John 1:16-17 - One Thought?

[Joe Belisle]

^{John 1:14-18}

Now the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory – glory as of the One and Only from the Father – full of grace and truth. John testified about Him, and shouted out, saying, “This was He about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, for He existed before me.’” From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The One and Only, Himself God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.

Most translations split verses 16 and 17 into two sentences. As I understand it, some older scholars believed verse 16 was part of the quote from John the Baptist, but modern scholarship generally doesn't agree with this. This history though would give rise to a break in thought between verse 16 and 17, rather than it being a single thought with verse 17 expounding on the grace upon grace in verse 16. 

I see verse 17 as expounding on verse 16, and so put them together as a single sentence. Is there any reason these two verses would be better left as separate sentences?