“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
My Notes
What Does John 1:17 Mean?
John draws a sharp contrast: the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law came first — good, holy, necessary — but limited. Grace and truth arrived in a person.
"Given" versus "came" is significant. The law was given — delivered, handed over, mediated through Moses. Grace and truth came — arrived in person, embodied, present. The law was a document. Grace and truth are a person.
Grace and truth together — the same pair from John 1:14 (full of grace and truth). John emphasizes that Jesus does not bring one without the other. Grace without truth is sentimental. Truth without grace is harsh. Jesus carries both fully.
The verse is not anti-law. The law was given by Moses — that was God's gift too. But it was preparation for something greater. The law diagnosed. Grace and truth healed.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What is the difference between the law being 'given' and grace and truth 'coming'?
- 2.How do grace and truth work together — and what happens when they are separated?
- 3.Where do you lean — toward grace at the expense of truth, or truth at the expense of grace?
- 4.How does encountering grace and truth in a person change the experience compared to reading it in a law?
Devotional
The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The law was a gift. Grace and truth were a person.
Given. The law was delivered — written on stone, mediated through a prophet, handed down across generations. It told you what was right. It could not make you right.
Came. Grace and truth did not arrive as a document. They arrived as a person — walking, breathing, touching, speaking. You cannot have a relationship with a stone tablet. You can have a relationship with Jesus.
Grace and truth. Together. Not grace at the expense of truth. Not truth at the expense of grace. Both, fully, in the same person. The radical kindness that does not ignore reality. The unflinching honesty that does not destroy the person hearing it.
The law showed you the standard and left you failing to meet it. Grace and truth came and met you where you were. The law said what should be. Jesus brought what is.
Which do you need more today — grace or truth? In Jesus, you never have to choose. He carries both.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the law was given by Moses,.... Both moral and ceremonial. The moral law was given to Adam, in innocence, which…
The law was given - The Old Testament economy. The institutions under which the Jews lived. By Moses - By Moses, as the…
The law was given by Moses - Moses received the law from God, and through him it was given to the Jews, Act 7:38.
But…
In these verses,
I. The evangelist begins again to give us John Baptist's testimony concerning Christ, Joh 1:15. He had…
The mention of -grace" reminds the Evangelist that this was the characteristic of the Gospél and marked its superiority…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture