[S]ome think Jesus never claimed to God, that perhaps this was an invention by early Christians or misreading Paul.…John’s gospel has seven distinct moments where Jesus claims to be something that no human could possibly be, with language that no devout Jew would possibly use for fear of committing blasphemy.…[In these] we hear the truth of Jesus’ identity.
—Michael Harrell—
Key point: You show me Jesus—the Jesus of the Bible, that is—and I’ll show you God Himself!
Note: I have a confession to make. Last time, which was a week ago, I indicated that in a week, I would post Part 2 of a series titled “Social Justice and Biblical Christianity Are Incompatible: Here’s Why” (go here for part 1). This was my intention, but I failed to remember that this week is Holy Week. I didn’t forget Easter was coming, but I did fail to synchronize my writing schedule with the upcoming holiday. Thanks for your patience. I’ll do my best to post part 2 of that series soon. However, I can’t imagine not focusing on the good news of Easter on Easter weekend.
Did Jesus claim to be God? Any fair reading of the Scriptures will lead an honest inquirer to one conclusion and one conclusion only. Yes, Jesus absolutely did claim to be God, and both His allies and His enemies understood this. We could cite many more than five passages affirming this, but initially let’s consider these five:
- Matthew 12:1-14
- Matthew 16:13-17
- Mark 2:1-12
- Luke 20:9-19
- John 5:18-23.
While Jesus didn’t in any of these accounts directly say, “I am God,” He said so using different words and by implication. For example, in numerous instances, Jesus claimed authority that only God possesses. One comes away from these biblical texts understanding that if Jesus were not God, He either was deluded, or He was a deceiver of the worst sort.
Yet the evidence indicates He was neither. He did not talk or act like a raving madman. Not at all! He was more than brilliant. He gave His critics responses that confounded and frustrated them. He was consistent in both His words and actions. Further, He spoke with a steady confidence that demonstrated He knew exactly who He was and what He needed to do.
Who Did Jesus Say He Was?
Just what kind of affirmations did Jesus make regarding Himself? Of particular interest are His “I am” statements appearing in John’s Gospel. We will examine 14 of these, and ours likely isn’t an exhaustive list. Each claim we will consider falls into one of three categories.
- Statements in which Jesus said “I am…” and then declared something explicit about Himself using a metaphor or an analogy. There are seven of these in all.
- Statements in which Jesus implied something He was or is. We will look at two such declarations.
- Statements in which Jesus simply, or essentially, said “I am.” As we will see, each of these, in and of itself, was and is a claim to deity. We will examine five proclamations in this category of claims.
Jesus Said, “I Am…”
Jesus had creative and vivid ways of claiming to be God. Of special interest are the seven “I am” statements He made as recorded in the Gospel of John. With these, the Lord claimed authority to do things no one else could do. Here are the seven statements and the events that surrounded them.
