Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ
John 1:17b grace and truth came through Jesus Christ
I. The Law gave them the shadow but not the reality (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1)
The law was ‘given’ (17a). The Jews relied on the law and boasted in God (Romans 2:17).
Even though they had the law, they didn’t know grace and truth. Their hearts were far from the Lord (Isaiah 29:13).
They brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery, who should be stoned according to the law, but they were so ignorant that the law condemns not only the woman but also themselves, not to mention that their intention to trap Jesus through this case was so wrong (John 8:3-11, neither do I condemn you). They didn’t know they were hypocrites (Romans 2:21-23, Matthew 23:13-39). They were in darkness and they needed the true light, Jesus.
II. Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ (17b)
Grace and truth had to ‘come’ [2] over (17b).
Many prophets and righteous people have been longing to see ‘grace’ and hear ‘truth’ but did not see or hear it (Matthew 13:17). Grace and truth revealed and declared by Jesus make the believers in A.D. greater than John the Baptist or any other great men before him (Matthew 11:11).
References
[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Anglicised Edition, 2011). (2011). (Revised and updated edition). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
[2] Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (p. 77). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
