Words of Grace

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ “(John 1:17).

This verse of scripture is often used to show the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It was all about the law of Moses until Jesus came. Then it became all about the grace of God.

But because God is the God of grace, there was grace in the Old Testament as well. It was in Genesis 6:8 where we read that Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord,

And though Jesus had not yet come into the world, there was much written about him in the pages of the Old Testament. For example Isaiah 53 is prophecy about him that was fulfilled in the time of the New Testament.

Verse six describes all of us going astray just like sheep. We have all turned to go our own way. Then the Lord laid the sin of all of us on him.

David knew that this was true of him. He confessed that he had gone astray like a lost sheep, and prayed that the Lord would seek after him. (Psalm 119:176)

Peter, in his first epistle, reminds us that we also had gone astray like sheep. We are now returned to our Shepherd. (2:25)

“A pilgrim was I and awandering, In the cold night of sin I did roam, When Jesus the kind Shepherd found me, And now I am on my way home.”
– John W. Peterson