John • #1 of 7 "I AM" Statements

Along with the 7 signs that John emphasizes in the Gospel of John, he also presents 7 "I AM" statements, that also give us a window into the character of Jesus. Each of these statements are uttered by Jesus Himself, and each also tells us specifically of something we need to know about Him.

There is a subtle irony in the statements, as the first two words, "I AM", actually link us back to God's personal name from the Old Testament. Let's look briefly at some of the names of God.

1 → God - (cap G; rest lowercase) - Heb. Elohim - plural - used 2,606 times in the OT

2 → LORD or GOD - (ALL CAPS) - Heb. YHWH - no vowels, so we don't really know how to pronounce it - used 6,519 times in the OT

3 → Lord - (cap L; rest lowercase) Heb. Adonai - means "Master" - used 434 times in the OT

4 → I AM - Heb. Hayah - a root for YHWH - means "to be" - used 75 times in the OT

It's this last one that we want to focus on - "I AM". It's first used in Exodus 3:10-15, where God commissions Moses at the burning bush, to go back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave. God tells Moses, when he asks "What shall I say to them?" when questioning his credentials with the Israelites, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also followed that up by also adding "this is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

Ex 3:10-15 → 10“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

13Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘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, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

So think of it this way - we have come up with many names for God, but the one He specifically told us is His Name is "I AM".

One more note on "I AM" before we get to our principle text for today. When the Septuagint, the Greek copy of the Old Testament, was written around 300-200 BC, the Greek translation of "I AM" is translated as "ego eimi", the very same words that are used in these "I AM" statements.

• Here is a list of all 7 of the I AM statements. They are...

► I AM #1 • I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER → John 6:26-58

► I AM #2 • I AM the Light of the World - Jesus ELIMINATES DARKNESS → John 8:12-9:5

► I AM #3 • I AM the Door of the Sheep - Jesus ELIMINATES DEATH & DESTRUCTION → John 10:1-10

► I AM #4 • I AM the Good Shepherd - Jesus KNOWS US → John 10:11-19

► I AM #5 • I AM the Resurrection and the Life - Jesus is the SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE → John 11:24-27

► I AM #6 • I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life - Jesus is THE WAY TO THE FATHER → John 14:1-6

► I AM #7 • I AM the True Vine - Because of Jesus WE WILL BEAR FRUIT → John 15:1-11

• I AM #1, I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER

 John 6:26-58 → 26Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

• It would be easy to assume that because there are 7 signs and 7 I AM's that they would correlate 1 to 1, but they don't. This first I AM statement does in fact correlate with a sign, but it's sign #4, the feeding of the 5,000, and is immediately after sign #5, but has no correlation to it at all.

27Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

• The people who had been fed from a kids sack lunch are now being told by Jesus to work "for the food which endures to eternal life." And then He tells them "this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." He's just told them the "secret", or as the Apostle Paul would call it "the mystery". Eternal life comes from believing in Jesus.

30So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’ ” 32Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

• Then the people have the audacity to ask for a sign, to validate Jesus' right to be believed in. I mean really, was not the free lunch they had yesterday enough to confirm his authority? Then they turn the subject to another bread from heaven, the manna in the wilderness. They quote a passage in Exodus 16, implying that Moses provided the bread. Jesus corrects them by indicating that it was God, not Moses, who provided the manna. Ironically, nobody really knows what manna is; even the people of the day didn't know what this "bread" was, and so it was called "manna" which in the Hebrew means "what is it?". Then the people respond by asking Jesus to provide this bread from heaven.

35Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

• And here it is - the first of the I AM statements. Jesus tells the people that if they come to Him they will neither be hungry or thirsty.

36But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

• Jesus wraps up this conversation by making a few summary statements...

► "you have seen Me, and yet do not believe" - there is at least a contingent there that is still holding out. They witnessed a significant miracle, and heard Jesus explain the why's and what-for's but they are still holding out.

► "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me..." - eventually all who are destined, will believe, and Jesus will keep them protected.

► "the will of Him who sent Me" - Jesus has come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and of those saved He will lose none and they will be raised.

► "everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life" - there's the key - believe in Jesus - who He is and what He has done - the only way to heaven.

41Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

• Some Jews now start questioning Jesus authority, claiming He's just one of us, "whose father and mother we know", and not from heaven.

43Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

• Jesus make s a pretty bold statement in verse 46 - "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father." Of course, Jesus is speaking of Himself.

47Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

• Jesus reiterates everything He's already told them, including the I AM statement "I am the bread of life", and basically sums it up by saying "eat the bread - receive the life".

52Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

• The Jews, not understanding, seem to get the idea that Jesus is talking about actually eating Jesus' flesh.

• Now, some of my Catholic friends will talk about receiving communion, and in Catholic theology they believe in something called "transubstantiation", which means that the wafer and wine of the communion become the actual body and blood of Jesus. But I don't hold to that. I think the communion elements are purely symbolic of embracing the living Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

• The point Jesus is trying to make is that unless they partake (not in a literal sense, but spiritual) of the bread of life, that is of Jesus Himself, you won't have eternal life.

• Jesus came to earth to save us. His very name in Hebrew means "God saves". If we choose to embrace Him, if we choose to eat of the bread of life, we will be saved, and saved forever!

“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”