Jesus made eight forthright I am statements in the Gospel according to John. Was He simply stirring the proverbial pot or did He have a distinct reason for making these I am statements?
Why did Jesus make these often controversial I AM statements?
The I AM statements made by Jesus were a continuation of what God told Moses. God told Moses, “I Am Who I Am.” Jesus, through His I AM statements, contributed to that divine revelation.
The I Am Statements of Jesus
- I AM the Bread of Life
- I AM the Light of the World
- Before Abraham was I AM
- The Door
- The Good Shepherd
- The Resurrection and the Life
- The Way, the Truth, and the Life
- The True Vine
Jesus never made excuses for speaking the unvarnished truth. He simply stated His case without additional elaboration. Wisdom was interjected to the listeners and He allowed them to accept it or reject it.
The Church is still wrestling with some of these I AM statements. Jesus made the declaration and kept moving forward.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
John 6:48-51 I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.
Jesus was encouraging the crowd while simultaneously correcting them. Many were following Him, at least at this point, because of the miracle of the fish and loaves. He continued to plow forward with His teaching despite their misplaced motives.
Jesus made it abundantly clear that He was how to gain eternal life. This “bread” was not only available to the Jews but also to the whole world.
He continued His teaching with the summation of “Eat my flesh and drink my blood” which caused many disciples to stop following Him (John 6:66). Jesus never attempted to draw a crowd.
I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Light dispels darkness. Imagine the darkest most cavernous location you can. Even a simple match, a flashlight, or a cellphone would repel the darkness.
The dark is no match for the light.
Darkness is banished as we walk with Jesus. The closer we follow Him the greater the light’s intensity is in our life. This also means that even slight offenses and seemingly petty sins will be magnified.
We will find even our most mundane and vapid sins to be bothersome and painful as the light of Jesus shines on our hearts.
BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
This proclamation made by Jesus boiled the blood of the religious establishment! As soon as those words left His mouth they were picking up stones to kill Him for blasphemy (John 8:59).
Essentially, Jesus made Himself equal with God when He stated, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” I love the way R.C. Sproul explains the divinity of Christ. It may seem semantical but I appreciate his clarity.
I AM THE DOOR
John 10:7-10 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.
I am often asked if the Bible should be taken literally which is a great question. In some instances, the Bible should be taken literally and in other instances, it should not be taken literally.
Obviously, Jesus is not a literal door. So what could this text actually mean?
Doors are not vast. Most doors are narrow and restrictive. Doors are access points to different locations. Jesus is that access point to the sheep.
When we enter through Jesus we will be saved and find spiritual nourishment. Doors that exclude Jesus are established by crooks, criminals, and bandits.
Far too many Christians believe that the “thief” mentioned in John 10:10 is the devil but it’s not. Read the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to John in its entirety and not just John 10:10 alone.
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father —and I lay down my life for the sheep.
It is imperative that we are known by Jesus. The scariest scripture in the Bible, in my opinion, is Matthew 7:21-23. In this text, the people were certain that they had sure standing in heaven. However, Jesus admitted that He never knew them and told them to depart.
Sheep often know the voice of their shepherd. They discern their shepherd’s tone, pitch, and nuance. A non-shepherd could give the exact same command as the shepherd and the sheep would not budge.
We in the church should be similarly tuned to our Good Shepherd.
I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
The death of Lazarus was tragic while simultaneously triumphant. Jesus was fully aware that Lazarus was sick and would die. Mary, Martha, and even Jesus experienced legitimate pain during this time.
The shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, succinctly affirms the humanity of Jesus. Jesus knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead. In spite of that knowledge, He shared in the pain with Mary and Martha.
Death was no match for Jesus.
Jesus, truly God and truly man, addressed Lazarus specifically and commanded him to come out of the grave. We, as believers in Christ, can hold firm to the promise Jesus gave to Martha.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do YOU believe this?
I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
This scripture has been thrust back into the common conversation recently. Scholars, academicians, and even some ministers are questioning and even occasionally attacking the truth that Jesus is THE WAY.
Many Christians now receive their theology from talk shows and God-diminishing Podcasts. The Gospel according to Oprah indicates that there are millions of ways to God — not just one. Steve Harvey has created a new Gospel as well.
Neither of these aligns with the scripture and should be considered a false Gospel.
Jesus is unequivocally THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. Don’t cede any ground on this issue. Stand firm and contend for the faith!
FINAL I AM STATEMENT — I AM THE TRUE VINE
John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
I’ve never worked in a vineyard but have worked on a fruit farm. Pruning good trees and vineyard branches is just par for the course. Bad branches are removed and destroyed and good ones are pruned for improved future growth.
The life of a disciple of Christ, even in the best case, is going to involve at least some pain and discomfort — it’s just par for the course.
Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. Are we, the branches, bearing fruit or are we just taking up space and misusing nutrients?
It’s vital that we abide in Him. In our abiding, we can bear much fruit. Let’s be fruit bearers and bless the Church of the Living God!
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
When we abide, we bear fruit and apart from Christ, we can do nothing. I’d rather bear fruit!
How about you?
Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.