LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Grace and Truth (2)
The Gospel of John shows us Jesus “Full of grace and truth”. In every step he took, he would pour out grace and truth to men. Everything was being laid bare and also restored as he went along.
When the Lord passed by in front of John the Baptist, John lost two of his disciples. Until then, John had been –to them– the teacher, but when the Lord appears, John is no longer the teacher. The true Master had come, before whom John had to occupy his true place, and whom the disciples had to follow. When the true Master appears, all other teachers run out of disciples.
Shortly thereafter, the Lord is shown to us at the wedding at Cana. Halfway through the feast, the wine runs out, so the Lord is asked to help. And he turns the water into wine. Wine represents delight, the pleasures of man. When the Lord appears, it is necessary for the wine to be gone, for He is the true joy of man. All other delights are temporary and will not last, but the Lord gives a better joy that never runs dry.For the Jews, the temple in Jerusalem was the heart of the nation, because that is where God dwelled. It was a lavish place; it was the glory of the Jews.
However, when Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem, he took a scourge of ropes and threw out the merchants and money changers. The place was contaminated, and it had to be cleaned. For the Jews, it was a holy place. But as far as the Lord was concerned, it had become a den of thieves. The true state of the temple was laid bare only when the Lord arrived.
In John chapter 3, we meet Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel. He had received honors as a scholar in the divine sciences; however, when he confronts the Lord, he is left naked and exposed. In reality, he was not even saved nor had spiritual knowledge of the scriptures. The Lord reveals the true condition of his heart. When the Lord speaks to him about being born again and of the Spirit, he asks such childish questions that they reveal his tremendous ignorance.
In chapter 4, there is a Samaritan woman who had deceived herself thinking she could find happiness in the many husbands she had had. However, her thirst had not been quenched. It was necessary for the Truth to appear and to show her the true way. The soul’s thirst can only be satisfied with the Spirit of God.
However, in all this, grace is not absent: John would later be honored by the Lord; at the wedding of Cana, the lord turns the water into wine; the pigeons were not touched in the purification of the temple; Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, was shown the way of salvation, and because the Samaritan woman drank from the living water. It is the perfect balance between grace and truth.