Jesus was and is "full of grace and truth". John characterizes Jesus' ministry on earth with these two very powerful words: grace and truth. John lists these two descriptive words twice in this one section of Scripture, both here in
verse 14 and again in
verse 17:
"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
This grace and truth couplet is seen many times in the Scriptures. I think it gives us the blueprint on how to live our lives. Jesus was full of both, and He expects His people, citizens of the Kingdom of God, living in the world, to also be full of both grace and truth. D. A. Carson writes, "This pair of expressions recurs again and again in the Old Testament....The glory revealed to Moses when the LORD passed in front of him and sounded his name, displaying that divine goodness characterized by ineffable grace and truth, was the very same glory John and his friends saw in the Word-made-flesh." (
The Gospel According to John (p. 129). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.)
How can you and I be like Jesus today, full of grace and truth? The key is to be full of both, not just one. To be all grace and no truth is to have no convictions. To be silent in fear that you will offend someone will ultimately lead to you offending the one person you must not, and that person is God. On the other hand, to be so focused on truth to the point of showing no grace is most unhealthy as well. The Pharisees in the Bible were all truth and no grace, and they were miserable people who made others miserable as well.
How do we do it? Ultimately, we must follow Jesus. Remember, He was full of both, in complete balance and harmony. Paul says in
Ephesians 4:15,
"But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ." Jesus extended grace when needed and applied it beautifully, for example, to the woman at the well in
John 4. As for truth, He applied it equally as well, for example, with Nicodemus, the religious leader in
John 3. As we are filled with the Spirit and sensitive to the Lord, we too will be able to be full of both grace and truth. We will be gracious and kind, and we will care enough to speak the truth, but while telling the truth, we will do so with humility and conviction.
A few weeks ago, I listened to the interview of Patrick Lencioni on Carey Nieuwhof's podcast. Lencioni is a popular speaker specializing in coaching business teams on how to excel and reach their maximum capacity. He also is a prolific author, having sold over seven million books. He told the true story of the kicker for the Los Angeles Rams, Dustin Hopkins. In October of this year against the Denver Broncos, he kicked four field goals on an injured leg, with the final one in overtime to win the game. During the post-game interview with Lisa Salters, he gave the Lord praise. He is both gracious and truthful, boldly proclaiming that Jesus is his Lord and Savior. You can watch the interview
here:
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher
YouTube
