The following is a comment to my recent Facebook post which provided a link to my blog post “Jesus Was Not Created He Was Always I Am” (https://www.faiththeevidence.com/faith-evidence-blog-_1/jesus-was-not-created-he-was-always-i-am). I almost decided to not respond but the Holy Spirit would not let me ignore this, so I wrote this blog post in response to the following comment.
You are correct Jesus never said "I am God." So we should leave it there and don't lean to our own understanding and try to spin the lie and say he is God. When people try to promote the lie that Jesus is God...they use his words when he said, " before Abraham was I AM." This scripture and belief is taken out of context when we try to use it to justify he is God. The Pharasee's said, " you are not yet 50 years old and you say you have seen Abraham?" Jesus replied and said, " before Abraham was I AM." The real meaning of this is simple common sense...Jesus was just telling them that he was alive before Abraham was born. Plainly put Jesus was saying, Before Abraham was born I was already alive or I AM alive..he was not saying he was God in this passage of scripture. To say he was God promotes the notion that the Bible contradicts itself because some believe he is God from reading the word and some believe he is the Son of God when they read the word. There is only one truth to this issue.I pray understanding from God in Jesus name for all those who read this word. Amen
I appreciate this perspective and the earnest desire to approach scripture with "common sense." It's absolutely crucial to avoid twisting God's Word or inserting our own interpretations where they don't belong. However, when we dig deeper into the context and the original language, the "I AM" statement in John 8:58 reveals far more than a simple claim of pre-existence.
It's true that interpreting scripture requires careful consideration of context, and the passage in John 8:58 is a frequently discussed one when it comes to the divinity of Jesus. Let's break down why many theologians and biblical scholars understand Jesus' "I AM" statement in John 8:58 as a claim to divinity, specifically relating it to God's self-revelation in the Old Testament.
The core of the argument hinges on the significance of the phrase "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi). While it can simply mean "I am alive" in some contexts, its use by Jesus in John 8:58, especially in light of the Pharisees' reaction, points to something much more profound.
John 8:58-59 NIV [58] “Very truly I tell you,” 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.(emphasis mine).
Consider these points:
The Divine Name
When Moses asked God for His name, God replied, "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 NIV [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?” [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.’ ”
This is God's personal and covenant name, Yahweh, which is derived from the Hebrew verb "to be." It signifies God's self-existence, eternality, and absolute being. When Jesus says "before Abraham was, I AM," He is not merely stating His pre-existence, but using the very phrase God used to identify Himself to Moses.
The Jews' Reaction
The immediate reaction of the Jews to Jesus' statement is crucial. John 8:59 states, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
Why would they want to stone Him if He was merely stating that He existed before Abraham? Under Jewish law, stoning was the punishment for blasphemy – claiming to be God or claiming divine prerogatives.
Leviticus 24:16 NIV anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.
Their response indicates they understood His "I AM" statement as a direct claim to divinity, equating Himself with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If Jesus had merely meant "I was alive," there would have been no reason for such a severe reaction.
Other "I AM" Statements in John's Gospel
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus makes several "I AM" statements that further clarify His identity and function, often linking Himself to divine attributes or roles:
These statements, while not directly using ego eimi in isolation as in John 8:58, consistently point to Jesus embodying divine qualities and being the source of life, truth, and salvation, roles traditionally ascribed to God alone.
Consistency with Other Scriptures
Other scriptures explicitly state Jesus' divinity:
The argument that Jesus was "just telling them that he was alive before Abraham was born" misses the profound theological implications of the specific phrase "I AM" in the context of the Old Testament and the Jews' understanding of God's name. It's not just about pre-existence, but about eternal, self-existent being, characteristics attributed only to God.
The concept of Jesus being both God and the Son of God is not a contradiction but a central tenet of Trinitarian theology, which teaches that God exists as three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-equal and co-eternal, yet one God. Jesus is the Son in His relationship to the Father, but He is also fully God in His divine nature. (I will address the argument that the early church did not believe in or teach the concept of the Trinity in a subsequent post because they did).
Ultimately, the interpretation of John 8:58 as a claim to divinity is strongly supported by the linguistic usage of "I AM" in the context of divine revelation, the severe reaction of the Jewish audience, and its consistency with numerous other scriptures that clearly declare Jesus' divine nature.
It's a continuous process of aligning our understanding with God's Word, and prayer for understanding is indeed valuable in navigating these profound truths.
