Theme of light and darkness in the gospel of john

He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. The phrase is recorded in the gospels of matthew and john. As we shall see presently, john derived the imagery of the dark world from the hellenistic circles he was trying to convert. King james bible and the light shineth in darkness. Consistent with the old testament teaching on light and darkness outlined in my previous post the old testament background to the concept of light and darkness in johns gospel, the gospel of john clearly identifies jesus of nazareth as being the spiritual light of the universe. How many times does the word light appear in the gospel of. Light and darkness in johns gospel is an antithesis that has symbolic. Light of the world is a phrase jesus used to describe himself and his disciples in the new testament.

The story of the storytellers the gospel of john from. This word of god logosmemra played an exclusive rule in the creation of the world, as we read in the verses above. Craun and bellomo are students at roberts wesleyan college completing an honors option for. The use of light and darkness as metaphors can be found in many ancient documents, such as one called the war scroll, or more properly, the war of the. Christian standard bible that light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. Gospel of john gjohn utilizing conceptual metaphor theory.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Closely related to our study of jesus glory is the persistent theme of the conflict of light vs. The gospel of john contains some of the profoundest truth. To the author of the gospel, the word of god was both distinct from god and yet at the same time was in some way truly god. Under blackout conditions, even a small light peeking through would be visible, and would seem especially bright in contrast to the darkness around. There came a man sent from god, whose name was john. If light in the gospel of john can show off whats true and good, darkness usually means something shady is happening. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all through him might believe. Lightin the gospel of john asbury theological seminary. The gospel of john is now known to have been loosely based on lukes gospel, with some material taken direct from mark, the original new testament gospel. Motifs of light and darkness are woven throughout the gospel. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

There was a man sent from god, whose name was john. The concept of light and darkness in johns gospel berith road. It wouldnt quite be the same if the sun was shining down, illuminating the evil. In particular, its dualistic themes such as lightdarkness can be found in the dead sea. Tanner craun and aaron bellomo discuss the theme of light and darkness in the gospel of john. A biblical theology of darkness and light feeding on christ. So i thought i would take a deeper look into the subject for this weeks lesson. Get an answer for what themes appear in john s prologue that appear throughout his gospel that make it unique from the other gospels in the new testament. John mark was the writer of gospel of mark acts 12. What is the main theme of the gospel of john answers. It is seen throughout the new testament and some of the old. As the gospel unfolds, its clear that the darkness that neither understands nor overcomes the light is the dark world of judaism, the nighttime. Light is an almost universal symbol of god, goodness, and supernatural illumination hcbd, 607 and the author of the gospel of john readily.

Participant handout guides if you are working with a class or small group, feel. Its no surprise that judass big betrayal happens at night. He came as a witness, to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. These assertions build on the christological theme of john 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.