Jesus – “I AM”

by Micky Galloway

In the gospel of John, in an exchange with the Jews, Jesus said, “for except ye believe that I am (he), ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). The terms by which Jesus is called are important with reference to the person of Jesus the Christ. In John 8:24 the word “he” is placed in parenthesis meaning it was supplied by the translators. If you leave out what the translators inserted, Jesus literally said, “For except ye believe that I AM ye shall die in your sins.” This is in keeping with the overall context, for in verse 58 Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I AM.” Jesus affirmed the eternity of His being just as the Father had in Exodus 3 when He commissioned Moses to lead His people out of the land of Egypt. John records many such “I AM” statements identifying the person of Jesus.

In John 6:35 we read, “Jesus said unto them. I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” It is evident that many of the Jews to whom He spake neither understood nor appreciated what Jesus said. In fact, according to verse 41, they “murmured against him” because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They had a problem in understanding for at least three reasons: (1) They were prejudiced; (2) They were carnal minded; and (3) They insisted on giving a literal interpretation of figurative statements. Earlier in this chapter, we noted that Jesus had miraculously fed the 5,000 on 5 barley loaves and two small fishes. Afterwards, many sought Jesus, but Jesus knew what was in their hearts and said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled” (John 6:26). They were concerned about physical food for the body, but Jesus sought to show the greater value of the spiritual food for the soul, of which one could eat and never hunger. Jesus is that life-giving and life-sustaining bread to whom we must go to in order to have life. Just how do we come to Him who is the bread of life? The rest of the chapter explains this figurative expression. In verse 45 we learn that in order to come to Him we must be taught. In verse 63 he said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life.” In verse 68 we learn that Peter understood, for he said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” His words, His truths, constitute that spiritual food that He offered as meat to sustain men. Christ is the bread of life who gives and sustains life and our means of approach to the bread of life is through learning and heeding His inspired words of life.

John 8:12 says, “Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Then once again in John 9:5, just prior to His healing the blind man, Jesus said, “When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” In John 1:4-5 the apostle said of Jesus, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.” What is implied by Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world”? In one sense, Christ occupies the same place in the moral and the spiritual realm that the sun occupies in the natural and physical realm. Life on earth would cease to be if the sun were suddenly darkened, leaving the earth deprived of its light and heat. In the same way there can be no spiritual life outside of Christ who is light and in whom there is life. Light enables us to see clearly. In the Scriptures, light indicates knowledge. This is why the Psalmist could say, “The opening of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalms 119:130). This is why we, in I John 1:7, are exhorted to “walk in the light.” He who walks in the light conducts himself according to our Lord’s teaching, as set forth in the New Testament. For a world in the darkness of ignorance, Christ is the light. His word can remove the darkness of ignorance providing the light of knowledge. For a world in the darkness of sin, Christ is the light, and through His blood the sinner can be redeemed. For a world in the darkness of death, Christ is the light, and in Him those who are dead in trespasses and sins can be made alive. But in each case, one must learn His will, and render obedience to Christ who is the author of eternal salvation to those who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).

John records in John 10:7-9, “Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.” This very simple metaphor is full of meaning. In verses 1-5 of this chapter, Jesus told the parable of the sheepfold, and even in these verses we see the importance of the door. According to verse 1, we learn that the door is the means of entrance into the sheepfold, and he that would strive to enter by some other way is a thief and a robber. This parable seems simple enough to understand; however, according to verse 6, the Pharisees to whom Jesus spoke, did not understand what He said. Their problem was not a lack of intelligence. It was a lack of sincerity. They were prejudiced; probably one of the worst diseases that can afflict the soul. In verse 7, Jesus further explained, “I am the door of the sheep.” A door presumes a “within” and a “without” relationship. Those who have not entered by the door, through Christ, are outside the sheepfold, or outside the realm of salvation. Jesus said, “I am the door.” Neither Abraham, Moses, John, nor any of the righteous prophets had ever made such a profound claim. There is only one door of access to the Father. Jesus is that door. Jesus placed Himself between the whole human race and true blessedness. The esteem of being “the door of the sheep” belongs only to Christ. He is the Door by which the spiritual sheep are admitted to divine pasture, divine security, and to a divine society. No other figure of speech more vividly portrays man’s need for Christ, and consequently the necessity of obeying the Lord so as to be admitted into the family of God.