- I am the bread of life (John 6:22-40; esp. v. 35). On the day before Jesus made this claim, He had fed a crowd that included 5,000 men with only five loaves and two fish. The people were following Him, but for physical sustenance, not spiritual. Jesus warned them, 6:27 “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Jesus went on to claim in verse 35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
- I am the light of the world (John 8:1-12; esp. v. 12). In verses 1-11, Jesus rescued a woman caught in adultery from stoning. In the earliest manuscripts we have of John, John 7:53–8:11 does not appear. Was it part of John’s original account, or was it added later? We cannot know with certainty, but the content of these verses is entirely consistent with Jesus’ teachings and ministry. Further, the account fits well into the passages surrounding it, and in it we find “nothing that is in conflict with the apostolic spirt” or the authority of John as a writer whose work is God-breathed.1 Let’s assume, then, that the account is fully authentic and properly placed in the text in terms of chronology. Further, for the sake of our discussion, we’ll also assume that Jesus was who He claimed to be and was without sin. He and He alone, therefore, had the authority to condemn her, for, as the only one who was without sin, He legitimately could have cast the first stone. Yet He did not condemn. Instead, He asked the woman where her accusers were. They had departed. Jesus told her He would not condemn her either, but then He added, “Go, and sin no more.” Against this backdrop, Jesus then said, 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The good news this woman received, as well as the departure of her accusers, remind us of John 3:16-21, a portion of which says, 3:19 “the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
- I am the door (John 10:7-10; esp. v. 9). Some translations use the word gate. Earlier, in John 9, Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth. This healing was a source of severe consternation for the Pharisees, who sought to discredit Jesus by quashing the man’s testimony of his healing. The man continued to credit Jesus with giving him sight, so the Pharisees excommunicated him. Jesus’ conversation with the healed man in John 9:35-41 shows a stark contrast between spiritual sight and the spiritual blindness with which the Pharisees had been inflicted. The “thieves and robbers” of John 10:1-10 are the Pharisees and others like them.2 “Near the pasture is an enclosure for the sheep. The shepherd takes his place in the doorway or entrance and functions as a door…. The sheep can go out to the pasture in front of the enclosure, or if afraid, they can retreat into the security of the enclosure.”3 Only Jesus is the door through which the sheep—people—may access God’s blessings and provision. Some leaders, Jesus warned, didn’t, and don’t, care for the sheep but are self-centered and greedy. Jesus provides security from these impostors.4 As Jesus said in verses 9-10, 10:9 “If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 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.” Thus, Jesus declared He is the door through which those who believe in Him can access an abundant life. This is quite a claim, wouldn’t you say?
- I am the good shepherd (John 10:11-30; esp. v. 11). Jesus continued to develop the illustration He was using in John 10:1-10. Not only did He claim to be the door for the sheep; He also claimed to be the good shepherd. While impostors come to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (v. 10), He, the good shepherd, “gives his life for the sheep” (v. 11). Jesus meant it, for He soon would be executed on a cross, making it possible for His followers, or His sheep, to live forever rather than perish in their sins. Is it any wonder the sheep have a special relationship with their shepherd, and He with them?
- I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:1-45; esp. vv. 25-26). In John 11, Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. He heard his friend was sick and received word that his sisters, Mary and Martha, had requested that He come, but “He stayed two more days in the place where He was” (v. 6). By the time Jesus arrived, his friend Lazarus “had already been in the tomb four days” (v. 17). In a conversation with Lazarus’s sister Martha, Jesus told her Lazarus would rise again. Martha affirmed she believed he would “rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24). Jesus then said to her, 25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Martha responded that she believed He was “the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (v. 27). Martha was right about who Jesus was, and she also was right about her brother’s resurrection “at the last day.” She would see that very day, however, irrefutable proof that Jesus had power over life and death. Jesus ordered Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and “he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go’ ” (v. 44). John 12:9-11 indicates that, understandably, this event created quite a stir. Jesus’ opponents plotted even to put Lazarus to death.
- I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:1-11; esp. v. 6). It is helpful to remember that Jesus’ claim to be “the way, the truth, and the life” and that “no one comes to the Father except through Me” came following the last supper—the Passover meal Jesus observed with His disciples—and after Jesus had washed His disciples’ feet. Just hours away from being crucified, Jesus told His closest followers, 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas replied that since they weren’t aware of where He was going, they couldn’t know the way. Jesus responded, ““I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus’ conversation with His disciples continued as He indicated that knowing Him means knowing the Father. Phillip asked Him to show them the Father, and again, the Lord stressed the close relationship He had with His Father. Did they not understand that He was in the Father and the Father was in Him? Did they not understand that the words He spoke and the works He performed were authorized by God Himself? Jesus’ statements in John 14:7-11 also constituted claims to be God, and these fit perfectly with His “I am” statement in verse 6.
