John 1:15-18

"John bore witness...He who come after me is preferred...for He was before me."

This statement is presumably uttered just before Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. John had a rather large following, being a radical teacher prophet, a fresh voice in the Roman colonialized Israel. For 400 years after the remnant returned from being exiled to Babylon and Persia (as narrated in Nehemiah and Ezra), not much is known about what was going on in Israel. During this time, Rome came into power and defeated the previous kingdoms, and Israel came under its power. And just at this time, possibly a very dynamic, radical period of change in terms of politics, economy, culture and religion, John the Baptist cries out this statement pointing towards Jesus Christ. If you were one of the people listening to John's words, you might be puzzled as to what he was talking about. Because he was referring to Jesus, of Nazereth, as being preferred and before him, even though Jesus was younger than John in terms of human age. Radical claims. Either John the Baptist was mad, or else what he was saying was truer than anything else we've ever known. Either way, it is clear that he was very much convinced about what he was saying. And his own ministry, the baptism of repentance, rebuking of Pharisees (seen in Matthew, Mark, and Luke) was centered around this fact.

But the John, the author of this gospel interjects this statement by the Baptist here, because in the context of these verses, the point was to declare that Jesus Christ was the Word that he had been talking about in the previous sentences. Again, the pattern is, the idea of the Word, and that the Word took on flesh as Jesus Christ, through whom came grace and truth. A repetition for emphasis, for connection, for expansions. For not only was the Word full of grace and truth. But we have received from His fullness, the same grace, and the same truth. So as He had these qualities fully in Him, so He imparts it to us through Jesus Christ.

Note the contrast between the law through Moses, and grace and truth through Jesus Christ. Some seek to find truth in the law, some even seek to find grace in it, thinking that the law is good and therefore must reflect some element of grace. That may be in some cases. However, we see here that in fact, the law is placed in juxtaposition with grace and truth. Thus, at most, the law is but a reflection of the reality. If there is any truth in the law, it is because it is merely reflecting the Truth. If there is any hint of grace, it is because it again is merely reflecting the One who is full of grace.

"No one has seen God...He has declared Him"

This statement is a continual theme for John (1 John 4:12-16) and relates to the world not comprehending Him. For God is invisible to us in all His Otherness. However, He is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus, we know God. So there are two levels of testimony here. The first is the testimony of John the Baptist as to who Jesus was. And the second, greater testimony, is that of Jesus as to who God is.