The I AM Sayings of Jesus Christ: I AM

…Gracious and Loving God, as we come into a new season of this world and a new season in our lives, wondering what you have in store for our future, we come before you today, humbled by your presence amongst us and of the life of your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask you today, oh God, to help us open our ears to hear your still speaking voice, our eyes to see the love and wisdom of your Son in all that we meet, and our hearts to feel your presence amongst us this day and each day that is to come, Amen.

A favorite story of research scientists is about a future president of the United States who assembled his scientific brain trust and asked them to build the biggest and smartest computer the world has ever known. “When it’s finished,” he said, “I want to ask it the most important question ever asked.” When the giant electronic brain was completed, the president came before it and asked, “Is there a God?”

Lights flashed, wheels whirled, chemicals bubbled, and then came the answer: “There is now.”

—James C. Hefley Tan, Paul Lee. Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996. Print.

A New Journey...

Today, we begin a journey to explore how Jesus Christ began to reveal who he truly was to all those who followed him and those who just seemed to refuse to hear his words and wisdom. To get us started on this series on the I Am statements of Christ, I thought it might be helpful to get a little background on where we are in Christ’s Life…Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time and everywhere he goes, he is challenged and tested for the things that he says and claims. Very simply, we are just a short time before Jesus’ death at the hands of the Romans, urged on by the Pharisees and Sadduccees. We need to keep that in mind because each of the phrases we will study over the next 6 or so weeks, is going to reflect a deeper and deeper sense of who Jesus truly is. With that said, here are the six sayings we will cover and then we will actually look at the last statement he makes in John’s Gospel, sound like a plan? Ok good, because we are going there whether you like it or not...

The “I am” sayings of John’s Gospel

So very quickly, let’s look at the statements that have become known as the “I Am” statements or the statements that Jesus makes to reveal that his is divine.

John 8:58 NLT

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”

John 6:35 NLT

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:12 NLT

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:7 NLT

so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.

John 11:25 NLT

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

John 15:5 NLT

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

These are not all of the I AM statement but these are specific to John’s Gospel and give us a pretty clear picture of who Jesus truly was and some of the names that truly describe who Jesus was.

What’s in a Name?

Do you like your name? Do you know why that particular name was chosen for you? Maybe you were named after a parent or grandparent, or you were named after a person in the Bible. Do you know the background or origin of your family name? Some names reflect the occupations of your ancestors. “Millers” once ground or milled wheat into flour. The “Smiths” were metal-workers of long ago, silversmiths, goldsmiths or blacksmiths. Names like Anderson explain the relationship of a father and son. We carry our family name with pride, or perhaps not so much. For better or worse, our names define us. Our names tell the world who we are.

Names were also important in Bible times too, not only the names of people, but also the names of the gods that were worshiped in various nations. The people of Israel worshiped one God, the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the Israelites were well acquainted with the gods of other nations. At different times in their history, the Israelites were too well acquainted with the other gods, they forsook the worship of the one true God of Israel and even bowed down to idols. The Canaanites worshiped Moloch and Rephan, and sometimes Israelites joined in, even to the point of sacrificing their children to these false gods. The Moabites worshiped Baal and the Philistines bowed down to Dagon, the god whose image was destroyed by Samson.

Moses and God’s Name

When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, they came to know the gods of Egypt too, even if they did not worship them— gods like Ra, Hathor, Isis, Heket and many more. When God had had enough of their foolishness, God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery into freedom. In the story we heard this morning from Exodus, we heard this exchange between Moses and God. In that passage, we heard Moses questioning God because he thought there might be a problem. The Israelites might wonder just which one of the many gods was going to help them. Moses asked, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” The people of Israel would want to know. Their Egyptian overlords worshiped all kinds of gods. Who is this God who will set us free? What is his name? After all, all of the gods of other nations have names, so this God must also have a name.

I AM

God gave his name to Moses: “I am who I am.” That is God’s name: “I am.” It is the name we sometimes pronounce as Yahweh. When the Hebrew Scriptures were written down, that name of God was considered too holy to write or pronounce out loud. In its place the scribes wrote “Adonai,” or “Lord.” In our English Bibles the holy name of God, Yahweh or I am, is written with the word “lord” in all capital letters. It is a mysterious name, a name that simply expresses the existence of the one true God, “I am.”

Unlike all the false, imagined gods of the world, I am is the one true God who truly is real, who truly exists. It is a name that very well captures the mysterious majesty of God. That is the name of the God who sends Moses. I am is the God who delivers people from slavery and leads them into freedom.

I am set the people free from slavery. I AM caused all of the plagues, one of which killed the firstborn of Egypt but spared the Israelites, who marked their doors with the blood of lambs. They were set free on that night of the first Passover, when God “passed over” their homes and spared Israel’s firstborn. As the people traveled to the Promised Land, God would often remind them who I AM was and what had been done for them. On Mount Sinai, as God gave the Ten Commandments, God said, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:1-3).

That is, “I am Yahweh, your God.” “I am I am, your God. I am the God who set you free.” I am had set the people free from slavery in Egypt. Centuries later the time would come when I am would act to set people free from slavery to sin, death and the devil.

Jesus is “I AM”

I am loved the world that was created, and so when the time was right, God sent the Son to be our Savior. In the Son, Scripture tells us, “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). The Son would be called Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” I am came to dwell among us, with us, as one of us. I am came to live among us and save us, and he was known by the human name we love so much, the name of Jesus.

Jesus Proved that He Was “I AM”

Jesus did many miracles to identify himself, to prove that he really was who he said he was, the Son of God and the promised Messiah of Israel. Jesus told those who doubted him, “Even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:38). Jesus also spoke of himself as “I am.” He identified himself as the God of Israel, in the flesh. Jesus told the Jews of his eternal nature, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews knew exactly what he meant and picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself from them. Later the Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah would say, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33). They knew Jesus was claiming to be I am, the God of Israel.

When the time came for Jesus to fulfill the Father’s purpose for him, he would prove himself to be I am, the God who sets people free. The apostle Paul describes Jesus “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

We Are Set Free by I AM

The Israelites were set free from slavery when the firstborn of Egypt died. We were set free from slavery to sin, death and the devil when the firstborn Son of God died on the cross. We deserve death and eternal separation from God for all of our attempts to be the gods in our own lives, for our feeble efforts to think of ourselves as “I am,” as we rebel against God’s will to follow our own desires. “I am in control,” we think. “I am in charge.” But Jesus laid down his life for us, suffering the penalty of death that we earned for ourselves. But death could not defeat I am any more than the ancient Egyptians could. Jesus rose up from death to free us from death. In the triumph of his resurrection, Jesus proved once more and for all time that he is I am, the God who saves and sets people free.

Many times during his earthly ministry, Jesus used those words “I am,” to identify himself, to illustrate the ways in which he continues to care for us and supply our needs. As we explore all of these statements, maybe one will apply to you…if you are for life, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” IF you feel lost in this world by the darkness that now envelops it, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” If you have come searching for safety and protection, he says, “I am the door of the sheep.” When we fear death, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” If maybe, just maybe we are searching for roots and seeking to grow in faith, Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” Jesus proved so long ago that he is all of these and so much more. As we journey together over the next few weeks, my prayer is that you might connect with one, just one of these statements and regain or maybe even realize for the first time, how much God loves us. He is I am, the God who saves people and sets them free. Amen