{But if a man walk in the night} (ean de tis peripat(8869) en
t(8869) nukti). Third condition again. It is spiritual darkness that
Jesus here pictures, but the result is the same. See the same
figure in 12:35 ( 1Jo 2:11 ). The ancients had poor
illumination at night as indeed we did before Edison gave us
electric lights. Pedestrians actually used to have little lamps
fastened on the feet to light the path. {In him} (en aut(9369)).
Spiritual darkness, the worst of all (cf. Mt 6:23 Joh 8:12 ).
Man has the capacity for light, but is not the source of light.
"By the application of this principle Christianity is
distinguished from Neo-Platonism" (Westcott).
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