“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58 NIV).
Did Jesus claim to be God? Yes.
It had been at least 2,190 years since the birth of Abraham, and it had been at least 2,015 years since the death of Abraham. However, in the midst of an intense conversation with a group of people, Jesus stated: “…before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).
At least 1,470 years earlier, God had revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush. And the purpose for this encounter: God planned to send Moses on a mission. And the mission: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).
Now Moses had a concern or interest in a specific name for God. This makes sense when we consider that most of the cultures around at that time advocated multiple ‘gods.’ Polytheistic is the academic term that would be applied to their religious convictions. Thus I consider that Moses wanted to identify the one true God.
This was the dialogue: Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-14).
In using the name “I am” for Himself, Jesus was stating He is God.
If I recall correctly, it was the winter of 2000 when I started an intense study of the book of John, pondering and journaling through the book passage by passage. That study took about one and a half years.
The book of John is utterly rich with the teachings of Jesus! And through it all, one major objective by John was to reveal the identity of Jesus. And this passage is a pinnacle of that revelation. Jesus stated He is God.
“Orthodox” Christian doctrine has long affirmed that the nature of God involves three Persons who comprise of one Being. We acknowledge this reality in Christian baptism as a person is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Hunter Irvine
Scripture Love Blog
