HIStory in 30 Days

Day 24

Great I AM

HIStory continues…

In the Gospel of JOHN, he says there are many miracles performed in the presence of the disciples that aren’t included in his accounts, but that he does highlight seven as signs of the deity of Jesus Christ: “But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

One of the other evidences John laid out was the reaction to Jesus. Did those around Him know that He was claiming to be God? On one occasion, Jesus declared, “I and the Father are one” ( John 10:30). The religious leaders were ready to stone Him right then for committing blasphemy. They knew He was claiming to be God. “…It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God”( John 10:33).

Moreover, Jesus claimed to be God by using for Him, the name that God used for Himself— “I AM.” If you’ll recall, in the Old Testament book of Exodus, Moses encountered a burning bush in the middle of the wilderness while sheep herding for his father-in-law, Jethro. The voice of God spoke to him out of the fire, giving him a mission to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. Moses asked for a sign to give the people when they challenged him: Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13–14).

The Jewish people knew that God’s divine name was “I AM.” If anyone used that name, he was either claiming to be God Himself or blaspheming God. In John’s Gospel, he records the seven times that Jesus used this very name, I AM.

Jesus is claiming to be God in the flesh when He says:

I AM the Bread of Life. ( John 6:35)

I AM the Light of the World. ( John 8:12)

I AM the Door. ( John 10:9)

I AM the Good Shepherd. ( John 10:11)

I AM the Resurrection and the Life. ( John 11:25)

I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life. ( John 14:6)

I AM the Vine. ( John 15:5)

Jesus didn’t  have  to  say, “I  am  God” for  those  around Him to know that was exactly what He was claiming. Anyone who heard these declarations would know Jesus was claiming to be God in the flesh.

Devotional: Where Are We in HIStory?

“…But who do you say that I am?” Mark 8:29

After avoiding church for several years, my husband and I finally settled on one with teaching that was straight from the Bible.

Up until that time, I’d believed in Jesus as a good teacher, perhaps a rabbi, or even a prophet. I looked at Him as I would any other great man that I admired. If I followed His teachings, He could give me guidance to live as a good person—to feed the poor and show compassion. But I’d never thought of Him as someone who could change me into a new creation. Could He remove my shame for sins I’d committed in my young adulthood? Could He comfort me when I felt lonely or fearful for my children? That would require that He be more. That would require that He be God.

I wanted to be changed. If that meant studying all the evidence proving that He is the Son of God, I was willing to do that work. I began to read my Bible. I studied the claims that Jesus was more than a great teacher or prophet. Jesus claimed to be God. Everyone at the time He lived on earth knew this was His claim. I had to reach a decision. As C. S. Lewis observed: “You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1952).

Today I Pray

Lord Jesus, I lift up my eyes to You today and see You not just as a teacher, a rabbi, or prophet—but also as God.