John Calvin Commentary John 1:17

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." — John 1:17 (ASV)

For the Law was given by Moses. This is an anticipation by which he addresses an objection that was likely to arise; for Moses was so highly esteemed by the Jews that they could hardly receive anything that differed from him. The Evangelist therefore shows how far inferior the ministry of Moses was to the power of Christ. At the same time, this comparison sheds no small luster on the power of Christ; for while the utmost possible deference was rendered to Moses by the Jews, the Evangelist reminds them that what he brought was exceedingly small when compared with the grace of Christ. Otherwise, it would have been a great hindrance that they expected to receive from the Law what we can only obtain through Christ.

But we must pay attention to the antithesis, when he contrasts the law with grace and truth; for his meaning is that the law lacked both of them. The word Truth denotes, in my opinion, a fixed and permanent state of things. By the word Grace I understand the spiritual fulfillment of those things, the bare letter of which was contained in the Law.

And these two words may be understood to refer to the same thing by a well-known figure of speech (hypallage), as if he had said that grace, in which the truth of the Law consists, was finally exhibited in Christ. But as the meaning will not be affected at all, it is of no importance whether you view them as united or as distinguished. This at least is certain: the Evangelist means that in the Law there was nothing more than a shadowy image of spiritual blessings, but that they are actually found in Christ; from which it follows, that if you separate the Law from Christ, there remains nothing in it but empty figures. For this reason Paul says that

the shadows were in the law, but the body is in Christ,
(Colossians 2:17).

And yet it must not be thought that anything was exhibited by the Law in a manner intended to deceive; for Christ is the soul which gives life to what would otherwise have been dead under the law. But here we encounter a totally different question: namely, what the law could do by itself and without Christ; and the Evangelist maintains that nothing permanently valuable is found in it until we come to Christ.

This truth consists in our obtaining through Christ that grace which the law could not bestow at all; and therefore I take the word grace in a general sense, as denoting both the unconditional forgiveness of sins and the renewal of the heart. For while the Evangelist points out briefly the distinction between the Old and New Testaments (which is more fully described in Jeremiah 31:31), he includes in this word all that relates to spiritual righteousness.

Now this righteousness consists of two parts:

1. That God is reconciled to us by free grace, by not imputing our sins to us;
2. That he has engraved his law in our hearts and, by his Spirit, renews people inwardly to obedience to it.

From this it is evident that the Law is incorrectly and falsely interpreted if it directs anyone's attention to itself or hinders them from coming to Christ.