Overflow Daily...ish: Jesus- The I AM


“58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him…” 
John 8:58–59a 

Well that escalated quickly! Why is it that the Pharisees react in such a strong manner, willing to kill Jesus, based on two little words? Well before we get into the reason why, I want to provide a little bit of context as to what is going on. In the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel, we find recorded possibly one of the most interesting encounters between Jesus and the religious leaders. It is unique in that it creates a strong reaction from the religious leaders, but it is also one of the clearest indications of who Jesus is.

In fact, throughout this whole conversation Jesus has expressed multiple times who he is. But they reject his testimony (8:13), question his connection with the Father (8:19), and mock Jesus’ eternal home (8:21). But what makes this conversation even more intriguing is that the religious leaders cannot hide their hatred for Jesus and it shows in their responses to him. When he brings the testimony of his Father, they quip “who is your father?” Clearly, they are referring to the fact that he was born out of wedlock, an insult for sure. When he speaks of returning to his home in heaven, they joked about him committing suicide.

And then the conversation escalates a bit more as Jesus calls them illegitimate children of Abraham due to their disobedience and lack of faith that Abraham (8:39) had exhibited but rather the children of the devil (8:44). Which leads us to the final statement which Jesus’ response incites them to an uncontrollable rage and blood thirst, “have you seen Abraham?” (8:57). To this he replies, “…before Abraham was, I AM” (8:58). The meaning was not lost on them. This declaration was asserting Jesus’ eternal preexistence, an attribute that only can be attributed to God. And Jesus double downs on being God when he adds “I AM”. This was the name that God had given to Moses and here Jesus is connecting it to himself.

Borchert has a helpful paragraph on Jesus’ claim to be one with the Father: “Extending the present into the past does not compute in most of our minds. It is a confusion to the way we think. But God does not fit into the teacups of our minds. More pertinent for our purposes, however, is the fact that Jesus claimed to be ‘I AM’ over against Abraham. That claim was a reminder of the claims for God in the Old Testament over against creation (cf. Ps. 90:2; Isa. 42:3–9) and of the self-designation for the comforting God of Isaiah (41:4; 43:3, 13). The claim of Jesus, therefore, was clearly recognized from the Jews’ perspective to be a blasphemous statement they could not tolerate” (Borchert, p. 309).

To all who may deny the deity of Jesus and simply characterize him as a wise sage or prophet of old, Jesus speaks clearly. He is God. May we all today worship Jesus, the great I AM.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alex

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