In the Gospel according to John one of the dominant themes of the work is light and darkness. Presumably the theme is borrowed from the first chapter of the book of Genesis where God spoke light into existence and thus brought the darkness into submission with the words, “Let there be light!” The text simply says, “And there was light.”

In these simple words there is a phenomenal revelation of truth. What God speaks comes to be. That is the ineffable nature of the God of Holy Scripture. His power is without limitation. Furthermore, in John’s treatment of the Logos (the divine Word) in chapter one of the book, the literary Prologue, he says that, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness overcame it not” (John 1:3-5).

It is plain that the author intends to explicate the notion that God had at first spoken the phenomenon of physical light into existence, and then in a similar fashion, still later in the biblical history by sending his Logos into the world, he planned to cast light upon the whole of the human race, “enlightening” it, so to speak, through the truths that would be taught through his Son. His Son was intended to be the ultimate light bearer.

We all understand that even a pinpoint of light, such as a candle in a very dark room, will pierce through the darkness and will perchance cast shadows upon the walls, in spite of the tiny and seemingly impotent light source that it represents. The power of light to abolish darkness is amazing indeed!

John avers that “the darkness overcame it not.” Darkness does not possess such power. Only light does. Sometimes we think that evil (the spiritual counterpart of darkness) is more powerful than it actually is. But in fact darkness only represents an absence of light. It has no independent power in and of itself. In a similar way cold and heat are related: cold is not an independent entity. It is simply an absence of heat.

So, darkness is never said to have been created. When there was no light, since it had not yet been created, there was only darkness. Again, darkness is obviously the absence of light. Where there is no light darkness prevails. But when there is light present, the light prevails.

Darkness is also a relative term, for where ever there is more light there is less darkness. It is also observable that light is what overcomes darkness, and not the reverse. So, when light is present, in whatever amount, whether little or much, precisely to that extent darkness is overcome. The opposite cannot ever be said to be true. For darkness is never the “force” that overcomes, since it is not within itself a source of power, it is manifestly the absence of the power which light represents. When the light is shut off the darkness prevails because the light is no longer the prevailing presence in the room. So, if the candle or the lamp is no longer burning, there is only darkness until the light again is lit.

As John further explains his theme, he writes about that John whom we call “the Baptizer” or “the Baptist.” He says that, “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not  that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lights every man who comes into the world” (vv. 6-9).

Our author wanted all who read his book to know that although John was a marvelous man and few have been his equal, still he was not “the true Light” of which he had much to say in the coming chapters. He also wanted the reader to know that if there was any enlightenment (spiritually speaking) that anyone would ever be privileged to have, it would come from this single source. The darkness of human existence has only one light source that is capable of bringing understanding, and that is the Logos or Word of John’s literary masterpiece. Jesus is that “true light” as John goes on to explain, and his luminescence cannot be shared by any other, even John the Baptist.

Subsequently, the writer expressed to his readership that this source of enlightenment and spiritual light had appeared among men. He wrote, “And the Word (Logos) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth” (1:14). So, the light had indeed pierced the darkness of man’s prevalent ignorance and benighted incognizance by appearing in the form of a human being who was at the same time God in the flesh. Heaven had revealed its long-held and greatest secrets through One who had come to pierce through and dispel the darkness of spiritual ignorance.

It must be remembered that most of ancient religion at the time was polytheistic and idolatrous. Men saw the heavens as peopled with all sorts of deities and viewed acceptable religion as some kind of physical representation of all of those gods and goddesses in the form of gold and silver symbols of their beings. That darkness of spiritual ignorance needed to be replaced with the light of truth about God. And since only Light was capable of accomplishing this great feat, that One who was in fact Light itself had appeared. Hence, it was his task to “turn the light on,” so to speak, and reveal both the true nature of deity and his desire for acceptable worship of Himself. So, in the Gospel of John Jesus addressed the nature of God at every turn, speaking of himself as God’s messenger, Messiah, and mouthpiece, and of God as the Eternal Father of the human soul. He also spoke of acceptable worship (John 4:20-24).

Thus, in his teaching to his disciples, Jesus explained, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). To this day many people live in the blackness of darkness. All of us need to know, however, that this is a condition which may be changed abruptly and readily. Just like turning on the light. The light will always dispel the darkness. The darkness itself has no power whatsoever to stop it. The light will always prevail. Following Jesus is like switching on the light for one who has been heretofore thrashing about in the gloom unilluminated. Continuing to walk in darkness is neither desirable nor necessary. Turn on the light!