Chapter 7

JESUS IS I AM

Jesus was often in arguments with the religious leaders of His time. One of the reasons for this was that He consistently emphasized people‘s need to listen to and obey Him. Other teachers would only say that the people needed to follow God and the law God gave them. Jesus, however, taught as if His Word was equal to God‘s. One time, in the middle of another argument, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51) The religious leaders must have been thinking, "How can he act as if people can have eternal life by obeying him? Why didn‘t he say God’s Word instead?!" They actually accused Jesus of being demon-possessed!

Then they brought Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, into the conversation. "Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our Father Abraham?" (John 8:52-53) They didn‘t understand what Jesus meant when He said "he will never see death," but they definitely understood that Jesus was claiming to be a higher authority than all others before Him. Then they asked Jesus the best question of all: "Who do you think you are?!" (John 8:53)

Before Jesus answered it, He added to their anger by saying, "Your Father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. He saw it and was glad." (John 8:56) Because Abraham was born nearly two thousand years before Jesus, this created an obvious problem for them. "You are not yet fifty years old,‘ the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham?!‘" ( John 8:57) Jesus‘ next response answered both of their questions at once. It was also the most shocking statement He could have ever made to them.

FLASHBACK

Abraham‘s great grandson was a man named Joseph. During the time of Joseph and his father Jacob, a great famine in the Land of Canaan caused them to move to Egypt. At first it was a time of great blessing. The Pharaoh (King) of Egypt treated them well and Joseph had a great position of power. As the years passed on, however, the new pharaohs did not remember Joseph and began to treat the Jewish people very badly. The Jews became slaves and remained in this situation for 400 years. God‘s people thought they had been forgotten. However, the number of Jewish people grew so much that Pharaoh was afraid they would become too powerful. His solution? He gave orders to kill all Jewish baby boys as soon as they were born!

A Jewish woman who had just given birth a baby boy was so scared for her child that she made a drastic decision. She put him in a basket, placed the basket in the Nile, and let her child float down the river directly towards the daughter of Pharaoh. Although she recognized that he was a Hebrew (Jewish) baby, she had compassion on him. The baby‘s sister, who had been watching him float down the river, approached Pharaoh‘s daughter and asked her if she wanted a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. She agreed and the baby‘s sister quickly went to tell her mother the good news. The mother became caretaker of her own child in the palace of Pharaoh! The boy‘s name was Moses.

Although people knew Moses was a Hebrew, he still remained in the Pharaoh‘s family and grew up as a prince. It wasn‘t easy, however, since he had to watch his own people suffer. Moses could have chosen to just live a selfish life, enjoy all of the power and pleasure being offered to him, and forget about his people. He didn‘t. One day he saw an Egyptian beating a Jewish slave and became angry. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Eventually, Moses realized that the Jews knew about it and that it was only a matter of time until Pharaoh also found out. So he ran away from Egypt to a place called Midian.

After Moses got married and went on with his life in Midian, the Jews began to cry out to God and ask to be delivered from slavery. God heard their prayers. He also remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After 400 long years, events began that would eventually lead them to freedom from Egypt.

One day while Moses was watching his father-in-law‘s flock of sheep, he saw a bush on fire, but it wasn‘t being consumed by the flames. Then God called out, "Moses, Moses!" and he replied, "Here I am." "‘Do not come any closer,‘ God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.‘ Then He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.‘" (Exodus 3:5-6) God explained that He was going to send Moses back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, that He would display His power as He freed His people, and that He would use Moses to lead them to the land that He had promised Abraham.

Although God promised to be with him, Moses still had an important question. ―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?‘ 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.' 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 3:13-15)

"Yahweh" is the Hebrew word which we translate "I Am" in English. It was the most holy of all the names of God. "Yahweh" implied that you can‘t really give a good enough name to God. You can‘t put the Creator of the entire universe in a box. He existed before us and He will continue to exist long after the world is over. This name was so holy, even during the time of Jesus, no one would say this word out loud. If someone audibly said "Yahweh," he could actually be stoned to death!

BACK TO JESUS

This is how Jesus answered the question about who He was. "I tell you the truth, ‘Jesus answered. "Before Abraham was, I Am." (John 8:58)

Not only did Jesus have the courage to say the word audibly, but He used it to refer to Himself! There were only two possible reactions to such an unbelievable statement: Believe Him or kill Him for blasphemy! They picked up stones to kill Him, but Jesus hid Himself and was able to get away from the area of the Temple.

Reflection Questions

1. How long were the Jewish people in slavery in Egypt?

2. What does the story of baby Moses tell us about God? Does He seem to have a plan or is it all up to us?

3. What did God tell Moses at the burning bush? Why did God tell Moses to remove his shoes?

4. Why was it confusing when Jesus told them that Abraham 'saw his day'?

5. Why was the name "Yahweh" so important? What does it teach us about Jesus that He used it to refer to Himself? Would anyone who is not crazy or lying say this about himself?