And It Was Night

“…he (Judas Iscariot) then went out immediately. And it was night." John 13:30

This summer, we will be hiking to the bottom of Grand Canyon. One of the challenges of this hike is the vast temperature differential between day and night. Daytime temps can easily hit 100*F or higher, while night time temps dip to the mid 60’s. This type of temperature swing is very common in desert areas. If you’ve ever experienced these 30-40 degree swings, you’ll know why they pose such difficulties. Your body adapts to the extreme heat of the day, and then, at night even normally reasonable temperatures feel extremely cold to your body.

Night-time also brings other problems with it, and not just in the desert. In the wilderness, there are the nocturnal hunters, whose night vision far surpasses our own (lions, tigers and bears – Oh my!). In the city, there are other types of “hunters” looking for easy prey under the cover of darkness. “People love the darkness because their deeds are evil.” (John 3:19)

It is also extremely easy to become disoriented in the darkness. Without the daylight, landmarks are obscured, so navigation is made more difficult and any obstructions or hazards are that much more difficult to see. It is so important to have a light of some kind, lantern or flashlight, when you go hiking. You just never know when, or if, you will run into trouble and need to find your way in the dark.

We find the same problems in every other facet of our lives also. Let me explain.

The first passage quoted above is referencing what is known as the Last Supper. Jesus, Judas and the rest of the apostles are enjoying their final meal together. Judas was a man with problems (aren’t we all), but he was not without hope of God’s grace and forgiveness – yet. As long as he was in the presence of Jesus, he had that light. So it is with us - as long as we walk in Jesus’ presence, we have access to that same light.

You see, Jesus is THE light that we need to take with us. He is the never-ending source, constant stream of light for our lives. John 8:12 says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Also, Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Judas’ leaving was literal, as was the darkness. It was also symbolic spiritually. As long as we are with Jesus, we are in the light. When we leave his presence we are in the darkness. When Judas got up to leave, he was making a decision. The decision was to leave the presence of Jesus and when he did so, he went out into “the night.” Any time we step out from Jesus' presence we are, in effect, leaving the light for the darkness.

There are many ways "the night," or the darkness of life, is manifested in our lives. We are in darkness because of:

1. blindness – God has promised His children, those who have believed in Jesus as their Savior, a life of abundance. But, because of our spiritual blindness, we can’t see the light. John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” We are a prisoner to this blindness, but that is why Jesus came to Earth – to rescue us from that prison (“To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house” - Isaiah 42:7), and to restore our “sight” ("The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed” - Luke 4:18).

2. disobedience/guilt – Think back to the story of Adam and Eve. They were only told not to do one thing. And, like any good child, that is the one thing they did! And like any good child, they felt guilty about what they had done. When I was a kid, when I knew I had done something wrong, I ran and hid from my mom for as long as I could. I know most of us are no different. Neither were Adam and Eve – “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

3. Weariness/circumstances – This point is illustrated by the prophet Elijah. He had just seen God whip all of the false prophets of the false god Baal in a contest and now he was discouraged because the reigning king of Israel was out to get him. We find him having a swell pity party in 1Kings 19:4, “But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

We’ve all found ourselves in these circumstances at one time or another. The darkness just seems so gloomy and heavy and there seems to be no escape from it. But there is a common cause and a way of escape. We’ll find out what it is --- next time.