Grace and Truth
The Gospel of John begins by introducing key themes that are expanded in the body of the book - Life, Light, Witness, Truth, and Grace. Jesus is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle, the only born Son of God, and the only one who has seen the Father. The introduction concludes by declaring that he is the only one who is qualified to interpret the unseen God since he alone has seen Him.
As incomprehensible as this is to the “wisdom
of this age,” the lowly man from Nazareth who died utterly alone on a Roman
cross is, in fact, the “way, the truth, and the life. No comes to the Father
except through him!” There is no life or knowledge of the one true God
apart from Jesus - (John 14:6).
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| [Photo by Taylor Foss on Unsplash] |
The introduction concludes with a significant contrast – Rather than Moses, Jesus is the only one who interprets the Father. John’s purpose is to present him as the one who reveals God and makes Him known to men (“He is in the bosom of the Father, he declared him”).
- (John 1:14-18) – “And the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us, and we gazed upon his glory, glory as an only-born from his Father, full of grace and truth… Because from his fullness we all received, even grace over against grace. Because the law was given through Moses, grace and truth through Jesus Christ came to be. No one has seen God at any time. The only born, the One who is in the bosom of the Father, He has interpreted…”
HE INTERPRETS
In contrast to Moses, “grace and truth came to be through Jesus.” This declaration challenged
beliefs about the Law held by many Jews in the first century. The “loving-kindness
of Yahweh” is found in Jesus, not the Torah.
The term rendered “interpreted” translates the Greek verb exégeomai, which means to “lead out, explain, interpret.” Here, it
has no direct object in the Greek clause. There is no “him” after the verb “interpreted.”
Therefore, the clause remains open-ended. Jesus is the interpreter of all things
and words related to his Father.
The clause, “only born Son,” expands on verse 14 - “We beheld his glory, a glory as of an ONLY BORN from a father, full of
grace and truth.” “Jesus Christ” is the one who unveils and provides
“grace
and truth” to humanity.
Moreover, throughout the Gospel of John,
he is the one who “interprets” and reveals the “unseen God” to any
man who responds to him in faith - (John 6:46, 8:38, 14:7-9, 15:24).
He is not just another in a long line of prophets. Jesus the Nazarene is the ultimate expression of God, His “word made flesh.” The Father can be seen and understood only in and through him.
The Gospel of John does not present
a Messiah who is identical to the Father, but one who knows and reveals the
Living and True God. Therefore, anyone who has “seen” Jesus has “seen”
the Father and received “Grace and Truth.”
John’s Gospel contrasts this “only born Son”
with the Mosaic legislation. All things were made according to the “Word,”
the Logos, and not according to the Torah.
The Mosaic Law certainly had its place in
God’s redemptive plan, but it is superseded by the “Word made flesh.” Light
and life are found only in Jesus. In him, God’s “glory” is being
revealed to His children.
In the Book of Exodus, Moses was
only permitted to see the “backside,” the afterglow of God’s
glory while Yahweh covered him with His “hand” in the hollow of a rock
as He passed by - “You cannot
see my face, for no son of earth can see me and live” – (Exodus
33:17-22, 34:6-7).
In contrast to Moses, Jesus dwells in God’s
very “bosom.” He has seen the Father face to face, therefore, he is the
only one who can “declare” and represent the invisible God to the world -
(Exodus 33:17-22).
The “Word made flesh” is the True
Tabernacle in which the presence of God now dwells. Moses certainly gave the
Law, but “Grace and Truth” have been unveiled in all their splendor in
the man from Nazareth.
The purpose of the Gospel of John is
not to denigrate Moses or the Torah, but instead, to highlight the full
and final revelation of God that now and forevermore is found in Jesus Christ.
In him alone, especially in his death and resurrection, is the loving-kindness of
the God of Israel manifested in a most concrete way.
