What did He say? John 8:58
Radical: extreme or drastic; especially in regards to what has been accepted or tradition
ἐγώ εἰμι: absolute, timeless existence; I am
Jesus said He is:
1. The bread of life John 6:35
He is our Sustenance
2. The light of the world John 8:12
He is our Guide
3. The door John 10:9
He is our Access
4. The good shepherd John 10:11
He is our Protector
5. The resurrection and the life John 11:25
He is our Strength
6. The way, the truth, the life John 14:6
He is our Everything
7. The true vine. John 15:1
He is our Source
(need chart)
It’s amazing how little people who call themselves Christ-followers know about the sayings and teachings of Jesus. And because they don’t have any idea what Jesus said, they don’t know really who Jesus is.
You really can’t know who Jesus is unless you know what He said about Himself. What someone says about themselves reveals a whole lot. Example? And Jesus made some incredibly radical statements about Himself that most people don’t know He made. Radical: extreme or drastic; especially in regards to what has been accepted or tradition Examples?
Turn to John 8:58. Continue our series entitled, Vintage Jesus. We’re taking a hard look at the person, the work, and the teachings of Jesus. Tucked away in the book of John are seven radical sayings that Jesus said about Himself that define who He is. And they all begin with the phrase, “I am” (write on chart)
That’s an interesting phrase, I am. Look at John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” The Greek is, ἐγώ εἰμι: absolute, timeless existence; I am Abraham existed in time, but Jesus exists outside of time.
You and I exist in time. But Jesus exists outside of time. Jesus is pointing to His eternal, timeless nature as God. Whatever moment in history you identify, Jesus was present. Whatever the future holds, Jesus is present.
Seven times in the book of John , Jesus begins a claim about Himself with the phrase: I am THE (chart)
The is very exclusive, isn’t it? If you want to identify one, sole, solitary something, you say THE. “That is THE president.” If you want to communicate that there are multiple options, you say, “That is a president.” I don’t say I am A husband of Sue; I am THE husband of Sue.
Put these together, the I AM, and the THE, and you see that Jesus is claiming to be exclusive and constant. (on chart) That He is claiming to be the exclusive and constant and eternal of whatever follows that introductory phrase.
Ok, you ready to dig in?
Jesus said He is:
1. The bread of life John 6:35 “I am the bread of life.”
In Jesus’ day, when people traveled, they traveled by foot, right? No trains, planes or automobiles. So if you were traveling to see your grandparents 15 miles away, you walked. There were no fastfood restaurants; no 7/11s to stop and get something to eat. You carried your food with you. And bread is what you carried. It sustained you on your journey. If you don’t have bread, if you don’t have food, you grow weak and eventually die. Food sustains us, doesn’t it? When Jesus says He is the bread of life, He means that He is our Sustenance.
We look to so many things, so many people to sustain us in life, don’t we? We look to our money to sustain us; we look to our family to sustain us; we look to our friends to sustain us. But what if they were all taken away? Who would you rely on to sustain you? Hopefully Jesus. And if you’d rely on Him then, why not rely on Him now? This day? Every day?
As we travel through life, Jesus says that everything else in life is temporary and can be lost, but He is the One who is always there and always sustains.
2. The light of the world John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.”
What does light do? It illuminates, it reveals, it guides. In Jesus day, there were no electric lights. There was the light of the sun and moon, or the light of a fire or candle. When it was dark, you needed a light to show you where to walk and how to go.
People today are so confused about how to go; how to live. Confusion about how to date, confusion about who to marry, confusion about how to stay married, confusion about how to parent, confusion about how to live.
And there are so many competing voices calling out for us, promising to show us the way. Politicians claim to know the way. Educators claim to know the way. Entertainment industry claims to know the way.
Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” He is our Guide. Follow me, and I will show you the way. It’s amazing: when you begin to read what Jesus said and follow what Jesus said, you begin to experience the abundant and joyful life that He promised.
