[This year, I have been blessed to welcome a group of friends to gather around my table once a month to study “WHO JESUS IS” (NavPress, 2022), an in-depth look at the “I AM” statements of the LORD JESUS recorded in John’s gospel.

I pray this series of monthly reflections from our discussions has been a blessing and encouragement that reaches far beyond our kitchen table.]

𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 (𝘯𝘰. 𝟾): ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝘞𝘏𝘖 𝘑𝘌𝘚𝘜𝘚 𝘐𝘚 – 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘈𝘔 ⁣
(𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝟾:𝟺𝟾-𝟻𝟿)

As we have done each month through this study, it is good to start with a word study, considering what we know about “eternality” that might help us to fully appreciate what JESUS was saying about Himself when He declared “before Abraham was I AM” (John 8:58).  

WORD STUDY: eternal

dictionary: always, permanent, lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning, existing beyond time; unchangeable; can be relied upon regardless of time or circumstances

Biblical references: 

• JESUS was not a created being; He was eternally present. (John 1:1-2)
• JESUS, together with GOD the Father and the Holy Spirit, created the universe. (John 1:2-3, 10, Hebrews 1:2, 10)
• JESUS said, “Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed from death to life. (John 5:24)
• JESUS said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)

Other reflections:           

• “Only three things last for eternity: GOD, the Word of GOD, and the human soul.” (Jerry White, former president of Navigators)
• GOD is beyond time, His dominion is everlasting.
• He is our eternal rock; He lives forever.
• GOD’s Word is eternal, unequivocal.
• As the eternal Word, JESUS is not confined by time or creation; He is the source and sustainer of all life. 
• GOD exists entirely without time; GOD is timeless.

From the Navigators writing team: 

In John 8, JESUS and the Pharisees have an intense exchange with each side challenging the other about whether GOD is their Father.  The Pharisees also scoff at the extraordinary things JESUS is saying about who He is and why He has come.  But even those series of disputes do not infuriate them as much as His final, extraordinary claim: “Before Abraham was born, I am” (v 58).”

.   .   .

How did these thoughts frame our study of JESUS in John 8?  Our little discussion group shared several thought-provoking insights about this passage:

The Pharisees accused JESUS of being a Samaritan devil.  Since pedigree was so important to them, they intended to insult JESUS by calling Him a half-breed.  They saw a power in Him they couldn’t recognize, inaccurately declaring that power to be demonic.  The Pharisees often established their forefathers, Abraham and Moses, as the premise of their theological position, but JESUS challenged them in this, saying that any true sons of Abraham would recognize Him for who He is.  Abraham looked forward to the day when JESUS would come and rejoiced to see GOD’s promise fulfilled in that future day. 

Sadly, these Jewish leaders seemed to be missing the point, holding fiercely to human forefathers while neglecting or outright rejecting the GOD of those faithful men.  They went as far as to say that Moses had given their fathers bread in the wilderness (John 6:31), when the miraculous provision of manna could only have come from GOD.  These leaders didn’t seem to have any personal encounters with GOD or a close relationship with Him, as Abraham and Moses did.  In their pride, the Pharisees clung to their religious traditions, not to GOD Himself.  They placed more confidence in their own actions – devoutly following their own rules – than in GOD or His Word.

The Pharisees were so deeply entrenched in their own beliefs, convinced that they knew more than anyone else, they failed to grasp what JESUS was telling them about GOD the Father and about eternal life.  So focused on what they could see and hear and experience in their earthly lives, their hearts were not open to consider spiritual matters or life beyond this world.

As we discussed this interchange between the Jewish leaders and JESUS, we acknowledged that it would have been difficult for these men to understand an unprecedented reality: this Man standing in front of them was also GOD!  The great I AM had sent Him, but He also is the great I AM!  Rightfully, by their law, anyone claiming equality with GOD would be seen as blasphemous, usurping the almighty, unchallenged supremacy of GOD.  But, there was mounting evidence they simply didn’t allow themselves to accept:

• Countless Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah were fulfilled in JESUS.
• The woman at the well in Samaria excitedly told her entire town, “Come, see a Man who told me all things I ever did; is not this the Christ?” [the Messiah] (John 4:29)
• Others wrestled with questions, but appealed to JESUS to help them accept the truth about Him: “The father [of a demon-possessed boy who was healed] instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24, NLT)
• The temple guards testified honestly, “we have never heard anyone speak like this Man!” (John 7:46, NLT)
• A blind man who was given sight, declared confidently, “if this Man were not from GOD, He couldn’t have done it.” (John 9:33, NLT)
• JESUS, Himself, had already challenged the Jewish leaders: “You sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about Me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—My teachings and My miracles. The Father gave Me these works to accomplish, and they prove that He sent Me.” (John 5:33-36)
• Even Roman soldiers witnessing JESUS’ death were convinced: “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding JESUS saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54, NIV)

Is it possible, in all their longing for the coming of the promised Messiah, they never understood that the Sent One would also be GOD in the flesh?  When He came, He turned their expectations of a Savior upside down.  He didn’t come in regal majesty or as a conquering warrior to free them from Roman rule.  Instead, JESUS came in lowly form, as a newborn Baby, to live a humble life in obedience to the Father.  

