The Story Continues

In verse 14 John uses an interesting word—the word translated “dwelt.” He only uses it one other time (7:2), when he’s referring to the Festival of Shelters (or Booths or Tabernacles). This word dwelt could be translated “pitched his tent” and would instantly remind anyone familiar with the Old Testament of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was instituted by God as the place where he would dwell in the midst of the people of Israel. It was the forerunner of the temple; it was a tent that went before the children of Israel as they made their way to the promised land. Within the tabernacle was the most holy place, where God came to meet man. Just as God came to meet man in the tabernacle, he came to meet man in the person of Jesus. Worship for the Jews centered on the tabernacle and then the temple, but once Jesus came, he became the center of worship. Only through Jesus could man be brought to God.

One could not think of the tabernacle in the OT without being reminded of the glory of God. As Israel marched through the wilderness on the way to the promised land, the glory of the Lord appearing like a cloud went with them, regularly descending on the tabernacle. In the Old Testament the glory of the Lord was the “visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 221). In other words, the glory of God was the greatness of God seen visibly. When Jews looked at the tabernacle, they would see a partial and incomplete picture of the glory of God (this visible display of his goodness, greatness, and holiness) emanating from it. John’s point in verse 14 is that when Jesus came to earth as a man to dwell with men, the glory of God was seen in its fullness.

The truthfulness of God to keep his promises and the grace of God to rescue his people found their ultimate expression when God sent Jesus. John could say in effect, “Our fathers experienced the grace and faithfulness of God, but if you want an even greater demonstration of it, look to Jesus.”

Jesus is superior to John the Baptist because Jesus was before him, even though John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus (Luke 1). John the Baptist is saying Jesus is the eternally existing God. John was considered the last of the OT prophets. Like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others before him, John’s role was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah. The only difference was that he had the opportunity to point to Jesus physically and say in effect, “There he is. There is the one we’ve been telling you about.” Sending Jesus was not a new plan of God. John the Baptist continued in the long line of messengers, testifying to the promise of God and declaring the gospel.

There is no other source of grace but in Christ, where we find an inexhaustible supply (vv. 16-17). The focus here is more than just that we receive grace from Christ; it’s that this grace is fuller or more complete than what God had provided before Christ. The giving of the law was a matter of grace. God has always desired his people to respond to him in faith and, as a result of that faith, to live in obedience to his word. However, because of the Israelites’ lack of faith and their disobedience, God gave them the law as a means of protection. The law was able to show them the sinfulness of their actions (Rom 7:13), but the law was never intended to save the Jews. The purpose of the law was not to draw people to itself, for it had no grace to offer. The law itself was not an instrument of grace. Rather, God would give grace through Jesus to those who violated his law (Gal 3:13).

The grace of the law was that it pointed people to Jesus, but how much more grace was given when Jesus came! The grace of God was seen in the law everywhere the shadow of Jesus Christ fell, whether in the Passover or in the temple sacrifices. But when Jesus came, the shadows no longer mattered; the light of Jesus Christ revealed completely what the shadows had revealed in part.

In Jesus Christ the Father is revealed in a way and a depth previously unknown. In verse 18 the word translated “revealed” is rare—only used six times in Scripture—and carries the idea that the whole story has now been told. Jesus came to share the whole story of God and his perfect plan of redemption. This is not a new story, but in Jesus this wonderful story of grace is perfectly and fully explained.

The first eighteen verses of this Gospel remind us that the promises beginning in the book of Genesis and continuing through the entire Old Testament are finally realized in Jesus Christ. He is the promised Messiah. He’s the answer to man’s need for a Savior. This man is far more than a man; he is God become man. These eighteen verses introduce us to the Word, to Jesus Christ, but they also introduce us to God’s grace in human form. Only through Jesus could the great gulf between utterly undeserving man and a completely holy God be bridged.

You may be familiar with John Newton’s song “Amazing Grace,” but are you familiar with why he wrote it? Newton wrote a lot of songs for his church, and a member of his church named William Cowper often helped him. Cowper was a fantastic poet who wrote such songs as “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood” and “God Moves in Mysterious Ways.” Yet Cowper battled his entire life with darkness, depression, and self-condemnation. The song “Amazing Grace” was written by Newton for a New Year’s Day service in 1773. Newton always wrote his hymns with the needs of his congregation in mind.

On January 1, 1773 there was one individual who was desperately in need of understanding the message that God’s grace can save the worst of wretches. This was William Cowper whose depression was spiraling downward in a vortex of madness that led to his attempted suicide a few hours later. Central to Cowper’s madness was a deep-rooted fear that God had rejected him despite his faith. Newton . . . had tried hard to persuade Cowper that God’s grace is universal and never withheld from a believer. . . . Could Newton have hoped that the words of Amazing Grace . . . might relieve Cowper’s fear and spiritual blindness, leading him out of the dangers and snares . . . toward the security of God’s grace? (Aitken, John Newton, 229)

It was Cowper’s struggle with doubt, anxiety, and guilt that motivated these particular words from Newton:

Through many dangers, toils and snares,

we have already come.

‘Twas Grace that brought us safe thus far,

and Grace will lead us home.

Never forget the grace that flows freely from Jesus Christ. If God was willing to send his Son to be born as a man and to die as a criminal for you, do you think he’ll ever withhold his grace from you? If your faith is in Jesus Christ, then from him abundant, overflowing, amazing grace is being poured out. God’s grace is sufficient. Never lose sight. Never lose hope. His grace will lead you home.