John 1:16-17
16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
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In these verses, John is pointing to one of the immediate changes that we find in the messiah. John does not expound on it, but instead hints ever so slightly that the Jewish expectations of the messiah may not be correct. The Jewish people expected a messiah to come and to reign immediately on the earth. However, as we know, Jesus did not – - at least, not on the earth. And so while John does not address this fact immediately, he does hint at it by indicating the purpose of Christ when he says, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” By connecting this statement to the one preceding it (the law was given through Moses), we also find the connection of Jesus to the Jewish scriptures.
Again, as indicated previously, John is setting the framework for our thoughts about Jesus prior to going into the events of His life. So, the function of this verse fits nicely into that overall purpose. First, John ensured in prior verses that we saw Jesus as more than a man. In fact, John told us that Jesus was God incarnate (come in the flesh). Now, John is telling us that his coming has essentially two purposes (among others):
Grace: Jesus came this first time to die on the cross. By doing so, He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice, bearing the judgment of God, and offering His grace to those who believe in Him.
Truth: For those who do believe Him, he offers truth, brought along by the Holy Spirit in our lives as we are molded and made into the image of Christ.
These two concepts are the primary reasons that the covenant held together by the law has been replaced. Jesus has provided a new way, a direct connection to the truth and grace of Christ.
Passages discussed in John Chapter 1: John 1:1, John 1:2, John 1:3, John 1:4, John 1:5, John 1:6-9, John 1:10-13, John 1:14, John 1:15, John 1:16-17
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Walking through the Bible is a verse by verse study of the Bible. A small segment of verses will be looked at each time and a brief, but relevant study of the text will be conducted.
Filed under: Walking through the Bible
