Jesus The I AM
Thru The Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Notes
Transcript
This morning we we dive into 7 statements Jesus makes about Himself
If anyone ever says that Jesus never makes a claim that He is God they missed reading the entire Bible
In the Gospel of John there are 7 times where Jesus uses the I AM about Himself
When God calls Moses to bring His people out of the land of Egypt
In that conversation Moses asks God who should I say sent me
Essentially he is asking God what is your name
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
God tells Moses when you go and have to tell the Nation of Israel
When you have to go and tell my chosen people my own name
He says tell them I am who I am
God gives Moses a name that tells us about who He is
It tells us that God is self existent
That He was not created and has his being within himself alone
That He God is eternal and unchangeable
That God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow as he was last year, and at the beginning of time
That We cannot fully understand God
That God is faithful to fulfill His promises
That the I AM is I am with you
That the I AM has been with you since I am the God of your fathers
That I was there, that I am there, and that I will be there as you go out
Basically church God is giving Moses a name that exemplifies some of His character
You have been in captivity for some 400 years
So long that the Egyptian ruler does not know Joseph
So you could probably think maybe some of the Israelites maybe have forgotten who God is
So Moses is given a name to remind His chosen people who He is
Now we have a name for God if that makes sense
We have a name that is above any other name
Anywho we have God’s name to His chosen people as the I AM
What gets interesting is that Jesus claims to be God
For jews in that time and even today people will say that Jesus is not God
He is just a really good teacher
He is a really good prophet but God He can’t be and yet out of Jesus’s mouth He claims to be the I AM
A name that has implications back to Moses
In John Jesus 7 times claims He is the I am
That He is Bread of Life, Light of the World, The Door, The Good Shephard, The Resurrection, The Way, The True Vine
This morning we will look at those
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
Jesus had just a few days pryor to saying this had fed 5000 men
They had followed after Jesus because they had sought the wrong bread
Jesus is saying that He is the Bread of life
That if you partake of Him then you won’t hunger anymore
We know what bread is
It is food for our bodies, we know that we can’t live without food
That we need for for nourishment, for growth, for energy
And lets be honest, bread is good
But it only last for a short time hence why it is the wrong bread
Jesus is using bread because we understand bread
We understand our need for food and nourishment
For Him to say that He is the bread of life as one commentary puts it
“Christ shows that he is the true Bread: he is to the soul what bread is to the body, nourishes and supports the spiritual life. He is the Bread of God.”
See it is through salvation that we partake in the bread of Life ie Jesus
It is through repenting of our sin and trusting in Jesus that we are eternally satisfied just like if we ate a piece of bread except we wouldn’t be eternally satisfies we would only be satisfied for a short period
But we Jesus it is food for our souls
Jesus is the Bread of Life
Then Jesus says that He is the Light
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Jesus again uses something we are familiar with and something we ver much need
The I AM statements are characteristics of God that we need
Just like we need bread of life to no longer hunger
We need need the Light of the world so that we don’t have to walk in darkness
If we follow after the light we won’t walk in darkness
And yet church some people will choose to walk in darkness because they think that is freedom
Jesus came and says I am the light you don’t have to sit around in the darkness
You don’t have to do this thing called life in the darkness anymore
A few years ago I went to get my eyes checked
They asked do you have trouble seeing at night
I said yea because its dark
And yet Christ is saying I am
I am what you need I am here to be the light in your life if you will only follow after me
So lets get to the point will you
Will you repent of your sin and follow after Jesus and be set free this morning from the darkness
Because Jesus the Son of God is claiming to be God Himself
That is what the I AM means
And yet Jesus goes on
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Are you starting to understand the only way to heaven in through Jesus
Here He clearly explains that it is only through Him that we enter into the fold
There is not a back door or a side entrace that you can slide into Heaven
It is only through Christ as He is the door
The Door stands as protection against those who would do those inside harm
Which is why we lock our doors now
Understand this is not something we enter into and are trap of sorts
That we come into the protection of Christ and it is through Christ that we have an abundant life
It is through entering the door that is Christ that we come into that abundant life
One commentary says this “Jesus is the gate. Through Him we rest in the safety of the fold and rejoice in the sweetness of the field. The false shepherds of Israel cast the sheep aside, endangering their lives, but Jesus, the good shepherd, lovingly gathers His sheep to Himself and then guards them from all danger.”
