The reign of darkness

The Reign of Darkness (Luke 22:53)
 
I once heard a public speaker observe that there is no such a thing as darkness. It is simply the absence of light. You can’t handle it, smell it, weigh it, or put it somewhere because it has no real substance. It is simply the absence of its counterpart. At night you think you can see it but what you are looking at is the absence of light.
        What brought this up in my thinking is the story of Judas giving Jesus that treacherous kiss in the garden of Gethsemane. After correcting the disciple who had whipped out his sword and cut off the ear of one of the officials who had come to capture him, Jesus touched and healed the man’s ear, then argued cogently that they could have arrested him during the day when he was teaching in the temple courts. He concludes his remarks saying, “but this is your hour – when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53). Darkness may not exist, as the speaker claimed, but it still has the power to reign. How could that be? A non-existent something has the authority to control something that does exist.
       It seems to me that this reflects a basic principle of sin. The hubris of darkness leads it to claim control of a situation. It walks into a difficult relationship and declares that from now on it’s in charge. It is like the actor who walks into the hospital declaring himself to be a professional surgeon. No one seems to have the nerve to correct such confident self-assurance. And so for several weeks professional darkness in the form of an actor pretending to be a surgeon is the accepted modus operandi. It is only when a superior authority from without unmasks the deception that things return to normal.
        When Jesus said that darkness was in control he was acknowledging that a non-entity was now in charge of what was happening. Obviously he could have changed it, but in fact he had surrendered himself to the role of Savior and that called upon him to not be that one from the outside who would take control.  It seems to me that life in the 21st century is operating in the same way. We believe that God is omnipotent and could have controlled the events of the day, but to fulfill his redemptive role in history called upon him to give the authority to a simple non-entity. Such condescension is remarkable!  The positive thing about this reversal of rule is that it allowed Jesus in his resurrection to reestablish sovereignty over everything including darkness. Never again would darkness be allowed to reign.  In the book of Revelation John speaks about there being no need of a sun in the new Jerusalem because the Lamb is its lamp and the glory of God gives it light (Rev. 21:23).
        Darkness has had its day. Whether or not it has substance, it has ruled secular culture throughout time. In heaven there will be no darkness, no tendency to direct human nature to serve its own interests, but every person’s desire will be for the benefit and welfare of the other. Darkness cannot exist in such brilliant light.