I Am...

I Am…

This is one of if not the most profound statement in the entire Bible.  2 words – such a simple statement.  But this simple statement is a powerful statement to say the least.  So  much is bound up in these 2 simple words.  I AM.  

Turn with me to John 8.  As you do that let me tell you where we’re headed.  What I hope to communicate to you this morning and for the next 7 weeks can be summed up in 4 points:

1.      Jesus is God.

2.      Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures.

3.      Jesus is the true Israel.

4.      Those in Christ make up the true Israel.

This morning we are going to start at the end.  Then we will go back to the beginning and work our way back to the end.

John 8:58-59  58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Look at what Jesus said.  I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I Am.    Note what Jesus is saying.  He is saying that before Abraham existed he did.  But you may have noticed that those weren’t his words.  His words were before Abraham was born I am.  His words weren’t before Abraham was born, I was.  His words weren’t before Abraham was born I existed.  His words were before Abraham was born, I AM.  Now either:

1.      this is a really poor translation by the NIV translators, or 2.      Jesus had really poor grammar, or 3.      there was perhaps more depth to what Jesus said in those simple words I AM.  I believe there was much more to what Jesus said than meets the eye.  As 21st century Americans we might miss the power of those few words, but Jews in the first century did not.  Look at their reaction to Jesus’ statement.  In v59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him.  Why would they pick up stones to stone him?

Turn with me to Exodus 3:1-18  We’re all familiar with the context.  Israel is enslaved in Egypt.  Pharaoh tried to have all the baby Israelite boys killed.  One of the baby boys who survived was Moses.

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

   And Moses said, “Here I am.”

 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

 13 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?”

So God has manifest in this burning bush that is burning but not burning up.  He identifies himself as the God of Israel – the God of Moses’ fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  He commissions Moses to go to Pharaoh and request that he let God’s people go.  Moses seems to think through this a little and foresees some questions.  What if I go and tell my people that God has sent me to rescue them and they ask “what is God’s name?”  So Moses asks 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?” 

14 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.’”

 15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the 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, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

God said to Moses, tell them I AM has sent you to them.  Your God, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you.  I AM is his name forever, the name by which he is to be remembered from generation to generation.

So the Israelites saw God perform his mighty acts and came to know him as I AM.  That was the name by which he was remembered from generation to generation.  For 1500 years the Israelites remembered Jehovah, God as I AM.  That was the name by which they remembered him.

BIBLICALLY, NAMES CARRY SIGNIFICANT VALUE & REPRESENT A PERSON.

After the exodus out of Egypt God began to give the Israelites the Law.  That started with the 10 Commandments which were very much a synopsis of the Law, a representation of the Law as a whole.  The first commandment was have no other gods before Jehovah.  The second was do not make or bow down to any idols.  The third commandment, Ex 20:7 You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  Don’t misuse the name of God.  Don’t take his name in vain.  Don’t speak his name in a meaningless way; don’t just go throwing around the name of Jehovah, but speak it with reverence, awe and the utmost respect.  Do not misuse his name.  His name represents him; don’t misuse his name.  We just learned that I AM is the name by which they were to remember him from generation to generation.  So according to the Law that God himself gave them, just tossing around Jehovah, just tossing around I AM was a serious no no.

In fact there was an INSTANCE IN WHICH A WOMAN BLASPHEMED THE NAME WITH A CURSE.  Turn with me to Lev 24.  Lev 24:10-16  10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.  So he blasphemed the Name with a curse.  You can probably tell what blasphemed means by the context, but the definition of blaspheme: to speak irreverently or impiously of God, to speak evil of, slander or abuse.

So this guy spoke irreverently about God.  He blasphemed the Name with a curse.  He cursed the Name of God.  He misused the Name of God.  He took the Name of God in vain.  So they put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.

 13 Then the LORD said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

So far we have Moses, raised up as the leader of God’s people.  God appeared to him commissioned him.  He asked what if they ask what your Name is?  God said I AM WHO I AM.  Tell them I AM sent you to them.  This is the name by which the Israelites are to remember God from generation to generation.  I AM is the name of God.  God takes his name very seriously.  His Name represents Him.  The 3rd commandment is do not misuse the name of the Lord.  Don’t just throw around the name of Jehovah.  Don’t just impiously or irreverently speak the name I AM.  After somebody did that and cursed the Name they held him in custody until God told them how to handle it.  God said anytime anyone blasphemes the name he must be put to death.  The entire assembly must stone him.

Now that sheds some light on Jesus’ words.  Turn back to John 8.  John 8:58  58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Now Jesus was communicating that before Abraham was born he existed.  But his words were, before Abraham was born, I am!  Do you realize the claim that Jesus is making?  This statement is profound.  It’s deep.  It is a statement of seismic proportion.  This is huge.  Jesus is claiming the Name.  These people are all familiar with Exodus 3.  They know the burning bush.  They know the Name that God attributes to Himself.  They know that Jehovah is the great I AM.  And they know exactly what Jesus is claiming in this statement.  He is claiming to be their God.  Not only before Abraham did I exist, before Abraham was born, I AM.

Put yourself in their shoes.  Here was a man misusing the Name.  He was blaspheming the Name.  According to their Scriptures, what happens to people who blaspheme the name?  They get stoned to death.  So, since they were good Jews who obeyed the Law they picked up stones to stone him.  To them, who did not have eyes to see, they saw this as a misuse of the LORD’s name in the worst way.  Not only was he misusing it, but he was applying it to himself and claiming to be their God.

Why would Jesus to do such a thing?  Because it is the truth.  Jesus is God.

That is one fundamental truth of Christianity and the first of 4 points that I hope to communicate with you over the next 7 weeks.

