The Light the Darkness Cannot Understand

Gandalf, the Gospel of John, and Why Evil Fails

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it.”

John 1:5

The Greek word used here — katalambanō — is rich in meaning. It can be translated as to grasp, comprehend, or to seize, overpower. John, the master of layered irony, likely intends both. The darkness neither understood the light nor overcame it.

This theme — that light confounds darkness — is not only theological. It’s deeply literary.

Tolkien captures it perfectly in The Lord of the Rings, through the words of Gandalf:

“That we should seek to destroy the Ring has not yet entered into his darkest dreams.”

Sauron cannot imagine goodness. He cannot fathom self-sacrifice. He assumes everyone is like him — hungry for power, driven by domination. The idea that someone would carry the Ring not to use it, but to destroy it, is beyond his comprehension.

He doesn’t get it. He never will. That’s why he loses.

John’s Gospel: A Book of Misunderstood Light

John’s Gospel unfolds as a series of misunderstandings:

• Nicodemus hears “you must be born anōthen” — a word meaning both again and from above. He imagines crawling back into the womb. Jesus is talking about a heavenly rebirth.

• The Samaritan woman hears about living water and assumes Jesus is offering plumbing. She’s thinking wells; He’s thinking eternity.

These are not simple miscommunications — they’re deliberate narrative choices. John shows us again and again: when light enters the world, people fumble, confused by its strangeness. They expect one kind of power and encounter another.

And perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in the wilderness.

Jesus’ Temptation: Satan Doesn’t Get the Light Either

In Matthew 4, Satan tempts Jesus with the tools he thinks work on everyone:

• Bread: physical comfort

• Spectacle: self-preservation and public recognition

• Power: worldly kingdoms

But Jesus isn’t moved. He refuses shortcuts. He doesn’t need applause or dominion. Like Frodo, He walks the long, hard road — quietly, faithfully.

Satan, like Sauron, cannot imagine a person driven by love, humility, and obedience. He offers everything he values, not realizing that Jesus is playing by an entirely different script.

The Fellowship: Light in Community

The Ring is not destroyed by Frodo alone. It takes a Fellowship:

• Gandalf rejects power and becomes a servant

• Aragorn waits, heals, protects, and leads without grasping for the throne

• Legolas and Gimli overcome deep prejudice and form a true brotherhood

• Sam carries more than Frodo ever could

Sauron sees individuals. But the Fellowship is more than a group — it’s a bond. A koinōnia.

That same Greek word in 1 John — fellowship rooted in light and shared purpose:

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” (1 John 1:7)

Like the Church John envisions, the Fellowship isn’t strong because they agree on everything or come from the same place. They’re strong because they walk toward the light together, even through shadows.

Boromir and Gollum: Misunderstanding Isn’t Just for Villains

Boromir, noble and brave, falls not because he is evil — but because he thinks strength is the only path to salvation. He cannot imagine surrender as victory.

Gollum, consumed by the Ring, is shown mercy by Frodo — an act he cannot process. And yet, he becomes the final instrument of Sauron’s defeat.

Even those who misunderstand can still be used. Grace finds a way.

We Still Don’t Understand Light

We live in a world where:

• Power is admired

• Winning is everything

• Surrender looks like failure

And yet the Gospel — and Middle-earth — whisper a deeper truth:

The light shines. Quietly. Persistently. Unexpectedly.

And darkness still doesn’t get it.

The temptation, then and now, is to reach for the Ring. To take the shortcut.

But the call is to walk the road. Carry the burden. Stay with the Fellowship.

Fellowship in the Light

The First Letter of John echoes the Gospel’s beginning:

“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

“If we walk in the light… we have fellowship with one another.” (1 John 1:7)

This is not light that crushes. It confounds.

It’s not power as the world knows it. It’s a way of being — patient, generous, self-emptying.

Sauron didn’t understand it.

The tempter didn’t understand it.

Much of the world still doesn’t.

But the light shines on.

And we, if we dare, can walk in it — together.