BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM
The Divine Christ Demands a Response
John 8:58
INTRODUCTION
Church, we have come to a crossroads Today. For thirteen weeks we've journeyed from the burning bush to Bethlehem, watching as God unveiled His glorious name, the great I AM. We've seen how the God who revealed Himself in fire and glory to Moses continued to speak through the prophets, through the ages, through the centuries. But beloved, Today we stand at the pinnacle of divine revelation. Today, we stand face to face with the most audacious, most controversial, most earth-shattering claim ever made by human lips.
There's a moment recorded in John chapter 8 that changed everything.
A moment so explosive that Jesus almost got killed on the spot.
A moment where heaven held its breath and hell trembled.
It's the moment when Jesus of Nazareth, this carpenter's son from Galilee, this itinerant preacher with dusty feet and calloused hands, looked the religious elite of Israel dead in the eye and declared: "Before Abraham was, I AM!" (John 8:58)
Do you understand what happened? Jesus didn't say, "Before Abraham was, I was." No. He said, "I AM," present tense, eternal tense, the covenant name of Almighty God Himself. The very name God thundered from the burning bush when Moses asked, "Who shall I say sent me?" And God replied, "I AM WHO I AM... I AM has sent you" (Exodus 3:14). That name, beloved, YHWH, Yahweh, the self-existent, eternal, unchanging God. Jesus claimed it as His own.
Today, in this final message of our series, we're going to confront the unavoidable question: What will you do with Jesus's claim to be God? Because church, I need you to hear me. You cannot stay neutral on this issue. As C.S. Lewis famously said, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord. There is no middle ground. There is no safe zone of indecision. The eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ, and He demands your response.
Let's pray: Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we ask You to open our eyes today. Give us courage to face the truth, wisdom to understand it, and faith to respond to it. Holy Spirit, have Your way. In Jesus's name, Amen.
I. THE ULTIMATE CLAIM
Now church, I want you to understand the context of what's happening in John chapter 8. This wasn't a casual conversation over coffee and donuts after Sunday service. This was a heated, intense confrontation between Jesus and the religious establishment, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the guardians of Jewish orthodoxy. These weren't ignorant men. These were the scholars, the theologians, the ones who had memorized the entire Torah, who could quote you chapter and verse from memory.
Jesus had been teaching in the temple courts, and He'd been saying some things that made these religious leaders uncomfortable. He'd been talking about freedom from sin, about knowing the truth, about having eternal life. And when they appealed to their ancestry ("We are Abraham's descendants!" - John 8:33), Jesus told them that biological lineage meant nothing if they were doing the devil's work (John 8:44). But then Jesus went even further. He said something that would either validate His entire ministry or prove Him to be the most dangerous blasphemer who ever lived.
A. Shocking the Religious Leaders
Look at what Jesus says in John 8:56: "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." Now pause right there. Think about what Jesus claimed. Abraham lived approximately two thousand years before Christ. Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, the friend of God, the man to whom God made His covenant promises. Jesus is claiming that Abraham knew about Him, saw His day, and celebrated it.
The Jews were incredulous. John 8:57 records their response: "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?" They thought Jesus had lost His mind. The arithmetic didn't add up. The timeline made no sense. How could a man not even fifty years old claim to have any connection whatsoever to Abraham, who died millennia ago?
But church, here's what you need to understand: Jesus wasn't talking about a physical meeting with Abraham in historical time. He was talking about something far more profound, far more radical. He was talking about His pre-existence. He was declaring that before Abraham ever pitched his tent in Canaan, before he ever looked at the stars and received God's promise, before he ever raised the knife over Isaac, Jesus existed.
B. Claiming the Divine Name
And then came the bombshell. John 8:58 records these words: "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am.'"
Hallelujah. Do you hear what He said? "I AM." Not "I was," past tense. Not "I existed," completed action. But "I AM," present, continuous, eternal. Jesus deliberately, intentionally, unmistakably invoked the sacred covenant name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush.
When Moses stood before that burning bush in Exodus 3, trembling in the presence of the Holy, he asked 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?" (Exodus 3:13). And 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'" (Exodus 3:14).
"I AM," the name that speaks of self-existence, of absolute independence, of eternal presence. God doesn't depend on anyone or anything for His existence. He simply IS. He has no beginning and no end. He's not bound by time or space. He is the eternal NOW. And church, when Jesus said: "Before Abraham was, I AM," He was claiming that nature. He was saying, "I am the self-existent God. I am the eternal one. I am YHWH in human flesh."
