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Confession: I AM here.
All of these wild and (sometimes) overwhelming inquiries really boil down to two simple questions: Who am I supposed to be? And what am I supposed to do?
As I was wading my way through these questions this year, I happened to be studying the Gospel of John and what makes this gospel different than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. One of the clearest distinctive features of John is the series of “I AM” statements[1] that Jesus makes.
Journey with me for a second back to Exodus 3:
Now, when a Jew heard “I AM”, they knew it was an absolute, unadulterated, 100% reference to the LORD, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt through the prophet Moses. Consider the implications of this as we examine the I AM statements Jesus makes:
(1) I AM – The Bread of Life (John 6:35-6:58) “He who eats my flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”
Now, let’s get one thing straight here.
Jesus is making a reference the Jews around Him would have been familiar with: the episode in their history where God sent bread from heaven (“manna”) to provide for His people in the desert. This should have turned His audience’s ears RED with recognition. In an applicational sense, what is Jesus really saying here? That accepting Jesus is like eating bread. You eat it, your body breaks it down and makes it a part of you. In order to have life, we have to ingest Jesus – take Him in and make Him a part of us, in order to experience Him to the fullest.
In other words: “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD/ME TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”
(2) I AM – The Light of the World (John 8:12) “I am the Light of the World; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
In other words: “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN ME/GOD TO THE LIGHT OF LIFE.”
(3) I AM – The Gate For the Sheep (John 10:7-10) “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Let us define the terms in this chunk of text:
So if Jesus is the gate to eternal life and we are the sheep…what is Jesus implying here?
“YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD/ME TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”
(4) I AM – The Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18).
Jesus says several things in this passage that don’t just imply who He is and what His character is, but are outright and blunt about who He is, in a lovingly-smack-you-upside-the-face sort of way: He (1) knows His sheep, (2) His sheep hear His voice and follow Him, (3) He lays down His life for His sheep, (4) He gives eternal life to His sheep and NO ONE can snatch any of His sheep out of His hand.
Translation: “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN ME/GOD TO BE MY SHEEP.”
(5) I AM – The Resurrection and the Life (11:25-26) “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.”
Personally, this is the statement and promise Jesus makes that makes my spine go all tingly. I’ve experienced loss from death, and it very plainly just sucks. It’s painful. But Jesus reassures me through His interaction with Martha that in Him there is no death – no loss, no pain that goes hand in hand with death.
What, then, does this passage tell us? “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN ME/GOD TO BE FREE FROM DEATH AND HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”
(6) I AM – The Way, The Truth, The Life ( John 14:6, and also 14:9) “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes through the Father but through me…he who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
Oh, I love it when Jesus is oh-so clear:
Translation: “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD/ME TO GO TO HEAVEN.”
(7) I AM – The True Vine (John 15:1-11). “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser…Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”
In simple terms:
Translation: “YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN ME/GOD AND LET GOD/ME LIVE IN YOU.”
Hmmm…I sense a repeated concept here….
Other than the obvious (believe in Jesus to have eternal life because Jesus = God)
I noticed a secondary theme that has impacted me where I stand mid-identity crisis:
Jesus KNEW who He was in this Gospel. Without a shadow of a doubt, He knew EXACTLY who He was and what He was about. And that acute self-awareness then allowed Him to function in His given purpose.
What does that mean for us: Figure out who you are[2]. And if you’re not sure, figure out who you want to be. Then and ONLY then will you be able to decide what you should do with your identity.
Join us next post to see what Jesus DID with who He is. Stay classy!
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