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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
- 1 Th 5:5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
- John 8:59Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
- Acts 13:47–48For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
- John 1:7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
- Isa 60:1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
- Luke 16:8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
- 1 Jn 2:9–11He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
- 1 Th 5:8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
- Matt 21:17And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.
- John 11:54Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
- John 3:21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
- John 10:39–40Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
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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
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