 14:7). But the Old Testa-
ment proclamation yearned forward to the time when its certainty of vic-
tory would be realized, when the evil power of chaotic darkness would be
truly defeated. The Christian church looks back to an empty tomb and
sees in it the grave of all evil.
So the church walks in the light until the end, until the time when
there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, when sun and moon shall
be no more, when God will be all in all and light to every man, when the
lamp of the Eternal City will be the Lamb, and "the night shall be no
more."