Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58
Many have claimed that Jesus never said He was God, yet in this verse alone, He is called Himself “ego eimi”, the holy name God called himself when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush. The Jews knew what He was saying too, as they tried to stone Him for it. Today we have many religions, skeptics, and unbelievers who make the argument that Jesus never said He was God, or one should not worship Jesus, as we are to worship only God, thus inferring that Jesus is not God, but knowledge of the whole Bible helps one see that Jesus is God.
Check out the following I Am statements below and see for yourself the paper trail left in the Bible that clearly demonstrates that Jesus is God. Those to whom He was speaking knew it. What about you? Who do you say Jesus is?
I AM (Shared from Radical Truth)
The term “I AM” is a term God reserved as a title for Himself. This can be seen by reading the account of Moses speaking with God in Exodus 3.Exodus 3:13-15
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
Ex. 3:14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
When Jesus claims the title of I AM (εγω ειμι in Greek), he is claiming the divine title God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3. The Jews of his day understood exactly what Jesus was claiming:
John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, “I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
John 8:59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Why did the Jews pick up stones to stone him? Because HE WAS CLAIMING TO BE GOD!
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was claiming for himself. He was calling himself God!
Furthermore Jesus uses the term I Am many other times throughout the New Testament.
I AM…
The Bread of Life – John 6:35
The Light of the World – John 8:12
The Door – John 10:9
The Good Shepherd – John 10:11
The Resurrection and the Life – John 11:25
The Way, The Truth, and The Life – John 14:6
The True Vine – John 15:1
Even to the Samaritan woman at the well, he identified himself as God:
John 4:25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
John 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Literally in the Greek, Jesus said “I AM, The One speaking to you.”
Shared from Radical Truth