C. Why They Grabbed Stones
Now watch what happens next. John 8:59: "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."
Why stones? Why did they respond with such immediate, violent rage? Because they understood what Jesus was claiming. According to Leviticus 24:16, "Anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them." The religious leaders knew their Scripture. They knew their law. And they had heard what they considered the ultimate blasphemy, a man claiming to be God Himself.
Look at John 10:30-33 for an even clearer example. Jesus declares, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Again, "the Jews picked up stones to stone him" (John 10:31). And when Jesus asked them why, they said: "We are not stoning you for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God" (John 10:33).
Church, do you see it? They didn't misunderstand Jesus. They understood Him perfectly. He wasn't speaking in parables or riddles. He was making a direct, unambiguous claim to deity. He was saying, "The God who spoke from Sinai is speaking to you now. The God who parted the Red Sea is standing before you. The great I AM has come down."
The question is not "What did Jesus mean?" The question is: "What will you do with His claim?"
II. FROM BUSH TO BETHLEHEM
Now, church, let's connect the dots between that burning bush in the wilderness and that manger in Bethlehem. Because what we're seeing here is not a different God revealing Himself in a different way. We're seeing the same God revealing Himself more fully. The I AM who spoke to Moses is the I AM who was born of Mary. The God who revealed His glory on Sinai revealed His glory in the incarnation.
A. Same God, New Revelation
Think about that burning bush for a moment. Exodus 3 tells us that Moses was tending his father-in-law's flock when he saw something extraordinary, a bush that was on fire but was not consumed (Exodus 3:2-3). When Moses turned aside to investigate, God called to him from within the bush: "Moses. Moses." And Moses said, "Here I am" (Exodus 3:4).
God then revealed Himself: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). This was a revelation of continuity, the same God who made covenant promises to the patriarchs was now speaking to Moses. But then came the new revelation, the personal name: "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14).
The Hebrew phrase is 'ehyeh 'asher 'ehyeh, which translates "I AM WHO I AM" or "I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE." It's a name that defies complete definition.
It speaks of God's absolute freedom, His self-determination, His eternal presence.
• He is not bound by human categories.
• He is not limited by our understanding.
• He simply IS, and He will be whatever He needs to be for His people.
Church, that's the God who met Moses.
• That's the God who delivered Israel from Egypt.
• That's the God who gave the law on Sinai. And beloved, that's the same God who stepped into human history in the person of Jesus Christ.
B. The I AM Becomes Flesh
John 1:14 declares, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Oh, do you feel the weight of this? The eternal Word, the divine Logos who was with God and was God (John 1:1), took on human flesh.
The I AM who needs nothing
• Who is complete in Himself
• Who is infinite and eternal, condescended to become finite.
• The God who cannot be contained by the universe squeezed Himself into human skin.
And notice that word "dwelt" in John 1:14. In Greek, it's eskenosen (?s????se?), which means "pitched his tent" or "tabernacled." Do you see the connection? The same way God's presence dwelt in the tabernacle with Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 25:8-9), now God's presence was dwelling among His people in the person of Jesus Christ. The glory that filled the tabernacle, that same glory was now walking the dusty roads of Galilee, healing the sick, raising the dead, teaching the multitudes.
Philippians 2:5-11 gives us the theology behind the incarnation. Philippians 2:6 says Jesus, "being in nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage." In other words, Jesus wasn't grasping after deity. He already possessed it fully. But Philippians 2:7 continues: "he made himself nothing by taking the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
That word "made himself nothing" is ekenosen (?????se?), a Greek word from Philippians 2:7, meaning "emptied himself”. He emptied Himself. Not of His divine nature. He didn't stop being God. But He emptied Himself of the independent exercise of His divine prerogatives.
He voluntarily limited Himself to operate within the constraints of humanity, relying on the Holy Spirit the way we must.
• God became a baby.
• God learned to walk.
• God experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue, temptation, everything we face, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
C. God with Us
Church, this is the scandal and the glory of Christmas. This is "Emmanuel," God with us (Matthew 1:23).
• The I AM didn't send a message.
• He didn't send a prophet.
• He didn't send an angel.
