This verse continues the theme of judgement introduced in the two preceding verses. If God sent his Son into the world to save the world, why then are some men still under God’s judgement? Verses 19 and 20 answer this question.
This is how the judgement works is literally “this is the judgement,” which Good News Translation takes to mean “This is how God judges the world,” and so it refers to the way in which God’s judgement is accomplished. That is, God sends his light … into the world, and the judgement is a natural outcome of man’s rejection of the light. New English Bible also takes this expression as a reference to the way God brings about his judgement, and so translates “Here lies the test.” Although condemnation is an inevitable outcome of the coming of the light into the world, the focus seems to be on the way God judges the world, rather than on the resulting condemnation. However, New American Bible makes the aspect of condemnation explicit: “The judgement of condemnation is this.” Jerusalem Bible reads “On these grounds is sentence pronounced,” laying stress on the manner in which the judgement is accomplished and suggesting the nature of the sentence.
The meaning of this is how the judgement works may be expressed in some languages as: “This is the basis on which God judges the world”; “This is how God decides whether people are guilty or innocent”; “This is how God counts things up when he judges people” or “This is just how God says you are innocent or you are condemned.” In some languages it may be necessary to be clear about distinctions in judging, and therefore a fuller expression may be required, for example, “This is how God says to some people, You are innocent, and how he says to other people, You are guilty.”
The light has come into the world refers to a past action that has a continuing effect in the present: the light has come and remains in the world. It may be meaningless to say the light has come into the world, for to some people it may mean merely that daybreak has come, or that the sun is shining. Since, as noted in 1.5, light refers to the truth about God, one can possibly say, “the light, as truth about God, has come into the world,” which would specify what is meant by light. When it is not possible to say “light as truth has come,” one may say that people themselves are aware of such truth, for example, “People in the world have become acquainted with the light from God” or “… the light about God.”
Love translates a Greek tense that would normally refer to an act in past time. This meaning is suggested by the past tense rendering of “love” (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) and “preferred” (New English Bible). Or this same Greek tense can be used to describe events which habitually take place when people confront the light. This sense is conveyed by Good News Translation and by Jerusalem Bible “have shown they prefer” (see also Moffatt). Phillips has “have preferred,” and Goodspeed, “have loved.”
In some languages it is possible to preserve the figurative meaning of the clause but people love the darkness rather than the light by translating “but people love night rather than daylight.” However, only rarely can the contrast between night and day also suggest the difference between evil and righteousness. Light is more than mere truth about God; it is the kind of truth which leads to moral or righteous behavior. Similarly, darkness is not merely the absence of knowledge, but the sin which proceeds from the rejection of truth. The figurative meanings in this sentence may therefore be expressed in some languages as “but people love the darkness of their sins rather than the light of truth about God” or “… the light which comes from God.”
On the meaning of light and darkness, see 1.5. It is obvious that light here refers to God’s revelation of himself, while darkness suggests the opposite.
The Greek expression that Good News Translation renders rather than can also have the meaning “more than.” In the present context it is obvious that the meaning is rather than, and nearly all modern translators render the expression in this way. The fact is not that men love darkness “more than” light, but rather that they love darkness rather than light. According to John’s thinking, light and darkness are absolute categories, as are life and death.
Because their deeds are evil is similar in thought to 7.7. It may be both appropriate and necessary to introduce into the clause because their deeds are evil an expression indicating habitual action, roughly equivalent to “because they constantly do what is evil” or “since they habitually engage in evil actions.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .