That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Parallel translations
- WEB The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
- KJV That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
- BSB The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
- NASB This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person.
- NLT The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The true light, Jesus, was entering the world to give light to everyone. He is the genuine source of spiritual illumination for all humanity.
Overview
Jesus is called the 'true' light — the real and ultimate one to which all lesser lights point. His coming into the world brings light that confronts and offers understanding to every person, regardless of nation. Faithful Christians read this as Christ being the light available to all and the only Savior, though they discuss precisely how His enlightening reaches each person.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 12:46I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
- John 1:4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
- 1 Jn 2:8Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shines.
- Isa 49:6Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel? I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
- 1 Th 5:4–7But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.
- John 1:7The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
- 1 Jn 5:20We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
- John 6:32Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
- John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- Isa 8:20Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Matt 6:23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
- John 15:1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
- John 7:12There was much murmuring among the multitudes concerning him. Some said, “He is a good man.” Others said, “Not so, but he leads the multitude astray.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.
Seminary
- ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 1:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.