Passage
And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.
John 1:5 (ASV)
Nearby Context
John 1:3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John 1:5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.
John 1:6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
John 1:7 The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "shineth", and "apprehended". It is saying that the contrast between light and darkness marks a real divide in how people respond to God's work.
The nearby context moves from verse 4's "In him was life and the life..." into verse 6's "There came a man sent from God...", so "light" and "darkness" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "darkness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.