“Before Abraham was, I AM”

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. John 8:58-59 (NIV)

In this passage, Jesus so infuriates His audience that they want Him dead. Why were they so angry with Him?

They were angry because they knew the significance of the statement Jesus had just made. Here, Jesus answered their question from John 8:53. They had asked him: “Who do you claim to be?” And when Jesus replied (with the statement recorded above), they knew exactly what His answer entailed: a claim to divinity. And so, their rage boiled over in response to this perceived blasphemy.

Many people have thought that this passage is an allusion to the Divine Name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I AM WHO I AM.” While that is possible, it is also likely that Jesus is referencing the way God speaks about Himself in the Greek translation of the book of Isaiah. This is suggested by John’s use of the exact wording of several passages found in Isaiah 40-66 — “ego eimi,” which simply means, “I AM.”

Jesus’ audience would have heard this echo and understood that Jesus had associated Himself with the God of Israel in the closest possible terms. In their ears, His claim was outrageous. But, as we will explore in the coming days, Jesus would continue to make this claim, again and again, and perform amazing deeds to back it up.

SHADOW: In Isaiah, God reveals Himself as “I AM” (Isaiah 41:4; 43:10-15, 25; 46:3-4; 48:12; 51:12; and 52:6; also in Exodus 3:14 and Deuteronomy 32:39)

CONTEXT: A group of unbelieving Jews asked Jesus if he claimed to be greater than Abraham and, specifically, who He actually claimed to be (8:53)

SUBSTANCE: Jesus is God! Along with the ‘I AM’ statements we will study over the next seven days, Jesus repeatedly refers to Himself simply as the ‘I AM.’ See John 4:26; 6:20; 8:24; 8:28; 13:19; 18:5, 8.

Reflect:

As you read John 8:31-59, consider the implications for your own life of Jesus’ claims in this passage. How do the passages from Isaiah shed even more light on the nature of His claims?

What is your emotional response to the claims of Jesus?