But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
Jesus spoke these words when He insisted on returning to Judea to awake Lazarus though the disciples feared stoning, having waited until Lazarus died to give undoubted proof of His divine power. To walk in the night is to take a path God has not called one to walk, without His guiding light within, and such a one will stumble and is not secure, while he who does God's will is led safely to the close of his work. Walking in the day is staying by obedience in the pure light of Heaven, which is the path of safety, while walking in darkness outside obedience leaves one open to a cunning foe working through unseen agents to deceive and turn him from the right way. To reject Christ is to reject light and be left with no light within, as those who opposed Him were blinded by prejudice and hatred so their hearts could not be reached despite all His works of mercy and power. Drawing nearer to that light brings ever-increasing illumination that carries the just from strength to strength and from grace to grace to meet new responsibilities.
Setting in Lazarus Story
The saying belongs to the Lazarus account at Bethany, in the peaceful household where Jesus often found rest and hospitality and sincere welcome and pure holy friendship away from suspicion and jealousy. There He longed for and received human tenderness and found interested listeners who understood and treasured His words. There He opened the volume of providence to an appreciative audience and spoke with simplicity and perfect freedom without parables.
Martha and Mary expected Jesus to come and heal sick Lazarus, but Jesus waited two days after hearing he was sick and Lazarus died before He arrived. He then told His disciples to go into Judea again because their friend Lazarus slept that He might awake him out of sleep, meaning Lazarus was dead.
The disciples tried to stop His return to Judea because the Jews had lately sought to stone Him, but Jesus insisted He must go because Lazarus was dead. He said He was glad He had not been there to the intent they might believe. His two-day delay did not come from lack of interest in the stricken family but was designed to make the death an occasion for undoubted proof of His divine power that would unite His disciples to Him in a faith that could not be broken. Some of them were already questioning whether they had been deceived about His divine power and whether if He were really the Christ He would not have saved Lazarus whom He loved, so He planned a crowning miracle to convince all who could by any means be convinced that He was the Saviour of the world.
Jesus did not go at once because in His immediate presence disease was always rebuked and He could not witness suffering or death without bringing relief and combatting the power of Satan. The death was permitted so that through the resurrection the last and crowning evidence might be given to the Jews that He is the Son of God. This was shown when after Lazarus had been dead four days Christ called him out of the tomb. This displays His power to raise the dead and points to His return when the dead in Christ will rise to immortal life and be with the Lord.
Through all this conflict with evil the darkened shadow of His own death was before Him as the means to pay the ransom for souls, with greater pain mingled with mockery and greatest humiliation. When He raised Lazarus He knew He must pay the ransom for that life on the cross, with every rescue bringing deepest humiliation because He was to taste death for every man. Though strong to save the whole world He wept at the grave at the thought that He could not save everyone Satan had laid low in death. He had given Himself a ransom for many, even all who would avail themselves of coming back to loyalty to God, whom the Father had given as His only begotten Son a sacrifice for sin and transgression.
Walking in Night and Day
To choose a path God has not called a person to walk is to walk at night without God's guiding light, and such a one will stumble and is not secure, while God's guiding Spirit gives clear understanding of duty and leads those who do God's will safely to the close of their work. To walk in the night is to live without divine light within, outside obedience, where a cunning foe who works in darkness through unseen representatives can deceive and turn a person from the right way to stumbling, while to walk in the day is to stay in the pure light of Heaven by obedience, which is the path of safety. To reject Christ is to reject light and to walk in the night with no light within, so that one stumbles, and the Jews who opposed Him were blinded by prejudice and insane hatred and resolutely rejected the light in Him, so their hearts could not be reached. This was so even though He had been touched by human woe and had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, walked upon the sea and stilled its roaring, cast out devils, raised the dead, and held thousands by His words of wisdom.
All who are disciples of Christ shall walk in the light of God's holy Word, and earnest testimony with appeals and warnings calls them to do so in connection with the resurrection of Lazarus. Drawing nearer to that light brings increasing divine illumination in step with onward movement. That growing light qualifies a person to meet new responsibilities and emergencies, so the life of the just moves progressively from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory.
Obedient Walk in Life
Walking in the light is following the path of obedience, and that obedient path is the path of safety. To refuse that path is to walk in darkness without light within, and to stumble. That refusal brings serious failures and serious mistakes, and produces a sickly, stunted religion and a spiritually stunted life.
Walking in the light may be hard on self and may require self-denial. Yet earnest effort prompted by love for souls and love for others strengthens the heart. That same loving effort develops Christian graces and Christian character.
One who walks in darkness stumbles because there is no light in him, and light is better than darkness. Instruction therefore puts light upon the path, warns of danger, and helps people avoid harm, as in teaching about unchastity. The same stumbling in darkness without light marks unconsecrated, unconverted ministers who labor from self rather than from Christ. They are spiritually blind, failing to see the dangers of their work, stumbling onward while remaining self-confident and self-sufficient.
