This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
Men have loved darkness rather than light; for their works were evil ... Jesus thus revealed that loving darkness rather than light is due, not to intelligence or learning, but to evil works.  In an age when infidelity masquerades under all kinds of disguises, especially that of intelligence and erudition, this is an extremely important verse.  Its very first application, of course, was to the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' time, who pretended such a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, but who, in the last analysis, knew nothing at all about them.  Yes, there was a sense in which such people knew the Scriptures; but, unless knowledge is held in good and honest hearts (and in their case, it was not), then even knowledge itself becomes darkness in the soul.