3. The door John 10:9 “I am the door”
What does a door do? It grants or prohibits access, right? Most of the dwellings of Jesus’ day were plain, simple houses with 2 or 3 rooms maybe. And there was usually only one door. One door to get on the inside.
Story of Las Vegas 1989
Jesus can’t be bribed. He says, “You want to know how to get into heaven? Through Me. You can’t work your way around Me; you can’t buy your way around; you can’t bargain your way in. I’m the only door. You can’t enter into God’s presence in heaven unless you enter through me.”
Of course, people think that’s just awful. The world fully rejects the notion that Jesus is the ONLY way. Surely God allows for other faith systems, other efforts, right? Wrong! Jesus says, “I am the door.” Not getting anywhere unless you go through me.
When Jesus says, “I am the door,” He is saying, He is our Access.” The Catholic church wrongly insists that we have access to God through Mary or the Saints. When we were in Uruguay back in March, shrines all over the place and people would come to pray to Mary or St. Christopher or ?? But Jesus makes it clear that He and He alone is, was, and always shall be our access to the Father.
4. The good shepherd John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd.”
Any shepherds in the group? Probably not. But in ancient Israel, shepherds were all over the place because sheep were the primary means of living.
Shepherds would have to protect their sheep, feed their sheep, guide their sheep, help their sheep if they got tumped over.
Some shepherds were hirelings; that is, they were just like babysitters. The children don’t belong to the babysitter, the sitter is just watching them. Some shepherds were hirelings, hired to watch the sheep. But if the wolves came or the lions, tigers, and bears, o my—they would run away.
But not Jesus. He knows His sheep. He loves His sheep. He care for His sheep. So when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, He is saying He is our Protector.
5. The resurrection and the life John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Jesus said this to Martha and Mary at the tomb where their bother and His good friend Lazarus had been buried for four days. Dead people don’t breathe. Dead people don’t walk. Dead people are, well, dead! Death is incredibly strong and powerful.
But Jesus says to them, and He says to us, “I am more powerful than even death. If I want to resurrect someone and breathe life into them, I will.” And then He did, didn’t He? He said, “Lazarus, come on down, baby!”, and Lazarus came walking out of the tomb.
When Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life, He is saying that He is our Strength.” I love that verse in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
6. The way, the truth, the life John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
What does Jesus say after this? “No one comes to the Father but through Me.” This is a bold statement. Arrogant some would say. And certainly, if not true, then Jesus should be considered a lunatic. It would be like me saying I could flap my way to the moon…
This statement kind of brings elements of the previous statements into it.
I am the way—I am the door. I am the truth—I am the light. I am the life—I am the bread. (build the slide)
When Jesus says this, He is saying He is our Everything
Is Jesus your everything? For most of us, that’s not the case. For most of us Jesus is just one thing, not everything. We have our houses, our cars, our family, our friends, our health, our satellite tv. What do we need Jesus for? Just to give us a ticket to heaven? How ridiculous! How insulting. Jesus does not give us the option to make Him an option in our lives. He demands we die to everything else but Him. Luke 9:23 ““If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Story
7. The true vine. John 15:1 “I am the true vine.”
If you know anything about vines and vineyards, the vine is the source of nourishment; the source of life. If a branch got cut away from the vine, it would die, right? Because the vine was the source of life, the source of nourishment.
When Jesus says, I am the true vine, He is saying that He is our Source.
He is our source for joy. You can’t get much joy squeezed out of this world. He is our source for peace. With this topsy turvey world where there is NO certainty, He is our source for peace. He is our source for love. Some of you married folks out there haven’t figured out that you don’t have enough love to love your spouse the way you should, enough love for a lifetime. That was my fear… Jesus is the source for love.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. If you don’t tap into the source, you’re not going to get the life.
So as a statement of faith, let’s tell Jesus and praise Jesus for who He is based on what He said about Himself. Jesus---
(Build)
You are my Sustenance
You are my Guide
You are my Access
You are my Protector
You are my Strength
You are my Everything
You are my Source
Invitation
