John 8:52-59 CSB
Then the Jews said, "Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' [53] Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?" [54] "If I glorify myself," Jesus answered, "my glory is nothing. My Father-about whom you say, 'He is our God'-he is the one who glorifies me. [55] You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don't know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. [56] Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad." [57] The Jews replied, "You aren't fifty years old yet, and you've seen Abraham?" [58] Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am." [59] So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple.
Exodus 3:14 CSB
God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you."
I AM
Recently, I took my wife to meet family members at Graceland in Memphis, the home of Elvis Presley. I’m at that age where I grew up watching Elvis movies and listening to his music. One of his films, Clambake, tells the story of a wealthy heir to an oil tycoon who gets bored with his life—the fake friends, the ease with which his opinions are accepted, and having everything at his disposal. He switches places with a poor person to see if people would like him for himself or just for his money.
There is a similar story—and like most stories, we don’t know for sure if it’s true—about another rich son who was set to inherit a massive family business. Much like the movie, he kept his fine cars parked in the garage, bought an old beat-up truck, found worn clothes to wear, and headed off to college. At school, people snubbed him. To them, he was just a poor farm boy—a “backwoods” person trying to be someone.
But one girl fell in love with him. She didn’t have much herself, but she had more than what he appeared to have. She loved him for who he was, and that love was returned. He could have had his pick of rich models, but he chose her because her love was real. After they got engaged, her life changed forever. He picked her up in one of his fine cars and drove her to one of his family’s estates to meet his parents. She was with him for the rest of her life.
The crowd in Jerusalem had just finished accusing Jesus of being a Samaritan—someone detested by most Jews. They called Him demon-possessed. They couldn’t see past the “worn clothes” of His humanity. Abraham had died 2,000 years earlier. The prophets were buried. Even Moses’ body was long gone. None of those men ever claimed they could give eternal life.
But here was this man standing in front of them, offering what the father of the Jewish nation (Abraham), the great lawgiver (Moses), and the voices of God (the Prophets) never could: eternal life. Jesus refused to glorify Himself, stating instead that the Father—the very one they claimed to believe in—was the one glorifying Him. Like that rich son in the beat-up truck, Jesus was saying, “I am more than what I appear to be.”
Abraham had a promise from God that he would be the father of many nations and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12). Jesus tells the crowd that this promise is now fulfilled. He tells them that Abraham actually saw this day coming and was glad.
The crowd couldn’t grasp the truth; they were blinded by what they thought they knew. So, Jesus revealed Himself plainly: “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Jesus didn’t say “I was.” He didn’t say He simply lived 2,000 years ago. He said, “I am.” The crowd understood exactly what this meant. “I AM” denotes existence without the limits of time. Jesus is present in the past, the now, and the future. Time has no control over His being. He was telling them, “I am more than Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets. Like the Father, I AM.”
In that moment, the plot changed. The Son of the Father—the King of Heaven Armies—put on His royal robes right in front of them. In their unbelief, the crowd turned into a mob, picking up stones to kill the Son of God.
Reflection Questions
- Jesus walked into your church or your home looking like a “backwoods person,” would you recognize Him, or would you snub Him based on appearances?
- Does it change your anxiety about the future to know that Jesus exists outside of time—that He is already in your “tomorrow” just as He was in Abraham’s “yesterday”?
- The crowd reacted with stones because Jesus claimed to be God. We cannot just call Him a “good teacher.” If He is the “I AM,” what is one area of your life you need to fully surrender to His authority today?
Prayer
Father,
We thank You for sending Your Son, not in a way that overwhelmed us with earthly power, but in a way that allowed us to love Him for who He truly is. Forgive us for the times we are blinded by appearances or our own “religious” ideas. We acknowledge that Jesus is the Great I AM—the one who was, and is, and is to come. Help us to keep His word so that we might truly know the life He offers.
Amen.
