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.
e. GOOD SHEPHERD
John 10:11,14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
He became the only sacrifice for sin – Rom 6:10 ...
f. GATE FOR THE SHEEP
John 10:7,9 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture
The Jewish shepherd put the sheep into a pen for overnight safety, then he lay across the entrance – not to stop the sheep escaping – but so any enemy of the sheep would have to get past him first. Only when there was no threat did the shepherd allow the sheep out into safe pasture.
g. RESURRECTION AND LIFE
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
In this account of Lazarus, Jesus speaks to Martha and then demonstrates the truth of these words to all around Him. Death is not the final victor for the Christian believer.
h. WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
One of the most crucial scriptures in the Bible. There are no other ways to God; there is no equivalent path a person may walk to reach eternal life – Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other ‘ism’ does not lead to Jesus – therefore it does not lead to the Father – and so does not lead to eternal life!
i. TRUE VINE
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”
READ THE FULL SCRIPTURE.
We must stay in Christ to be capable of producing fruit. For that to happen, He must prune us and train us to take up a certain ‘form,’ a particular direction. Only as we submit our lives to Jesus for Him to control us, only then will our lives produce fruit in real abundance, to glorify our heavenly Father.
3. SUMMARY
“Jesus said I am the ...”
a) Son of God
b) Messiah
c) Bread of life
d) Light of the World
e) Gate for the sheep
f) Good shepherd
g) Resurrection and life
h) Way, truth and life
i) True vine
4. WHO IS HE TO YOU?
a. LOOK AT THIS SCRIPTURE
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
b. REMEMBER THIS!
Socrates and Aristotle each taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, but Jesus for only three. Yet His influence far surpasses the combined 130 years of teaching by these men who are acknowledged as the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
He painted no pictures, yet the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci received their illumination from Him. He wrote no poetry, yet Dante, Milton and others of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him. He composed no music, yet Haydn, Handel, Beethoven and Bach reached their highest perfection in hymns symphonies and oratorios composed in His honour.
Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by the humble Carpenter of Nazareth. His unique contribution to the race of men is the salvation of the soul. Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only He can break the enslaving chains of sin and satan. Only He can heal the broken-hearted, strengthen the weak and give life to those who are spiritually dead.
Please let me introduce you to Him today. He has been my personal Saviour and Friend for many years. He loves you and I think you will find Him easy to love too.
