This week we kicked off our new series, “I Am God.” For the next six weeks, we will journey together through the gospel according to John as we examine seven different “I Am” statements that Jesus makes about himself.
We began our series by examining John 8:48-58:
The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
There has never been a more profound revelation of who God is than: I AM WHO I AM
(Exodus 3:1-15). It was from this proclamation in Exodus that God gave his covenant name: Yahweh: the intimate name between God and His people. As a result, Moses and his descendants knew this was the most holy and most sacred name—so much so that they refused to speak it or even spell it.
This name was the holiest word, the highest expression of divine self-reference, and in John 8, Jesus Christ does not simply take it on his lips; he takes it on himself.
With this self-revelation, Jesus draws a line in the sand. He claims to be God.
The seven statements that we are going to examine in this series are extreme:
I AM the way, the truth, the life
I AM the good shepherd
I AM the bread of life
I AM the gate
I AM the light of the world
I AM the true vine
I AM the resurrection and the life
Jesus has left us no middle ground. We have to do something with Him—either we worship Him or we crucify Him. There is no in between. We either reject Him or we give every inch of our lives to Him. The more that we see Jesus as I AM, the more we realize we are not. And that changes everything.