- I am the vine (John 15:1-8; esp. v. 5). Jesus also made this claim just hours before His crucifixion. It is fitting that His disciples heard Him say that He was the vine and they were the branches, and that without Him they could do nothing (see v. 5) just as He was about to leave them. Yet He wasn’t going to leave them alone, without help. Near the end of chapter 14, in verse 26, Jesus promised help would be theirs in and through the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Near the end of chapter 15 as well, in verses 26-27, He mentioned the Holy Spirit again and what the Spirit would do for them. The Spirit would represent Christ, who no longer could be physically present with His disciples. And He would empower them to bear spiritual fruit as they relied on Christ, and on His Spirit, for all that would be necessary to produce fruit. How crucial is this dependence on Christ on the part of all of His disciples? It is essential, for, as Jesus said, we can do nothing apart from Him.
Here are all 7 claims.
Two More “I Am” Claims, These by Implication
There are more. Let’s first consider two additional “I am” claims Jesus made by implication.
- John 4:1-26,39-42 tells us about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. In verses 13-14 we read, 13 “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ ” Jesus essentially was claiming that He is the source of “living water,” water that forever quenches the thirst of the one who drinks it.
- Christ made a similar claim in John 7. In John 7:2,37-39 we learn that on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus invited all who are thirsty to come to Him and drink of the water He was offering. Out of the hearts of those who believe in Him, He said, “will flow rivers of living water.” John then explained in verse 39 that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s activity in believers’ lives.
If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink, He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
—Jesus, in John 7:37-38—
Jesus Said, “I Am”
Then there were five additional claims Jesus made in John’s Gospel where He simply stated, “I am He,” “it is I,” or “I am.” All of these carry the meaning of the phrase “I am.” Significantly, “I am” was the name God said was His own when Moses, at the burning bush, asked Him, “When I approach the Israelites in Egypt and tell them the God of our fathers has sent me to you to demand that Pharaoh release them from bondage, and they ask, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say?”
The name I AM has many implications. God exists. He is personal. He is eternal. He also is aware—not just of Himself, but of everything else as well. And these are merely four of a multitude of traits implied in the name I AM. A transliteration of this name into English gives us the title YHWH. (The standard Hebrew alphabet is made up only of consonants.) Eventually, through the years, the Hebrew people came to believe that God’s name was so holy that sinful man should not utter it. They therefore substituted the name Adonai, or Lord. When you see the name LORD printed in small caps in your English Bible, it represents this name for God.
I am.
—God, to Moses in Exodus 3:14; and Jesus at numerous points during His ministry—
It is quite revealing that Jesus did not hesitate to apply this term—this name, “I am”—to Himself. While we will examine five such occasions John documented in His record of Jesus’ ministry, be aware that each of the other Gospel writers mentioned instances like these as well.5
- Returning to John 4:1-26,39-42, we note that in verses 25-26 the Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “ ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ 26 Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ ” The pronoun “He” is italicized in many English Bibles as an indication that the word is not present in the original Greek text, but strongly implied. Thus, John wrote that Jesus said, “I who speak to you am”—in other words, “I am.” Further, who was Jesus saying He was and is? The Messiah—the Christ—God’s anointed One.
- In John 6:16-21, Jesus’ disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee at night when “the sea arose because a great wind was blowing” (v. 18). Having rowed approximately three or four miles, the “storm-weary disciples”6 looked out onto the water and saw their Master walking toward them. They were were “thoroughly alarmed,”7 for they did not know right away that it was Jesus. They thought they were seeing a ghost! Jesus reassured them and said, “It is I; do not be afraid” (v. 20). “It is I” easily and accurately can be translated “I am.” Here are the parallel accounts of this incident in Matthew, Mark, and John. Luke did not record the event.
Amédée Varint, Christ walking on the sea - In John 8:21-28, Jesus was in the middle of a heated conversation with the Jews. Here I will summarize their discussion this way. “I am going away,” Jesus told them, “and I’m going where you cannot come.” He also told them plainly that they would die in their sins. “Who are you?” they asked. “Exactly what I’ve been saying all along,” He replied. “I have much to say about you and judgments to render. The One who sent me is true, and I am relaying to everyone who will listen what He has told me and wants me to say.” Jesus was speaking of His Father, the One true God in heaven, but they didn’t comprehend this. Then Jesus said (quoting now directly from John 8:28), “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.” Again, the word He is supplied in the English translation to enhance smoothness and clarity for English-speaking readers. “I am,” Jesus said. And you know what? He wasn’t finished! Not buy a long shot! Read on.
