‘Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light lest the darkness overtakes you, for he who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become the sons of light”.'
As we have seen Jesus did not answer directly. He was not concerned with theological discussion but with genuine response from those in the crowd. Let them rather consider their present position. There is One among them Who is revealing God's truth, revealing the light. While He is with them they need to take full advantage of the situation, otherwise there will come a time when He has gone and they will be left only in darkness.
Then they will be left wandering around blindly not knowing where they were going (perhaps Deuteronomy 28:65 was in Jesus' mind here). Instead of having the light they will be left with the blind leaders of the blind. So now while He is still here they must seize their chance. They can respond now to His truth in full faith, thus becoming sons of light, those who are the product of the shining Light, or the alternative will be to be left in darkness. They must stop arguing about the niceties of the Son of Man and the Messiah, and concentrate on His present light. Then all else will begin to fall into place.
‘The light is with you for a little while longer'. The first reference was to Jesus and His soon departure. But the words may include the thought that that light would continue to shine on them through His disciples until darkness descended on Jerusalem through its final destruction in 70 AD. It also reminds us that we too have but ‘a little while longer.'
‘Walk while you have the light.' Light will not always be there. Men must respond when it shines otherwise their hearts may become hardened with the result that they find themselves in darkness. Then they will become lost and unable to find the way.
‘Sons of light.' Let them be born again through the light that shines on them and thus go on to reveal the light through their lives, demonstrating that they are truly sons of light, the seed of Him Who is the Light of the world (John 8:12). The term ‘sons of light' was in current circulation in Palestine at the time and is evidenced at Qumran. But different parties gave it different emphases. To Jesus it meant those who followed Him as the light of the world. To the Qumranis it indicated those who brought themselves within the community covenant and obeyed their teaching.