Over the course of the next 7 weeks, I hope to communicate that:

1.      Jesus is God.

2.      Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures (Matt 5:17-18).

3.      Jesus is the true Israel (aka seed of Abraham) (Gal 3:16).

4.      Those in Christ make up the true Israel.

Now this morning we camped out very heavily on our first point, Jesus is God.

The last 3 points will really take shape over the next 7 weeks, but before we close today, I want to share with you my Biblical basis for making those statements.

1.  Jesus is God

2. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT Scriptures.  In the sermon on the Mount found in Matt 5 – 7, Jesus speaks with an authority the people had never seen in their Pharisees and teachers of the Law.  He begins to say some things that make it seem like He was there to do away with everything they had known, as if he were saying forget about those scriptures and the promises therein.  Forget about the Law and the Prophets, I am here to start something new.  He puts their mind at ease in Matt 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets.  I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  Jesus didn’t come to say forget about all that.  We are starting over with something brand new that has nothing to do with that.

Now in a sense he was there to start something new – a new covenant with a new people, but it was the fulfillment of the Old.  The new had everything to do with the old.  It was foretold in the old.  It was the fulfillment of the Old.  

  The kingdom foretold in Daniel…I am here to establish that.  I’m here to fulfill that.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law & Prophets.  The king to sit on David’s throne foretold in the Law and Prophets…I am him.  I’m here to fulfill that.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law & Prophets.  The new covenant foretold in Jeremiah 31…I am here to establish that.  I’m here to fulfill that.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law & Prophets.  The Messiah, the anointed one foretold in the Law and Prophets…I am him.  I’m here to fulfill that.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law & Prophets.  Matt 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets.  I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

2.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law & Prophets.  We’ll see this unfold more in weeks to come, but just to give you a Biblical basis for my claim this morning.

3.  Jesus is the true Israel (seed of Abraham).  Jesus is the true Israel.  The Scriptures define Israel as the Son of God and the seed of Abraham.  

Jesus is the true Israel.  So that would mean that Jesus is the true Son of God.  Jesus is the true seed of Abraham.  

According to the Scriptures Israel is the son of God.  Jer 31:9 I am Israel’s father – Israel is the son of God.  Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child I loved him and out of Egypt I called my son.  Israel is the son of God.  Jesus is the true Israel; Jesus is the true Son of God.  I don’t think I need to show you that in the Scriptures. 

According to the Scriptures Israel is the seed of Abraham.  Jesus is the true Israel; Jesus is the true seed of Abraham.  Paul the apostle sheds light on this in Galatians 3:16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  The Scripture does not say “and to your seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.  Christ is the seed of Abraham.  Israel is the seed of Abraham.  Christ is the seed of Abraham.  Jesus Christ is the true Israel.

1.      Jesus is God

2.      Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures

3.      Jesus is the true Israel (AND finally)

4.      Those in Christ are the true Israel.

If you’re not still there, turn back to John 8 with me.  Like I told you earlier, we would start at the end, go back to the beginning and work our way back to the end.  So let’s start in John 8:31 and work our way back to John 8:58 where we started.  As we do so, I want you to keep our 4 points at the forefront of your mind.  We can see implications of all of these points in this passage at hand.  But we will see them in reverse order.  Those in Christ are the true Israel.  Jesus is the true Israel.  Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures.  Jesus is God.  

John 8:31-58  31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Look, Jesus.  We are the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.  We are the people of God; we are his chosen race, his treasured possession.

 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

 39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

   “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does.”

   “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

After all.  We are Jews.  We descended from Abraham.  Abraham is our father.  We trace our ancestry to him.  Our lineage according to the flesh points back to him.  We are special in God’s eyes because we are the descendents of Abraham.  The only father we have is God himself.  After all, we are Israel and Israel is the Son of God Jer 31:9, Hos 11:1.  They think they are God’s people because Abraham is their ancestor.  And they have good reason to do so.  That’s what the Scriptures teach.  But Jesus is about to clear things up for them.

 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, in other words, if you were truly Israel, you would love me.  4. Those in Christ are true Israel. 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil.

 Jews who by definition are the children of God are here being told by Jesus that God is not their father but that the devil is.  They are not children of God, but children of the devil.  True Israel is not made up of those who simply trace their human ancestry back to Jacob and Abraham, but  true Israel is made up of those in Christ, those who love Jesus (point #4).  

Romans 9:6 Not all who descended from Israel are Israel.

44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”You who claim to be God’s treasured possession, his belonging, do not really belong to him at all.

 48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

   49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

 52 At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.  My father…Jehovah is my father.  I am the true Son of God.  I am the true Israel (point #3).  

55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”  Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day.  Abraham looked forward to my day.  The day in which I would come and fulfill the Scriptures.  Abraham was looking forward to the fulfillment of the Scriptures, which would be accomplished by Jesus because Jesus did not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them.  That is what Abraham looked forward to: Jesus the fulfillment of the Scriptures (point #2).

56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”   57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

   58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Right back where we started: Jesus is God (point #1).

He makes that claim with a simple statement: I AM.  Powerful statement in those 2 simple words I AM.

For the next seven weeks we are going to be exploring 7 I AM statements made by Jesus.  We are going to be camping out in the book of John where we see Jesus make 7 statements that begin with I AM.

·         I am the bread John.  John 6:48

·         I am the light of the world.  John 8:12

·         I am the gate.  John 10:9

·         I am the good shepherd.  John 10:11

·         I am the resurrection and the life.  John 11:25

·         I am the way, the truth, and the life.  John 14:6

·         I am the true vine.  John 15:1

In these statements over the next 7 weeks we will see more and more how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures, Jesus is the true Israel and those in Christ make up the true Israel.