13.02.08 Jn. 12:34-36; Mk. 11:19 Bethany
CALL FOR WALKING IN LIGHT
34 Then the crowd replied to Him, “We have heard from the scripture that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.
Mk. 19 And whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
“Believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” The phrase sons of light was used by the Essenes, as evidenced in their numerous Dead Sea Scrolls, especially in one scroll known as The Manuel of Discipline. The phrase means to have the knowledge of God. Darkness, on the other hand, means ignorance of God’s Word, because it is ignorance that leads to disobedience of His laws that in turn results in death. The phrase, as used by Jesus, was a common term throughout Judaism. The Essenes felt they were the exclusive sons of light, because they obeyed the strictest Mosaic Laws, and everyone else was a son of Darkness. The Apostle Paul used the term in his epistle to the Ephesians (5:8a) when he said, “Live as children of light,” meaning to live as children with the knowledge of God. Paul and Jesus did not endorse Essene theology, but used the same phrase that was well known and everyone understood it.
In the evening Jesus returned to Bethany, a short distance east of Jerusalem. He desired to spend the night there with close friends, before returning to the city in the morning. He probably stayed with Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead. There He could enjoy quietness, seclusion, and prepare Himself for the trials and anguish of the coming week. It is here His humanness is revealed. This peaceful village of believers was His home until His arrest.