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Re: John 1:17 HUGE possible difference in interpretation

Posted: January 24th, 2018, 10:37 am
by PhillipLebsack
Jonathan Robie wrote: January 24th, 2018, 9:28 am
Yes, I think you are misinterpreting ἐδόθη when you say "Moses gave the law". It's a passive verb. Let's change it to an active verb and ask this question:

τίς ἔδωκεν τὸν νόμον διὰ Μωϋσέως;
So, the Law was given through Moses by someone - God.

But, what's the point?

Re: John 1:17 HUGE possible difference in interpretation

Posted: January 24th, 2018, 10:54 am
by Jonathan Robie
PhillipLebsack wrote: January 24th, 2018, 10:37 am So, the Law was given through Moses by someone - God.

But, what's the point?
You are asking whether John views the Law as good or not, I think the closest thing to an answer in this verse is that the law was given *through* Moses, implying *by* God. And I think that is best read in the context of the entire section 1.9-1.18 (or perhaps 1.10-1.18), which tells us where Jesus fits in with respect to creation, God's people, John, Moses, and the Law. Read that whole section several times and see what the context tells you.

The focus is on Jesus, not the Law, but it does imply that God gave the law through Moses. So he does imply that the Law is God-given, but his main intent is to tell you that Jesus goes beyond the law by contrasting the two.