And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
My old friend Harry was an honest man, and everybody knew it. Harry was so truthful he was known for withholding a compliment when he knew an insult would be more appropriate. One summer day, while leaning on his picket fence, we became engaged in a discussion about the lies that were told by people all around us. Harry shook his head and declared, ‘We’re all liars, every one of us.’ He was willing to admit that, as truthful as he strove to be, he was a liar just like everybody else. How different we are from the One whom our text describes, the One Who is full of grace and truth.
The Lord Jesus could proclaim Himself to be the Way and the Life, but He could also declare Himself to be the Truth (John 14:6). Our text says He is full of truth. And He is the only One in all of human history to be able to make such a claim. Can you imagine how different life would be if everyone was like Him in this respect? What if everything that anybody told you was always the truth, if everything you read or heard in the media was 100 percent accurate, and if lies, misrepresentations, and exaggerations were all purged from every aspect of life? No, I can’t imagine such a world, either. But there was One Who was so full of truth that no lie or hint of anything false or devious could appear. And that One was made flesh and dwelt among us.
What was going through the mind of the malefactor who declared of the Lord Jesus, ‘This man hath done nothing amiss’? (Luke 23:41) A thief, whose whole life was based on dishonesty, recognized that he was hanging beside One who was not and could not be dishonest. Like that thief, we draw near today to consider such honesty, and such grace. We review the scenes of the cross and find ourselves amazed that the Truth personified was crucified for liars like us. Every lie we ever told deserved eternal damnation, and the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for all of our lies.
The cross displays to us today that the One Who was full of truth was also full of grace. It is only His grace that brings us within the shelter of His truth. -Jim MacIntosh