ὁ νόμος … ἐδόθη, ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια … ἐγένετο

Says ὅτι explains 1:16: "for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." The two clauses stand side by side with no δέ or ἀλλά (asyndeton). Each follows the same pattern: subject, then διά + agent, then verb.

Says The verbs differ: - ἐδόθη (edothē, aorist passive of δίδωμι): the law "was given." The passive implies God as the giver, so the law is God's gift and Moses its mediator. - ἐγένετο (egeneto): grace and truth "came to be, came about" through Jesus Christ. This is the verb of 1:3 and 1:14. In him, grace and truth took historical form.

Says Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Iēsou Christou) is the first naming of Jesus in the Gospel. The Word of 1:1 and 1:14 is now identified with a historical person who bears the title Χριστός ("Messiah"; cf. 1:41). The articles in ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια refer back to πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας in 1:14. On the Exodus 34:6 background, see the Hebrew Scholar's notes.

Implies The verse contrasts two mediators and two stages of revelation. It does not set a bad law against good grace. John treats Moses and the Scriptures as true witnesses to Jesus (5:39, 46) and Scripture as unbreakable (10:35). The law was a gift through a servant. Grace and truth in their fullness came through the Son.

Uncertain How sharp the contrast is. Without a connective, John may mean progression and fulfillment more than opposition. The team reads it as contrast in the service of fulfillment.