The Great I Am
The Great I Am
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
Mind-Boggling
The person and work of Jesus has been and always will be the greatest theological issue confronting the church. Our entire faith is built upon Jesus—who He is and what He did. We’re called to teach about Him, preach about Him, witness about Him, and defend His claims. In light of this, we ought to know what He said about Himself. The better we know Him, the more our lives will be caught up with His in worship and witness.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes several “I am” statements about Himself—between seven and ten (or so) depending on how you add things up. We’ll take a look at several of these, starting today with perhaps the most mind-boggling of them all—His claim that He simply is the “I am.”
God Up Close
In describing Himself this way, Jesus evokes the same language of God’s self-disclosure in Exodus 3:14: “God replied to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’” When Jesus says that He was “before Abraham,” He is saying that He has always existed. This is a claim to divinity. The Jews certainly understood that. That’s why they wanted to stone Him (see John 8:59).
Jesus said in John 14:7, “If you know Me, you will also know My Father.” Jesus is God and reveals God. He wasn’t just a good teacher. He is the eternal God come to earth in human flesh. He’s the divine Savior that we need.
Bottom Line
Remember, when you see Jesus, you’re seeing God in human form.