Sermon Central
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Jesus Is "i Am” - God's Personal Name
Contributed by Graham Kettle on Feb 26, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: In Jewish culture, you know everything about a person from his/her name. What better way to get to know God than to look at His name? In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to Moses by His personal name, which is “I am.”
JESUS IS “I AM” – GOD’S PERSONAL NAME
1. INTRODUCTION
In Jewish culture, you know everything about a person from his/her name. What better way to get to know God than to look at His name?
In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to Moses by His personal name, which is “I am.”
Exodus 3:13-15 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 [Heb='HYH' (‘hayah’) – not ‘Jehovah’ ... see Ex 6:3] 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.
Exodus 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘the Lord’ [YeHoVaH – derived from HYH] I did not make myself known to them.
2. “I AM ...”
Jesus speaks to us from the New Testament, revealing to the World that He is God; let us let His words speak to us when Jesus says He is “I am.” Let us learn who He is, by studying this name:
a. SON OF GOD
His divinity ... He is God:
Luke 1:35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Mat 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Mat 8:29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" - these are demons!
Mat 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
‘Son of God’ expresses Christ’s divinity; He is a member of the Trinity.
b. MESSIAH
The anointed one ... He was to save His people.:
John 1:41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).
John 4:25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." - this Samaritan woman knew all about Messiah, who would bring revelation, even to those supposed to be His enemies.
Mark 8:29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." – knowing Messiah is only possible by divine revelation ... that is through the Holy Spirit.
Mark 14:61-62 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” – ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Messiah’!
c. BREAD OF LIFE
Bread is the ‘staff of life;’ with it and water, our bodies function. As bread feeds the body, so Jesus is our basis for spiritual life.
John 6:35,48,51 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 48 I am the bread of life. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Jesus feeds the soul. Bread is the ‘staff of life’ for our bodies; Jesus as the ‘bread of life’ is the ‘staff of life’ for our immortal souls.
d. LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Jesus shows us the Father, the Kingdom and eternal life:
John 8:12,23 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – removing darkness, wherever He is.