If Jesus is the door for the sheep next we see Jesus claim to be the good shepherd
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
What a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for you and I
The sheep know the Shepherds voice
Have you seen the videos of people trying to call sheep and nothing, the Shepherd calls and they come running
But Jesus is more than just a hired hand
He is the boss
He is the good shepherd
See the Boss is vested in the sheep
Like Jesus he literally has skin and blood and sweat and tears into us
So it would make sense that He is the good shepherd
He saw all that would come and said yes I will take it anyway
He knew what it would take for salvation and still said if this is the only way I will take the cup
We know that Jesus laid His life down fro you and I
We know that Jesus died for everyone if you will only repent of your sin and trust in Jesus
Jesus continues to share about who He is
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
If Jesus is the door we enter through and the good shepherd who did in fact lay His own life down for you and I to give us salvation
That salvation is found in no one else
Then church Jesus is all the resurrection
See Jesus’s death paid our debt of sin to God
His resurrection brings about the abundant life Christ talks about
Live once die twice
live twice die once
It is through Jesus’s resurrection His empty tomb that we are given life
In my commentary I read this and thought that is good
But Jesus doesn’t say I offer resurrection, or I offer life
Our hope doesn’t lie in an event or something to look forward to but rather in a person
Which is why Jesus says I AM the resurrection, I AM life
Jesus continues with the I AM statements
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Here Jesus claims and asserts to be the only way possible to God the Father
There is no other way
The has this quote, “Religion is any system that teaches we have the ability to save ourselves. The gospel teaches we are completely unable to save ourselves. Religion says, “Look inside yourself for salvation.” The gospel says, “The only hope salvation is outside yourself.”
This is why Jesus is asserting who He is
because He is different from the religious elite
That is exactly why He is asserting Himself and the Gospel here
That there is a difference
If you will recall Jesus as the door
There wasn’t a back door
There wasn’t a side entrance option
Here Jesus confirms and asserts that it is only through Him that you are able to get to God in Heaven
Jesus confirms that He is the Way
The Only Way
Again their isn’t a second option and there isn’t make up option
It is Jesus or nothing
Then Jesus says that He is the truth
The truth is that Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost
The Truth is that it is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we have an option of salvation
The truth is the only way to salvation is to repent of our sin and trust in Jesus
And it is because we have done that that we have life
That is what Jesus is claiming
To our life
And Jess brings this to a close
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
Jesus says He is the true vine
Later on He will say that He is the vine and you and I are the branch
That we are to stay connected to the vine
That as we stay connected to the vine we will bear fruit
As believers in Jesus Christ we are to bear fruit
Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness and self control, we are to disciple people and help others grow in Christ as we ourselves grow in Christ
This is what it is to bear fruit
As branches that are connected to the vine this is what we are to be bearing
And to hep branches continue to bear fruit
God will prune us so that we can continue to produce good and healthy fruit
Do you understand that Jesus is the I AM
That Jesus is claiming, and affirming that is the Son of God
That He is the I AM that so long ago freed the Nation of Israel from captivity in Egypt
That Jesus is the Great I AM
That Jesus was before, and is currently and will come again some day to collect His children
Only those people who have recieved the free gift of salvation
Who have repented of their sin and trusted in Jesus will be with God in Heaven
That Jesus is Bread of Life so we no longer have to hungery
That Jesus is Light of the World that we no longer have to walk around in darkness
That Jesus is The Door and it is only through Jesus that we enter into the fold
That Jesus is The Good Shepherd who did in fact lay His life down for us
That Jesus is The Resurrection to give us life
That Jesus is The Way, the only way to God the Father
That Jesus is The True Vine the power source
All this points to us to Jesus as the way to eternal salvation
So as we come to our time of invitation
The invitation is to encounter the bread of life, the way the truth and life this morning
Maybe you are here and have never trusted the Lord to be your savior, this morning we would invite you to do just that
If you want to do that you are encouraged to come and speak with someone down at the front
Maybe you have a personal relationship with Jesus and you want to spend sometime in prayer this morning
The altar is open