You are correct Jesus never said "I am God." So we should leave it there and don't lean to our own understanding and try to spin the lie and say he is God. When people try to promote the lie that Jesus is God...they use his words when he said, " before Abraham was I AM." This scripture and belief is taken out of context when we try to use it to justify he is God. The Pharasee's said, " you are not yet 50 years old and you say you have seen Abraham?" Jesus replied and said, " before Abraham was I AM." The real meaning of this is simple common sense...Jesus was just telling them that he was alive before Abraham was born. Plainly put Jesus was saying, Before Abraham was born I was already alive or I AM alive..he was not saying he was God in this passage of scripture. To say he was God promotes the notion that the Bible contradicts itself because some believe he is God from reading the word and some believe he is the Son of God when they read the word. There is only one truth to this issue.I pray understanding from God in Jesus name for all those who read this word. Amen
I appreciate this perspective and the earnest desire to approach scripture with "common sense." It's absolutely crucial to avoid twisting God's Word or inserting our own interpretations where they don't belong. However, when we dig deeper into the context and the original language, the "I AM" statement in John 8:58 reveals far more than a simple claim of pre-existence.
It's true that interpreting scripture requires careful consideration of context, and the passage in John 8:58 is a frequently discussed one when it comes to the divinity of Jesus. Let's break down why many theologians and biblical scholars understand Jesus' "I AM" statement in John 8:58 as a claim to divinity, specifically relating it to God's self-revelation in the Old Testament.
The core of the argument hinges on the significance of the phrase "I AM" (Greek: ego eimi). While it can simply mean "I am alive" in some contexts, its use by Jesus in John 8:58, especially in light of the Pharisees' reaction, points to something much more profound.
John 8:58-59 NIV [58] “Very truly I tell you,” 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.(emphasis mine).
Consider these points:
The Divine Name
When Moses asked God for His name, God replied, "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 NIV [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?” [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.’ ”
This is God's personal and covenant name, Yahweh, which is derived from the Hebrew verb "to be." It signifies God's self-existence, eternality, and absolute being. When Jesus says "before Abraham was, I AM," He is not merely stating His pre-existence, but using the very phrase God used to identify Himself to Moses.
The Jews' Reaction
The immediate reaction of the Jews to Jesus' statement is crucial. John 8:59 states, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
Why would they want to stone Him if He was merely stating that He existed before Abraham? Under Jewish law, stoning was the punishment for blasphemy – claiming to be God or claiming divine prerogatives.
Leviticus 24:16 NIV anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.
Their response indicates they understood His "I AM" statement as a direct claim to divinity, equating Himself with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If Jesus had merely meant "I was alive," there would have been no reason for such a severe reaction.
Other "I AM" Statements in John's Gospel
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus makes several "I AM" statements that further clarify His identity and function, often linking Himself to divine attributes or roles:
- "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35)
- "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 and the truth and the life" (John 14:6)
- "I am the true vine" (John 15:1)
These statements, while not directly using ego eimi in isolation as in John 8:58, consistently point to Jesus embodying divine qualities and being the source of life, truth, and salvation, roles traditionally ascribed to God alone.
Consistency with Other Scriptures
Other scriptures explicitly state Jesus' divinity:
- John 1:1, 14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
- Colossians 2:9: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."
- Philippians 2:5-8: States Jesus is "in very nature God."
- Titus 2:13: Refers to "our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
- Hebrews 1:8: God the Father addresses the Son as "Your throne, O God..."
The argument that Jesus was "just telling them that he was alive before Abraham was born" misses the profound theological implications of the specific phrase "I AM" in the context of the Old Testament and the Jews' understanding of God's name. It's not just about pre-existence, but about eternal, self-existent being, characteristics attributed only to God.
The concept of Jesus being both God and the Son of God is not a contradiction but a central tenet of Trinitarian theology, which teaches that God exists as three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-equal and co-eternal, yet one God. Jesus is the Son in His relationship to the Father, but He is also fully God in His divine nature. (I will address the argument that the early church did not believe in or teach the concept of the Trinity in a subsequent post because they did).
Ultimately, the interpretation of John 8:58 as a claim to divinity is strongly supported by the linguistic usage of "I AM" in the context of divine revelation, the severe reaction of the Jewish audience, and its consistency with numerous other scriptures that clearly declare Jesus' divine nature.
It's a continuous process of aligning our understanding with God's Word, and prayer for understanding is indeed valuable in navigating these profound truths.
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