I AM JesusSýnishorn

“I AM YAHWEH.”

When God laid out His plan to set Israel free from exile so they could worship Him and live a new life, Moses asked God a question, “What name should I tell the people when they ask who sent me?” God’s response marks a turning point in the redemptive history of Israel. He replies, “I AM WHO I AM,” followed by, “Tell them I AM sent you.” From this point forward "I AM" became the righteous, unmatched, all-glorious expression of their redeeming God. Translated YAHWEH, this became God’s self-proclaimed name intended to declare His independence, supremacy, and sustenance in all things. God doesn’t need anybody or anything, He is supreme over all things, and everything is sustained through Him. God finishes the redemptive declaration by equating Himself to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He leaves them with this bold proclamation, “This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.”

This sets the backdrop for Jesus’ statements. Everyone knows who YAHWEH is. An entire nation of people spends their days studying their Redeemer, praising Him, celebrating His divinity, and sacrificing to Him. Generations have passed down the reverence and awe of YAHWEH, their Deliverer, the great I AM. Then, on the grand stage of an entire nation awaiting the arrival of their promised Messiah, YAHWEH in the flesh, Jesus stands before an awestruck crowd of thousands feasting on a miraculously provided buffet and declares with divine confidence, “I AM the bread of life.” What follows throughout the gospel of John are 6 more statements Jesus makes about Himself, boldly and clearly proclaiming His deity.

I know someone who was adopted shortly after birth and didn’t meet their biological parents until twenty years later. You’d think, having been raised by a different family, in a different state, and having no interaction with her biological parents, she’d have little to no resemblance to them. But it was the exact opposite. Her laugh, jokes, mannerisms, and even the way she walks and talks are shockingly similar to her biological parents. They may not have been involved for the first half of her life, but it’s undeniable who she came from.

That’s what’s happening with Jesus and His followers in the seven “I AM” statements. He says it, and the crowds see “God” in Him. As we begin this journey through the incredible statements of Jesus, don’t see them as mere teachings. See them as mannerisms, laughs, and uniquely inherited actions that could only mean one thing: This is God’s son.