Before Abraham was I Am

John 8:48-59

Background

We are picking up at the end of a longer conversation.

Jesus is addressing the “Believers” who were following him.

He is not speaking to the crowds in general. He is not speaking to the Pharisees and Leaders. He is speaking to those who say they believe.

Recall that in chapter 6, many followed because of the sign of bread, and Jesus said he is the bread of heaven, and whoever feeds on him will live forever. However, many they left when he said no one could follow him unless it is granted by the father

Now in chapter 8, at the end of the temple teaching when, he was at the Festival of Booths, Jesus promised rivers of living water, said he was the light of the world, and now promises that whoever keeps His word will not see death. Those who “believed” respond with vitriol, you’re a samaritan and demonic.

Samaritan = unclean, unlawful, not one of God’s people.

To have a demon = they were saying he was out of his mind

Jesus denied their charges, and said that, in fact, he was the one Abraham was looking for. They said, “Are you greater than Abraham? Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus isn’t driving away sincere believers, but those who follow what they want him to be.

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus has been revealing who He is. He is the bread of heaven, the light of the world, the source of living water. But here Jesus makes a claim unlike anything else He has said. He says, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” Jesus takes upon His lips the very name by which God revealed Himself to Moses. And the response of the people reveals the great divide: when confronted with the true Christ, will we bow before Him or reject Him?

Misapprehensions Keep us from Christ.

Falsehoods keep keep us from knowing and trusting in him, and we all have them.

Some think of Christ as a good teacher, a moral example.

They are “ala-cart Christians,” picking and choosing what they want to hear. They like “love your neighbor… judge not…” but skip over “repent and believe,” or “unless you. believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

This denies our absolute dependency upon Christ. See him as a teacher assumes I have the ability to do what I am taught, when He is a savior who comes because I cannot.

Some think of Christ as their cheerleader and supporter.

Christ wants what I want; He wants me to be successful. We begin to think of Jesus as someone who exists to bless our plans. We pray, ‘Lord, bless what I want to do,’ instead of asking, ‘Lord, what would You have me do?’

This denies His lordship and authority.

Some think of Christ as their trading partner.

Some say, “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll be faithful, I’ll go to church, I’ll even give an offering. But you better hold up your end of the bargain with a healthy family, a successful career, or get me through this trial.” We turn grace into a transaction.

This denies the sovereignty of our Lord who gives according to His perfect wisdom and grace. Jesus is not our trading partner.

Some think of Christ as their insurance policy.

They know the facts of the gospel. They can tell you Jesus died and rose again. They may even agree that it’s true. But those truths never shape the way they think, work, love, spend, forgive, or worship. James reminds us that even the demons believe and shudder.

This denies Christ himself: if he is not everything, he isn’t anything

These falsehoods keep us from Christ.

The problem wasn’t that they misunderstood Jesus, but that they wanted a Jesus they could control, a Jesus who would affirm them, bless them, but not confront their sin. They wanted a Jesus who fit their expectations rather than receiving Jesus as He reveals himself.

When they picked up stones in the temple to stone Jesus, he hid himself, and left the temple.

The One who had just offered Himself as the source of eternal life now withdraws from those who reject Him. Persistent rejection of Christ is a dangerous path. Rather than bringing people closer to the truth, continued resistance can harden the heart against the very Savior who offers life.

A.W. Pink, “Christ will hide himself from the self-righteous and self-sufficient but blinded religious formalists, those who deny that they need to be set free from the slavery of sin. He leaves them to themselves.”

The Truth of Christ.

As difficult as Jesus’ rebuke was to those who professed to believe, there is an even greater grace given to those who humbly come to him. Christ shows himself, that we may know him and find in him the blessing of enteral life.

The Father Reveals the Son

Jesus refuses to defend Himself against their insults. Instead, He directs their attention to the Father. “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me…”

The issue is not Jesus’ reputation. The issue is God’s testimony about His Son.

The Jews claimed to know God. They claimed Abraham as their father. They claimed to worship the God of Israel. But Jesus exposes the emptiness of that claim: “You have not known Him. I know Him.”