Jesus spoke these words when He insisted on returning to Judea to awake Lazarus though the disciples feared stoning, having waited until Lazarus died to give undoubted proof of His divine power. To walk in the night is to take a path God has not called one to walk, without His guiding light within, and such a one will stumble and is not secure, while he who does God's will is led safely to the close of his work. Walking in the day is staying by obedience in the pure light of Heaven, which is the path of safety, while walking in darkness outside obedience leaves one open to a cunning foe working through unseen agents to deceive and turn him from the right way. To reject Christ is to reject light and be left with no light within, as those who opposed Him were blinded by prejudice and hatred so their hearts could not be reached despite all His works of mercy and power. Drawing nearer to that light brings ever-increasing illumination that carries the just from strength to strength and from grace to grace to meet new responsibilities.
Setting in Lazarus Story
The saying belongs to the Lazarus account at Bethany, in the peaceful household where Jesus often found rest and hospitality and sincere welcome and pure holy friendship away from suspicion and jealousy. There He longed for and received human tenderness and found interested listeners who understood and treasured His words. There He opened the volume of providence to an appreciative audience and spoke with simplicity and perfect freedom without parables.
Martha and Mary expected Jesus to come and heal sick Lazarus, but Jesus waited two days after hearing he was sick and Lazarus died before He arrived. He then told His disciples to go into Judea again because their friend Lazarus slept that He might awake him out of sleep, meaning Lazarus was dead.
The disciples tried to stop His return to Judea because the Jews had lately sought to stone Him, but Jesus insisted He must go because Lazarus was dead. He said He was glad He had not been there to the intent they might believe. His two-day delay did not come from lack of interest in the stricken family but was designed to make the death an occasion for undoubted proof of His divine power that would unite His disciples to Him in a faith that could not be broken. Some of them were already questioning whether they had been deceived about His divine power and whether if He were really the Christ He would not have saved Lazarus whom He loved, so He planned a crowning miracle to convince all who could by any means be convinced that He was the Saviour of the world.
Jesus did not go at once because in His immediate presence disease was always rebuked and He could not witness suffering or death without bringing relief and combatting the power of Satan. The death was permitted so that through the resurrection the last and crowning evidence might be given to the Jews that He is the Son of God. This was shown when after Lazarus had been dead four days Christ called him out of the tomb. This displays His power to raise the dead and points to His return when the dead in Christ will rise to immortal life and be with the Lord.
Through all this conflict with evil the darkened shadow of His own death was before Him as the means to pay the ransom for souls, with greater pain mingled with mockery and greatest humiliation. When He raised Lazarus He knew He must pay the ransom for that life on the cross, with every rescue bringing deepest humiliation because He was to taste death for every man. Though strong to save the whole world He wept at the grave at the thought that He could not save everyone Satan had laid low in death. He had given Himself a ransom for many, even all who would avail themselves of coming back to loyalty to God, whom the Father had given as His only begotten Son a sacrifice for sin and transgression.
Walking in Night and Day
To choose a path God has not called a person to walk is to walk at night without God's guiding light, and such a one will stumble and is not secure, while God's guiding Spirit gives clear understanding of duty and leads those who do God's will safely to the close of their work. To walk in the night is to live without divine light within, outside obedience, where a cunning foe who works in darkness through unseen representatives can deceive and turn a person from the right way to stumbling, while to walk in the day is to stay in the pure light of Heaven by obedience, which is the path of safety. To reject Christ is to reject light and to walk in the night with no light within, so that one stumbles, and the Jews who opposed Him were blinded by prejudice and insane hatred and resolutely rejected the light in Him, so their hearts could not be reached. This was so even though He had been touched by human woe and had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, walked upon the sea and stilled its roaring, cast out devils, raised the dead, and held thousands by His words of wisdom.
All who are disciples of Christ shall walk in the light of God's holy Word, and earnest testimony with appeals and warnings calls them to do so in connection with the resurrection of Lazarus. Drawing nearer to that light brings increasing divine illumination in step with onward movement. That growing light qualifies a person to meet new responsibilities and emergencies, so the life of the just moves progressively from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory.
Obedient Walk in Life
Walking in the light is following the path of obedience, and that obedient path is the path of safety. To refuse that path is to walk in darkness without light within, and to stumble. That refusal brings serious failures and serious mistakes, and produces a sickly, stunted religion and a spiritually stunted life.
Walking in the light may be hard on self and may require self-denial. Yet earnest effort prompted by love for souls and love for others strengthens the heart. That same loving effort develops Christian graces and Christian character.
One who walks in darkness stumbles because there is no light in him, and light is better than darkness. Instruction therefore puts light upon the path, warns of danger, and helps people avoid harm, as in teaching about unchastity. The same stumbling in darkness without light marks unconsecrated, unconverted ministers who labor from self rather than from Christ. They are spiritually blind, failing to see the dangers of their work, stumbling onward while remaining self-confident and self-sufficient.