He came Himself.
When you read the Gospels, you're watching the I AM in action. When Jesus calmed the storm with a word, that was I AM (Mark 4:39). When He fed five thousand with a boy's lunch, that was I AM (John 6:1-13). When He walked on water and said to His terrified disciples, "It is I" (“ego eimi” (??? e?µ?) in Koine Greek, meaning "I AM"), that was I AM (John 6:20). When He opened blind eyes, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, and raised the dead, that was the I AM demonstrating His power over all creation.
And church, here's the beautiful truth: He didn't do it from a distance. He didn't hover above us in some ethereal spiritual state.
No.
John 1:14 says "we have seen his glory." They touched Him.
• They ate with Him.
• They walked with Him.
• They saw Him weep at Lazarus's tomb.
• They saw Him rejoice at a wedding.
• They saw Him angry at injustice in the temple.
The transcendent God became immanent. The infinite God became intimate.
The God who met Moses in the bush was now meeting prostitutes, tax collectors, and fishermen in the streets. The God who spoke in thunder on Sinai was now speaking in parables by the sea. The God who manifested His glory in fire and cloud was now manifesting His glory in compassion and miracles. Same God. Fuller revelation.
III. YOUR NECESSARY RESPONSE
Now, church, we come to the crucial question, the question that will determine your eternal destiny. We've seen Jesus's claim. We've traced the revelation from bush to Bethlehem. Now we must answer: What will you do with Jesus?
I want to be clear about something:
• This is not an academic question.
• This is not theological speculation for seminary students and scholars.
This is the most practical, urgent, life-and-death question you will ever face. Because beloved, the eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ, and He demands your response.
A. You Cannot Stay Neutral
Let me tell you something: neutrality is not an option. You cannot sit on the fence about Jesus. You cannot say, "He was a good teacher" and leave it at that. You cannot say, "He was a wise prophet" and walk away unchanged. Why? Because good teachers don't claim to be God. Wise prophets don't say, "Before Abraham was, I AM." Jesus's claims eliminate the middle ground.
Think about it logically. Either Jesus was telling the truth when He claimed to be God, or He was lying. If He was lying, then He was either deceiving people deliberately (making Him a liar and a fraud), or He was deceived Himself (making Him deluded and insane). But if He was telling the truth, if He is the I AM in human flesh, then He deserves your absolute allegiance, your complete surrender, your total devotion.
The religious leaders in Jesus's day understood this.
They didn't say, "Well, that's an interesting perspective, Jesus. Let's agree to disagree."
No.
They picked up stones. Why? Because they recognized that His claim demanded a response.
• They chose rejection.
• They chose rebellion.
• They chose to stone the Son of God.
But church, some people in Jesus's day made a different choice. Look at what happened a few months later, after Jesus's resurrection. Thomas, "doubting Thomas" they called him, had missed Jesus's first appearance to the disciples. When the others told him, "We have seen the Lord," Thomas replied, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25).
But then Jesus appeared to Thomas personally. He invited Thomas to touch His wounds, to verify His identity. And what was Thomas's response? John 20:28 records these glorious words: "Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God.'"
Do you see what happened? Thomas moved from doubt to declaration. From skepticism to surrender. He didn't acknowledge Jesus as teacher or prophet. He worshiped Him as Lord and God. And notice, Jesus didn't correct him. Jesus didn't say, "No, no, Thomas, don't call me God." Instead, He commended faith and said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).
Church, that's your moment right now. You may not be able to see the nail prints or touch the scars, but you can believe. You can confess. You can surrender. And when you do, Jesus pronounces you blessed.
B. Every Knee Will Bow
Now let me tell you something that might make you uncomfortable, but it's the truth: one way or another, you will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The question is not if you will bow. The question is when and under what circumstances.
Philippians 2:9-11 declares, "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Every knee. That includes the atheist, the agnostic, the religious person who rejected Him, and the nominal Christian who never surrendered. In heaven, the angels bow. On earth, believers bow willingly in worship, and unbelievers will bow in judgment. Under the earth, even Satan and his demons will bow.
Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:22-23, where God Himself declares, "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear." God said every knee will bow to Him, and Paul applies it to Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is God.
Church, you can bow now in faith and be saved, or you can bow later in judgment and be lost. You can confess Him now as Savior and Lord, or you can confess Him later as Judge and King, but either way, you will confess. The question is: which confession will you make?