- Jesus’ exchange with the Jews in John 8 continued. While there are indications that some believed, it is clear that the main discussion took place between Jesus and Jews who opposed Him. In verses 37-59, the debate between these men and Jesus centered around the patriarch Abraham. They claimed Abraham as their father, and yes, he was their blood ancestor. Yet Jesus’ response highlighted a connection with Abraham on another level. Were they genuine children of Abraham, they would act as he did and not resist God. The heated discourse climaxed in verses 56-59. “Abraham,” Jesus said, “was pleased to see My day!” The Jews were aghast! They pointed out to Jesus He wasn’t even fifty yet, and Abraham was long gone! How could His claim possibly be true? The idea that Jesus had seen or known Abraham was ludicrous to them. Jesus’ answer was bold and forthright—and shocking to anyone who hadn’t believed in Him. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Could Jesus have uttered a clearer claim to be God? Such a scenario is difficult to imagine.
- Finally, in John 17, after Jesus had prayed for His disciples, including those who would come to Him and believe on Him in the future, “He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered” (18:1). This was Gethsemane, where Jesus would agonize in prayer before God, asking His Father to allow Him not to drink the cup that He had been assigned because He alone could drink it. “Nevertheless,” Jesus prayed, “I ask that not My will, but Your will, be done.” This also was the garden where Judas would betray Him. In John 18:3-8, the apostle reported this exchange.
3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”
5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He.
You may not be proficient in Greek, but I imagine you still can identify the number of times in this passage John mentioned that Jesus said “I am.” How many times? Go here for the answer.
The Conclusion of the Matter
It would be one thing if Jesus had gone around making assertions that He was God and then did nothing to back them up. However, he did back them up. Think again about Mark 2:1-12, a passage we cited at the top of this article. When Jesus told a paralyzed man his sins were forgiven, the Jewish scribes were indignant. “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?” they thought. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Well, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and He validated his words with actions that produced visible, verifiable results.
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
This, of course, was but one of a great many instances when Jesus offered solid evidence of who He was and is. Ultimately, the most significant proof He offered was His own resurrection from the dead. And He even predicted that event—repeatedly.
Furthermore, following His resurrection, Jesus made multiple appearances. His disciples didn’t expect Him to be raised from the dead, even though they had heard Him predict His death and resurrection. Yet they became convinced He was alive, for He appeared to them repeatedly and was, without question, their Master. As Luke declared in Acts 1:3, “He…presented Himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” The disciples never again were the same. Consider, for example, Peter, the coward who had denied Jesus three times before His death but who, after Christ’s resurrection, became a bold proclaimer of the gospel—despite fierce opposition.
Jesus presented Himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
—Luke, in Acts 1:3—
This Easter, we come face to face with Jesus’ claims to be God, including His “I am” statements in John’s Gospel. If you’re honest, you can’t refute Jesus’ claims to be God. Won’t you then bow before Him, repent of your sins, acknowledge Him as God, and receive His gift of eternal life?
This, my friend, is what Easter is all about!
Copyright © 2019 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Additional articles related to Easter are available here.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
top image: Lightstock
image credit: Easter lily
.JPG){kind=link}
Notes:
1William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1953), 33-35.
2Edwin A. Blum, “John” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Edition, John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, eds. (Victor Books, 1983), 309.
3Blum, 310.
4Ibid.
5See Matthew 14:26-27; Mark 6:47-50; 14:60-62; and Luke 24:36-39. In these passages, where the phrase “it is I” appears, it represents Greek words that mean, and that can be translated, “I am.” This was one of the ways—and a bold way at that—that Jesus claimed to be God. The Jews—both Jesus’ allies and His enemies, understood this.
6,7Hendriksen, 226.
Be First to Comment