Sunday October 10, 2021
In Case You Forgot Who I Am
Do you know who Jesus said He was? Do you remember the claims He made in regards to His identity? Have you forgotten who He really is? Those people who think of the Lord Jesus Christ as just a great man who never really claimed to be God need to confront His amazing statement to the scribes and Pharisees there in Jerusalem when they were berating Him in the temple.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” He said. Then, when they questioned that assertion, He went on to insist that “Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn.8:56, Jn.8:58).
This was such a bold claim to deity that they immediately prepared to stone Him for what they thought was blasphemy. Of course, if He was not God, what He said was blasphemous, which was a capital crime under the Mosaic Law (Lev.24:16). He was actually claiming to be the God to whom Moses spoke at the burning bush, when he asked God what His name was. God had answered that His name was “I AM” (Ex.3:14) that is, He is the God who is eternally self-existent, transcendent to time as well as to space and matter. And that was who Jesus was claiming to be! In fact, “I Am” has always been who God is. (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of Law)
It is fascinating to note the frequency of such “I Am” claims in the Bible after this, and how they occur in multiples of seven, a fact which seems designed by the Holy Spirit who inspired them.
- There are seven “I Am”s in the Book of Genesis.
- Then, there are 21 “I Am”s in the Book of Exodus, including the divine answer to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex.3:14).
- The wonderful Book of Psalms contains seven “I Am”s that speak prophetically and sadly of the future sufferings of the incarnate Christ. These all occur in psalms that are specifically known to be Messianic psalms (referring to Christ) because they are quoted as such in the New Testament. These are:
“I am a worm, and no man” (Ps.22:6)
“I am poor and needy” (Ps.40:17)
“I am …a stranger unto my brethren” (Ps.69:8).
“I am full of heaviness” (Ps.69:20).
“I am poor and sorrowful” (Ps.69:29).
“I am as a sparrow alone upon the house top” (Ps.102:7).
“I am withered like grass” (Ps.102:11).
- Isaiah contains 35 such claims (7×5). The first is Is.41:4.“I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.” The last is Is.60:16. “…I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”
- The Book of Ezekiel contains 70 of these great assertions (more than any other single book).
- Jeremiah contains 21 of these statements.
- Then, all the smaller prophetical books of the prophets have a total of 21 “I Am”s. All told, the 17 prophetical books contain a total of 154 (22×7) of God’s great “I am” claims. The final such claim in the Old Testament is found in Malachi 3:6, in which God appropriately reminds everyone that “I am the Lord, I change not.” He is the great “I AM,” the self-existent God.
Now, in the New Testament, Jesus echoes those same claims of deity. Blasphemy or truth? It is in the Gospel of John that the most beautiful and “I am”s are found.
- “I am the bread of life” (Jn.6:35, Jn.6:48, Jn.6:51).
- “I am the light of the world” (Jn.8:12).
- “I am the door of the sheep” (Jn.10:7, Jn.10:9).
- “I am the good shepherd” (Jn.10:11, Jn.10:14).
- “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn.11:25).
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn.14:6).
- “I am the true vine” (Jn.15:1, Jn.15:5).
There are also seven great “I am” statements in the Book of Revelation. It is significant that they stress His eternal existence, from eternity to eternity.
- “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Rev.1:8).
- “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last” (Rev.1:11NKJV).
- “Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Rev.1:17).
- “I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev.1:18).
- “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (Rev.21:6).
- “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Rev.22:13).
How anyone could hear or see these claims and then still deny that they were claims to deity is a great mystery to me. That is the choice. Either Jesus Christ was mad or wicked…or else He truly is I AM.
“Do you believe this?” He would ask today, just as He asked Martha long ago as she was grieving over the death of her brother, Lazarus (Jn.11:26). How could anyone doubt the overwhelming evidence of Christ being the Messiah, the Son of God…God, Himself?
Our glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is more than just a great religious teacher who was martyred for His faith long ago. He is alive on His throne in heaven, having defeated death forever. He was our great Creator, our sin-bearing Savior and will be our eternal Lord and King.
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.’” 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.’ (Ex.3:14-15)
It is more than a name. It expresses His nature. It expresses His absolute, unchanging and eternal character. It reveals His self-existence. It denotes His constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling His promise. And He is saying to us, “Never forget who I Am!”
