Jesus faced the power of darkness at Gethsemane—Judas’s betrayal, the arrest, and the cosmic clash of light vs. darkness—while showing that the power of darkness is limited to an “hour” under God’s sovereign plan.
https://youtu.be/6cCpZlgUQIg
Table of contents*
Light and Darkness Are Metaphors for Good and Evil*
Judas Went Out When “It Was Night”*
Jesus Knew the Hour of Darkness Was Coming*
A High Priest Who Sympathizes with Betrayal*
Jesus’s Kindness to His Betrayer*
Choosing the Physical Over the Spiritual*
Acting Hastily Often Causes Problems*
Misdirected Zeal with Peter, Josiah, and Maybe Us*
Jesus’s Composure*
Jesus’s Rebuke to the Religious Leaders*
The Power of Darkness Is When Satan “Bruises Jesus’s Heel”*
The Power of Darkness Is Limited to One Hour
Growing up, I read The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. If you asked most people about popular fiction books with Christian themes, they would likely point to these stories. They are classic tales of good versus evil.
One thing I appreciate about them is that good always looks good, and evil always looks evil. You never have to guess who the good guys and bad guys are. Even when a good character like Boromir, in a moment of weakness, tries to take the ring from Frodo, or when Edmund denies Narnia’s existence to Peter and Susan to hide his relationship with the White Witch, their actions seem wrong. But I don’t think most media portrays this well, with sins like fornication and violence often being celebrated.
When
Judas betrayed Jesus, there was no mistaking the distinction between good and evil. Ultimately, Jesus describes the people’s actions as "the power of darkness.”
Light and Darkness Are Metaphors for Good and Evil
Many verses in the Bible teach that light and darkness are metaphors for good and evil. Here are a few examples:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness!
Darkness is associated with evil, while light is associated with good.
John 3:19 The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
People don’t reject Jesus because they don’t believe in Him. They reject Him, the light of the world, because they love darkness, referring to their sins, more than Him.
Acts 26:18 Open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.’
Paul associated salvation with turning from darkness to light.
Romans 13:12 Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
