I AM
“I am” is God’s name that God revealed to Moses when he asked for God’s name at Mount Sinai (Ex 3:13-14). To Isaiah also God revealed Himself as I AM, “You are my witnesses – oracle of the LORD – my servant whom I have chosen to know and believe in me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, and after me there shall be none” (Isa 43:10).
Jesus identified himself with the Father using the same name. When he used “I AM” for himself, the Jews tried to stone him (Jn 8:56-59) because they clearly perceived Jesus as making himself equal to God. Jesus used “I AM” in seven pronouncements concerning himself combining it with the metaphors that express his saving relationship with humanity. All of them appear in the gospel of John:
1. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn 6:35).
2. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12).
3. “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture (Jn 10:9).
4. “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11).
5. “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (Jn 11:25).
6. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).
7. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
All the above seven attributes give a glimpse of who Jesus is for us.
Also in John 8:28, Jesus used I AM for himself: “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM” (Jn 8:58). When the soldiers came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane, he revealed himself again as I AM (Jn 18:5). Jesus further clarified the requirement of faith in him as God (I AM) to stave off dying in our sins. “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins” (Jn 8:24). All these assertions constitute proof that Jesus is from above, that he is God, God Incarnate or the Messiah.
REFLECTION
Only God exists forever. Though we believe in eternal life, we struggle to believe an existence without a beginning. God’s revelation of his name to Moses as “I AM,” is an affirmation of His existence without a beginning and end. Jesus revealed his identity in words and deeds. Let us believe in Jesus and follow him to gain an eternal life of joy with God in heaven.