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 contentsLight and Darkness Are Metaphors for Good and EvilJudas Went Out When “It Was Night”Jesus Knew the Hour of Darkness Was ComingA High Priest Who Sympathizes with BetrayalJesus’s Kindness to His BetrayerChoosing the Physical Over the SpiritualActing Hastily Often Causes ProblemsMisdirected Zeal with Peter, Josiah, and Maybe UsJesus’s ComposureJesus’s Rebuke to the Religious LeadersThe 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.
Again, darkness is used as a metaphor for evil, and light is employed as a metaphor for righteousness.1 I could provide more examples, but you get the picture.
Judas Went Out When “It Was Night”
This is the Last Supper, just hours before Jesus' arrest. There’s a detail that’s only found in John’s Gospel:
John 13:27 Then after he (referring to Judas) had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”...30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he (Judas) immediately went out. And it was night.
There are seven instances of demon possession in the Gospels, but this is the only instance of Satan entering someone. The phrase “It was night” isn’t just a description of when this happened physically. It is a description of what is happened spiritually: darkness has come. Many commentaries make this point. Here are a few:
The Moody Bible Commentary: “Darkness had descended both literally and symbolically.”2
John MacArthur: “It was the hour for Judas to be handed over completely to the power of darkness.”3
The Berean Study Bible: “The mention of 'night' is not merely a time indicator but carries deep symbolic meaning…night represents spiritual darkness and evil. Judas's departure into the night underscores his alignment with darkness.”
Before Judas left the Last Supper,