Tuesday, October 6, 2026
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Historical Context
This passage sits in the opening section of the Gospel, eighteen verses that lay out who the Word is before naming him. The Word is what this Gospel calls Jesus before it starts using his name. Throughout this stretch, it calls him the Word, the light, and the one and only Son. The name Jesus Christ does not appear until one verse later.
Before that name comes, the passage says the Word came to his own people, and they did not accept him. Others did accept him, and the passage says they were given the right to become children of God. So a real divide already sits in the background, rejection on one side and a gift on the other.
Just before today’s verse, John the Baptist testified that the one coming after him already outranked him because that one had existed before him. The passage had also just said that the Word became flesh and lived among people, full of grace and truth.
Reflection
From his fullness, they had all received grace upon grace. What came from Jesus came from a fullness, not a small supply.
Most readers interpret “grace upon grace” as fresh grace added to grace already received, one gift following the next. On the common reading, people did not receive one gift and then wait. They kept receiving.
That fullness does not run low, no matter how much has already been drawn from it. You do not have to treat each answered prayer or each moment of help as the last one you will receive. Try counting the ones you have already received, and let that number tell you there is more coming, not less.