C. My Lord and My God
Romans 10:9-10 gives us the prescription for salvation: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
Notice both elements are necessary: believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth. Belief without confession is incomplete. Confession without belief is hypocrisy. But when your heart believes, and your mouth confesses, that's saving faith.
What are you confessing? "Jesus is Lord." Not "Jesus is my helper" or "Jesus is my friend" or even "Jesus is my Savior." Yes, He's all those things. But the confession that saves is "Jesus is LORD," Kyrios (??????), the Greek word used to translate YHWH in the Old Testament.
• You're confessing that Jesus is the I AM.
• You're confessing that He is God in the flesh.
• You're confessing that He has rightful authority over every area of your life.
And you're believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Why is the resurrection so crucial? Because it validates everything Jesus claimed. If Jesus stayed dead, He was another failed messianic pretender. But when God raised Him from the dead, God was saying, "Everything Jesus said about Himself is true. He is my Son. He is the I AM. He is Lord of all."
Church, this is your moment to respond like Thomas: "My Lord and my God."
• Not tomorrow.
• Not someday.
• Not when it's more convenient.
Right now.
The eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus Christ, and He's waiting for your response.
CONCLUSION
Church, let me bring this to a close. For thirteen weeks, we've traced God's I AM revelations from the burning bush to Bethlehem. We've watched as God progressively unveiled His name, His nature, His character, His purposes. And it's all culminated in this glorious truth: the God who revealed Himself to Moses continues to reveal Himself through Christ.
But beloved, revelation demands response. When Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM," He wasn't making a casual observation. He was making the ultimate claim. He was declaring Himself to be the eternal, self-existent God. And that claim divides all humanity into two camps: those who believe and bow, and those who reject and rebel.
Think about those religious leaders who picked up stones. They heard the claim. They understood the implications. But they chose to reject Him, and they missed the greatest opportunity in human history. They could have bowed before the I AM in the flesh, but instead they tried to stone Him. They could have worshiped the God they claimed to serve, but instead they crucified Him.
Don't make their mistake. Don't let pride, skepticism, fear, or indifference keep you from bowing before Jesus Christ. Because I promise you, based on the authority of God's Word, every knee will bow. The question is not if you'll acknowledge Jesus. The question is when and under what circumstances.
Will you bow now in faith, or later in judgment? Will you confess Him now as Savior, or later as Judge? Will you receive Him now as Lord, or face Him later as the One who says, "I never knew you; depart from me" (Matthew 7:23)?
The same Jesus who stood in the temple and declared "Before Abraham was, I AM" is standing before you right now. The same Jesus who walked out of that tomb on resurrection morning is alive and present by His Spirit. The same Jesus who said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands", is extending His nail-scarred hands to you.
ALTAR CALL
So let me ask you the take-home question one more time: The eternal I AM has revealed Himself fully in Jesus. Will you believe, bow, and follow?
If you're here Today and you've never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, if you've never confessed Him as Lord and believed in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, I'm asking you to do that right now. Don't wait. Don't delay. Romans 10:13 promises, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Stand to your feet if you're ready to make that confession. Say these words from your heart: "Jesus, I believe You are the great I AM. I believe You are God in the flesh. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I confess You as my Lord and my God. Save me. Change me. Make me Yours."
And you're here Today and you've been calling yourself a Christian, but you've never surrendered to Jesus as LORD. You've wanted Jesus as Savior (you like the idea of heaven and forgiveness), but you've kept the throne of your life for yourself. Today, it's time to crown Him King. It's time to say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
Church, this is not religion. This is not ritual. This is revelation and response. The God of the burning bush has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, and He's calling you to believe, bow, and follow.
Every head bowed, every eye closed. If God is speaking to your heart right now, don't resist Him. Don't harden your heart. Don't walk away unchanged. The I AM is calling your name. Will you answer? Will you respond? Will you bow?
Come to Jesus right now. Come to the altar. Come and surrender. Come and believe. Come and confess Him as Lord. Because beloved, before Abraham was (before Moses, before David, before the prophets, before time itself), HE IS. And today, He offers you salvation.
In Jesus's mighty name (the name above every name), I make this appeal. Come to Jesus. Come now. Come home.
Amen and Amen.
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Scripture references throughout are based on the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.
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Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
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