How could this conversation between JESUS and the Jewish leaders have played out differently?  Much like we find in our world today, the Pharisees didn’t take time to really listen and consider truth that challenged them.  Pride caused them to be convinced that their own understanding was complete and sufficient.  They never paused long enough to simply and humbly say, “What You are saying to us does not seem to match up to the truth we hold.  We cannot grasp what You are trying to tell us.  Can You help us understand what we are missing?”

How different would this story have been if, like the two on the road to Emmaus, the Pharisees had given JESUS the opportunity to “take them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27)?  Tragically, these Jewish leaders never welcomed such a conversation.

JESUS’ claim to be the “I AM”, the same GOD who spoke to Abraham and Moses, still surprises many people today.  Our finite minds struggle to grasp His eternality.  Our world is constantly changing.  So, it is hard for us to imagine the One who is eternally unchanging, completely reliable, timeless, ageless, constantly relevant.  

Sadly, we have trouble even grasping that Abraham and Moses were humans, just like us, who lived and walked this earth, navigated challenges, experienced joys and sorrows, who died and have been in glory with the triune GOD, waiting for us to join them one day!

We are also bombarded by a multitude of ideologies in our world, a plethora of distractions.  As frail, impatient humans, we don’t want to take the time or effort to wrestle with truth.  We are looking for instant gratification, the answer yesterday, even our food instantly prepared in a microwave.  We are told that each individual can define and hold a personal version of “truth.”  Our own desires for control, our own pride-filled insistence on what we belief to be right and good, blinds us to the one standard of truth – from GOD’s word alone.  (The only two eternal, reliable sources of truth are the Word of GOD and the GOD of the Word!)

When His Spirit touches and opens our hearts to receive the truth of who JESUS is, how do we respond?  When we make space in our days to encounter the person and words of JESUS, to come into His presence, “face to face” with Him, with a heart open to see Him and a hunger to know Him, what rises from our hearts?  Here are a few thoughts shared around our discussion table:

• He is our Redeemer, Savior.
• He gives us eternal life.
• He is the one true GOD.
• The reality of who JESUS is compels us to honor Him, obey His Word, and offer Him praise.
• We have new desires to live for Christ in all that we say and do.
• I pray for myself and the little people in my life: “This little light of mine, I want to let is shine – in boldness, thanking Him for another new day to serve Him, to shine brightly so others can come to know and trust Him too!”

.  .  .

Months ago, before embarking on this journey through the “I AM” statements of the LORD JESUS recorded in John’s gospel, it seemed right and good to remember the LORD’s first “I AM” statement recorded in the Old Testament:

Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The GOD of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask, ‘What is His Name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

GOD replied to Moses, “I AM who I AM.  Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”  GOD also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the GOD of your ancestors – the GOD of Abraham, the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of Jacob – has sent me to you.  This is My eternal Name, My Name to remember for all generations.”  (Exodus 3:13-15, NLT)

At the very beginning of our journey, back in January, we acknowledged the importance of noticing how the LORD JESUS always communicated His oneness with the Father.  He has always been and always will be GOD.  The Son is the exact representation of the Father (Colossians 1:15, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3), one with each person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  

By using this Name of GOD, “I AM”, JESUS was clearing saying He is Divine, He is GOD.  The great I AM sent Him, and He also is the I AM.  They are one.  We wondered how JESUS would use these “I AM” statements to reveal more and more of His (and therefore the Father’s) heart, character, and purposes to us as we studied these passages through the year.

In our study of WHO JESUS IS, we have learned:

• JESUS is the Bread of Life, the One who nourishes and sustains us.  He satisfies our souls’ deepest hunger.  
• JESUS is the Light of the World, the One who illuminates our darkness.  He exposes untruths, revealing the way of salvation.
• JESUS is the Gate for the sheep, the One who calls us by name to welcome us into His fold where we will be protected.
• JESUS is our Good Shepherd, the One who lays down His life to care for us, His sheep.  He watches over us and guides us one step at a time.
• JESUS is the Resurrection and the Life, the One who triumphed over death, securing eternal life for all who trust in Him.
• JESUS is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the One who has secured the only open door through which we can approach and know the Father, to be reconciled to Him, made inseparably and eternally one with Him as His redeemed children.
• JESUS is the Vine, the One who lovingly provides everything we need to grow and thrive and produce fruit that brings glory to the Father, our faithful Gardener.

This month we learned that JESUS is GOD, the eternally unchanging, self-existent One.  He stands outside of time and space, from eternity past to eternity future, from everlasting to everlasting, He is GOD!

As we wrap up this study of our great “I AM,” we pray: may pride never blind us to the reality of who JESUS is; may we only bow in humble adoration, with a growing hunger to know Him more; and may we never cease to be awed by His Person, steadied by His truth, and wrapped in His love.