There are some dogs that like to chase cars. They run and bark – and generally act in the menacing fashion. Now, have you ever wondered what a dog would do with a car if he ever caught it? That is a funny thought.
When the Son of God came into our world people did not know what to do with Him. His righteousness embarrassed them, and His sense of personal authority frustrated them. Eventually, they simply tried to eliminate Him by crucifying Him on a cross. But three days later, they were right back where they started, because Jesus had risen from the dead, and His popularity was even more imposing than it had been before.
This is what the Apostle John meant when he wrote in the prologue of his Gospel. John 1:4-5 says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
Now the word for “comprehend” is the Greek word katalambano, which means “to seize, or grasp, or possess.” Actually, this word can be taken in one of two ways here. First, it can have the idea of “to grasp or comprehend,” and this is the way the King James Version translates it (in a similar fashion the NIV says, “the darkness has not understood it”). The unregenerate people of the darkness could not understand or comprehend who He was. Second, on the other hand, it can have the idea of “to overcome or take control.” For instance, the new English Standard Version translates it “and the darkness has not overcome it.” In other words, the people of the darkness could not control or subdue Him. Well, which ever way you translate katalambano, the result is the same.
Jesus was an enigma to the unregenerate world. They couldn’t comprehend who He was, and they couldn’t put Him into a box and control Him. They simply didn’t know what to do with Jesus.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Say, do you know what to do with Jesus? Well, those who are wise fall down and worship Him as Savior and Lord.