³⁵ 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. ³⁶ 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.

12:35

Then Jesus said to them,

Jesus now replied to their question “Who is this Son of Man?” Instead of directly answering their question, Jesus warned them about the little time they had with Him. They had a unique advantage by His presence among them. This was not the time for capricious questions. The time to believe in Him had run out.

“A little while longer the light is with you.

The occasion for the crowd to be with Jesus was limited. He had one week before His crucifixion. Their opportunity for direct exposure to the light was quickly closing.

The “light” here was self-revelation by Jesus. This was Jesus’ final appeal to the public before He went to the cross. He could illumine eternal issues.

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you;

Jesus gave two exhortations here:

Walk in the light

Believe in the light

When the Light leaves the world, darkness will dominate the system of what people believe (Ro 13:12). It was inevitable that darkness would come at the time of the cross. If they “walked” in the light, it would not be an overpowering experience.

he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

“He who walks in darkness” refers to the unbeliever (Eph 5:8; Co 1:13-14; 1 Th 5:5). These people do not know where they are going eternally without revelation.

12:36

While you have the light,

There was a special opportunity to embrace the light while He was present with the people. Jesus Himself was the “light.” This offer of the light was about to be withdrawn.

believe in the light,

Jesus is the light of the world. He is worthy of belief. Belief in the revelation and illumination from the Lord is at the heart of eternal conversion.

that you may become sons of light.”

As we believe the light, we see the light and bind ourselves to it.

“Sons of light” are those who identify with Jesus and His purpose, His disciples. A believer has the qualities of “light,” since he or she has established a relationship with Christ.

These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Jesus hid Himself from His questioners. The crowd would not see Jesus again until His trial and crucifixion. His public life had come to a close. The reality of the darkness of which Jesus just spoke was beginning. Jesus hid from people who refused to believe on Him.

PRINCIPLE:

We need to act on the light that we have.

APPLICATION:

If we act on the light Jesus gives us, then we enter genuine knowledge of the Son of Man. It is necessary to give up our preconceived notions of who He is. Acting on revelation is at the heart of becoming a Christian. If we do not use the light, we lose it.

Rejected light is author of dense darkness. People who refuse to believe in Jesus put thicker darkness around themselves, making it more difficult to believe in Jesus.

Decisions about eternity must be made in time.