I Am He

Jesus is not losing control.

He is choosing the cross.

We have been looking at the I am statement in John for the last couple of months. They are significant. Two simple words in Greek, Ἐγώ εἰμι. Some of its uses are simple, after all, it was a common phrase.

But sometimes, It is intentional. Throughout John, Jesus keeps giving us glimpses of who He really is:

To the hungry, He says, "I am the bread of life."

To those walking in darkness, "I am the light of the world."

To the lost, "I am the good shepherd."

To those facing death, "I am the resurrection and the life."

Each of these is not just a moment of teaching, but they are Jesus trying to connect the dots for His hearers, to say, “I AM the one you have been waiting for.”

But back in the garden, we have a simple question asked by Jesus, “who is it you want?”

He know everything that is about to happen.

He initiates the conversation.

He stand His ground.

He steps forward , protecting His own, and controls the narrative. He will not be taken because He lacks power. He is surrendering despite His power. He has resigned himself to what must happen, so that we, you and I, may be united with our God.

See, John calls us to see more. He calls us to see someone more. He calls us to see God’s redemptive work through the deity and humanity of Jesus. He is controlling the situation. He is going peacefully, even though Peter wants to fight. He wants His disciples to be safe. He is in control, even though He is cuffed and taken away. He is going where He needs to go. Jesus is the great I am.

During the festival of lights, this is in essence Jesus saying, “You are celebrating me.” I am the I am.

Another glimpse of His divinity. He is the Great I am of heaven, come down for a purpose He plans to fulfill.

Who is the “I am” he is calling them to see? It is himself. He wants them to see him as, The Messiah. Yet, still they are blind.

Here Jesus is identifying Himself as the eternal God. But their answer, to try and stone Him, reveals that they are blind in their beliefs because they choose to not see Him for who scripture reveals Him to be.

In fact, the gospels have been revealing Jesus as the “I AM,” especially in the gospel of John over and over again through the phrase Ἐγώ εἰμι. For Jews of that day and time, they would have to have heard Jesus as claiming His deity. In fact, that is what is happening here in John 8, that is why they wanted to stone Him.

A famous passage where we see the clearest connection is in the book of Isaiah, beginning in chapter 43, verse 10. God is calling Israel to be witnesses of who He is:

Isaiah 43:10–11 NIV

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.

When first-century Jews heard language like “I Am” or 'I am he,' both derived from Ἐγώ εἰμι, they recall hearing those words before. In Isaiah, those were the words Yahweh used to describe Himself. When we reflect on the words from John we see that John may be inviting us to hear Jesus' words against that Old Testament backdrop.

That God, in the Septuagint, is the Ἐγώ εἰμι. The Great I AM.

It is the exact language and Jesus is intentional in His using it to let those who will hear it to know that He is The Great I Am.

The questions then becomes for us :

If Jesus really is the Great I AM, what does that mean?

Who is this One standing in the garden?

Who is this One stepping forward to be arrested?

Who is this One willing to surrender Himself?

Paul answers that question in Colossians chapter one.

Colossians 1:15–17 NIV

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The One standing in the garden is not merely a teacher.

He is not merely a prophet.

He is not merely a good man.

He is the image of the invisible God.

The One through whom all things were made.

The One holding all things together.

And yet, when the soldiers came...

Jesus stepped forward for you and for me.

Two Fridays ago, I had a conversation with a man, 62, who had lost his faith. Something happened in his life at 50, that caused Him to take some hard looks at God. He began to see God as a man-made myth. That the bible is man-made dogma. That, if God is real that He is killer of babies, children, and animals.

I couldn't tell if he hoped to convince me to see God the way he did, or if he was hoping I might finally give him an answer that would restore his faith.

But as we talked, I realized he wasn't really wrestling with evidence. He was wrestling with who he believed God to be.

Somewhere along the way, disappointment had reshaped his view of God. Questions had turned into skepticism, and skepticism had slowly convinced him that God wasn't good.

I knew I wasn't going to untangle years of hurt in a single conversation from halfway across the country. So I simply shared this: facts matter, and good answers matter. But eventually, every person has to decide what they will do with Jesus. At some point, we have to choose whether we will see Him as He claimed to be—the Great I AM, God in the flesh, who entered our world, experienced our struggles, and remained faithful all the way to the cross.

He was called by Satan to turn away from God and yet, He remained faithful to Him and to us. Because on that night in the garden Jesus went to a cross and died a horrific death, so that I might become righteous in God’s eyes. So that my sins, which separate me from God, may be taken away.

Every person eventually has to answer the same question.

Not who does John think Jesus is.

Not who does the church think Jesus is.

But who do I believe Jesus is?

Is He merely a man?

Or is He the Great I AM who stepped forward for me?

What I Want You To Know?

I want you to know that Jesus is The Great I Am.

What I Want You To Do?

I want you to step forward for Him.

Maybe your step forward today isn't having every answer.

Maybe it's simply being willing to trust Him enough to take the next step.

Because He first stepped forward for you.