![]() ![]() In many ways, it is a verse about the saving power of love-the most healing force in all the world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16 (KJV) In many ways, the most popular verse in all the Bible is about Jesus healing a lost and broken world. That is something we all long for, and not just in a pandemic year.Įven more than the wisdom of his teachings, one of the first things that comes to mind when we think of Jesus’s ministry was his supernatural power of healing.Ī single touch, or, in the case of a centurion’s servant, simply speaking the words, brought miraculous and transformative healing to the bodies of the suffering.įor Lazarus of Bethany and a temple leader’s daughter, he even brought resurrection from the dead.īut Jesus’s power of healing extends far beyond the confines of our mortal frames. Who shone his purity into our lives so that we could live in his light for eternity. Whose every word was the Word shining light into our ignorance and sin.Ī man who set a perfect example. ![]() ![]() The righteousness that our hearts hunger and thirst for daily ( Matthew 5:6).Ī man who needed no filter when he spoke. On the very first Christmas, a purity brighter than all our babies put together came into the world. It is their purity that draws us to them, that makes us want to bask in a goodness our world-weary hearts can only yearn for. Our whole world gets a little bit brighter in their presence. In this season of the year, what better way to symbolize the pureness of Christ than the likeness of a newborn baby?Įveryone loves babies. But purity personified in Christ reminds us that it is a very good, attractive, and necessary quality in our sin-cursed world. As cognizant adults, we are painfully aware of our own lack of purity. The word itself may make some of us a little uncomfortable. The greater context of John 1 attests to this, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1 (KJV) Understanding and truth are foundational tenets of the light of the Trinity. So the original King James translation that the darkness “comprehendeth” it not also bears weight. And obscuring God’s truth and evil are also the same. In other words, understanding God’s truth and goodness are one and the same. The New International Version of “ overcoming” conveys the Greek implication of conflict.īut throughout the Bible, light has a dual association with both truth and goodness, just as darkness is linked to lies and evil. One implies a passive, even sedentary appraisal, and the other, a fierce struggle for victory.īut Crosswalk author Rick Renner explained the intent of the original Greek wording in his article “ Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light.” According to Renner, “comprehended” is built from a combination of “kata,” the Greek word for dominating or defeating, and “lambano” which means “seizing.” Put together, you get the sense of that fierce struggle for victory more than an academic analysis. In our modern English word-sense “comprehending” and “overcoming” are not exactly synonymous. Why would the same verse use such very different words in the English translations? Jesus is our “Light that shines in the darkness.” Did you notice the major difference in the two versions of John 1:5? Darkness not “comprehending” the light versus darkness not “overcoming” it? It seems a little off. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5, NIV What Does the ‘Light in the Darkness’ in John 1:5 Mean? “And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.” – John 1:5, KJV ![]()
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