John 1:17

Whereas Moses was the individual through whom God gave His law to His people, Jesus Christ is the one through whom He has manifested abundant grace and truth. This is John’s first use of the human name "Jesus," which occurs 237 times in this Gospel, more than a quarter of the total 905 times it appears in the entire New Testament. The compound "Jesus Christ," however, occurs again only in John 17:3 in John. This evangelist used "Christ" 19 times, more than any of the other Gospel writers (cf. John 20:31). This seems reasonable if John wrote late in the first century A.D. by which time "Christ" had become a titulary (a title turned proper name).

John’s statement shows the superiority of the gracious dispensation that Jesus introduced over the legal dispensation that Moses inaugurated (cf. Romans 5:20-21; Ephesians 2:8). The legal age contained grace, and the gracious age contains laws. For example, each sacrifice that God accepted under the old economy was an expression of His grace. John was contrasting the dominant characteristics of these two ages. Law expresses God’s standards, but grace provides help so we can do His will. Surprisingly, John used the great Christian word "grace" three times in his prologue (John 1:14; John 1:16-17) but nowhere else in his Gospel.

"What God showed Himself to be through His revelation in the Torah, so now Jesus shows Himself to be through the Incarnation. And what was the Torah? It was not handcuffs, but Yahweh’s pointed finger, graciously marking out to the redeemed the path of life and fellowship with Him [cf. Deuteronomy 6:1-3]. The point of John 1:17 is not ’Then bad, now good’; the point is rather, ’Then, wonderful! And now, better than ever!’" [Note: Ronald B. Allen, "Affirming Right-of-Way on Ancient Paths," Bibliotheca Sacra 153:609 (January-March 1996):10.]

This verse clearly contrasts the two dispensations in view. Even non-dispensationalists acknowledge this and admit that they recognize two different economies, the Old Testament legal economy and the New Testament gracious economy. Significantly, Moses’ first plague in Egypt involved turning water into blood (Exodus 7:14-15), whereas Jesus’ first recorded miracle involved turning water into wine (John 2:1-11).