Last week we began looking at this passage under the heading of the triumph of Christmas. We noted that the passage employs several contrasts, and we examined the first one in the first five verses: the triumph of the new creation over the old. Jesus, the Word, the one who is distinct from God and yet shares the identity of God, shines his light into our darkened world in order to make us new creations. And he does so in a triumphant manner, changing who we are on the inside so that we willingly embrace the light.

Today I want us to look at the last two triumphs, in vv. 6–13, where we see: the true light triumphs over the witness and receiving Jesus triumphs over rejecting Jesus.