This is an astonishing statement. Jesus is not simply saying He knows more about God than they do. He is claiming a unique, eternal knowledge of the Father. He speaks as the eternal Son who has come from the Father and who perfectly reveals the Father.

This means there can be no separation between honoring the Father and honoring the Son. The Father Himself glorifies Christ. To reject the Son is to reject the Father who sent Him.

Jesus is Abraham’s hope

“Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

He didn’t say, “Abraham saw me…” but “Abraham saw my day.” Abraham did not merely look forward to another prophet or another king. By faith, he looked forward to the day when God would fulfill His covenant promises. He saw it:

In the promise that through his offspring all the nations would be blessed.

On Mt Moriah when God provided a substitute for Isaac.

As he lived as a pilgrim, looking for the city whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham looked beyond the shadows to the coming Redeemer. The Jews standing before Jesus looked backward to Abraham. Abraham looked forward to Christ.

But then Jesus makes the statement that changes everything:

“Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus deliberately takes upon His lips the very name by which God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush.

When Moses asked God’s name, God answered, “I AM WHO I AM.”

This was not merely a declaration of God’s eternal existence. It was the revelation of the covenant God who had heard the cries of His people and had come down to redeem them.

Now Jesus stands in the temple and declares that the God who spoke from the burning bush is standing before them.

The eternal Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. The covenant God has come to save His people. No wonder they pick up stones.They understand exactly what Jesus is claiming.

He is not merely claiming to be older than Abraham. He is claiming to be Abraham’s God.

The Gift to those who Keep His Word

What is the gift of eternal life? We usually just think of life after death.

Jesus is not promising that we won’t die; we know that as he died, we must also.

What Jesus is promising is that we will not look upon death as the final word, it is merely the passing from this mortal life to that which is immortal.

The flesh may fail, but the bitter sense of unpardoned sin shall not crush those who are in Christ.

Christians do not face death because they are stronger than death. They face death because Christ has defeated death. The believer does not enter the grave abandoned; he enters it united to Christ.

Ultimately, we have been granted deliverance from the 2nd death, that of God’s wrath, separation from His grace, and the final judgment our sins deserve.

What we mean by eternal life:

Eternal life is life with God. It begins the moment we are united to Christ by faith. It continues beyond the grave because Christ has conquered death. And it reaches its fullness when we see Him face to face.

Jesus defines it this way in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Eternal life isn’t defined first by duration, but relationship. Eternal life is knowing God through His Son. It is a life lived in communion with Christ that will never end. Eternal life is not merely living forever; it is living forever with the great “I AM.”

Who can receive eternal life? Those who keep Jesus’ word.

We must hear this rightly. Jesus is not teaching that eternal life is earned by our effort. We are not saved because we have learned enough, obeyed well enough, or tried hard enough. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Keeping Christ’s word is not the price of life; it is the fruit of life. It is not the root of our acceptance with God; it is the evidence that we have received the Son whom the Father has sent.

By grace, Christ brings sinners to know him. By grace, he gives them new hearts. By grace, he teaches them to abide in his word. And by grace, he strengthens them to walk in obedience; not perfectly in this life, but truly, increasingly, and perseveringly.

The one who knows Christ does not say, “I am free to ignore his word.” Rather, he says, “Lord, where else could I go? You have the words of eternal life.”

What Christ do you know?

Is he merely the Christ you have imagined: a teacher, a helper, a cheerleader, a bargain-maker, or a distant safety net? Or do you know him as he reveals himself here: the eternal I AM, the sovereign Lord, the promised Savior, and the only Redeemer of sinners?

Abraham saw Christ’s day and was glad. By faith, he looked ahead to the mercy of God. We look back to the cross and empty tomb, and we hear the same Savior speak.

Do not settle for knowing about him. Receive him. Trust him. Lay aside every false picture of him and believe in him as he is freely offered in the gospel.

If, by grace, you know him, do not despair over your weakness. The Christ who calls you to keep his word is the Christ who gives life, forgives sin, and keeps his people. He does not call you to save yourself. He calls you to abide in him.

Before Abraham was, I am. And because he is, all who belong to him will live.