Law or Relationship
Moses was a flawed man who battled himself and God. He resisted God, murdered an Egyptian, and ran away from his mission. After God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, He called Moses up the mountain to give him the law to share with the Israelites. Unlike Jesus, Moses was a human just like you and me, who had committed sin in the past. Jesus was a sinless man who was the Son of God. Moses shared the law with the people, but Jesus embodied grace and truth. In order to grasp how incredible this is,
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you must understand the purpose of the law designed to lead to grace and truth.
The Christian life can become confusing when discussing law and grace. The law should be the kindergarten of Christianity that leads to Christ. You cannot come to Christ without God exposing your sin. The purpose of the law was to reveal transgressions. The law does not have the power to save you from your sins because the desires of the flesh are opposite from the desires of God. Therefore, the law can only teach you what sin is and show you your need for a Savior. Once you connect with Christ and begin to spend time with Him, you begin to understand the depth of the law.
In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “You’ve heard it said this way of old.” Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law. If you are trying to get to Heaven by keeping the law, then you are in trouble because it is impossible to keep the law. The purpose of grace and truth is to save you from your sin. When you believe Christ and have faith in Him, you receive grace to walk in His ways. His righteousness is laid upon those who believe and trust in Him for their very lives. Paul said, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
John gives a picture of the difference between the law and the Word becoming flesh. The law is straight-forward, hard, impersonal, and without feeling. Jesus is merciful, kind, personal, and tender toward those who need Him. The law gives what you deserve without thought of your future. Many times Jesus withholds from you what you truly deserve because He knows what your future can be. Grace and truth came through Jesus while the law came through man in attempt to keep order. Jesus brings order by changing man, not by trying to force people to obey the rules. The law cannot heal a person’s body or spirit, but Jesus can do both. Jesus brings love, grace, and truth in order to help you to live by His Spirit.
If you try to live for Christ by obeying the law, it will be a life void of feeling and relationship that simply teaches you how to deny your fleshly desires. If you live for Christ by walking in His Love and Spirit, you will be full of life and love that reaches out to all around you. This is made clear when you look at the wording in verse seventeen. “The law was given…but grace and truth came [became].” Jesus became flesh and illustrated grace and truth. God gave the law in written word for people to obey. Jesus became the Word in the flesh. and embodied the Truth. He was a picture of what it was like to be rightly related to God.
From John: True Belief Brings Joy, Book 1 by Alison Veazey and Kerry Skinner.