While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of light.” After Jesus had spoken these things, He went away and was hidden from them.
Parallel translations
- WEB While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
- KJV While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and hid Himself from them.
- NLT Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.” After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.
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
Jesus calls people to believe in the light so they may become children of light, then withdraws and hides Himself. It marks a solemn turning point as His public appeals to the crowds come to an end.
Overview
To believe in the light is to be transformed into those who belong to it, sharing its character (cf. Eph 5:8). Jesus' departing and hiding signals the close of His open ministry to the crowds and the approach of His passion. The verse underscores that genuine faith unites a person to Christ and changes their very identity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Eph 5:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- 1 Th 5:5For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
- John 8:59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.
- Acts 13:47–48For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
- John 1:7He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.
- Isa 60:1Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
- Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
- 1 Jn 2:9–11If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- 1 Th 5:8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
- Matt 21:17Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.
- John 11:54As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.
- John 3:21But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
- John 10:39–40At this, they tried again to seize Him, but He escaped their grasp.
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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 12:36 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.