I AM

Pastor Michael Wheatley, August 15, 2011

Background. I've said it many times that there is no justification for anyone to say that Jesus never claimed to be God.  No place is that more apparent than in John's gospel.  No place is it more apparent than in the passage we will consider this Sunday.  Leading up to it Jesus said He was the source of truth, which would set people free; He had come from God; that whoever keeps His word will not see death; He knows God and does what God says; Abraham rejoiced to see His day.

He then said it, "Before Abraham was born, I AM."  Jesus used the same language God used in speaking to Moses from the burning bush.  Jesus is the "I AM."  He is the timeless one.  He is God.  Join us this Sunday as we examine this conversation He had with the religious leaders.

Scripture—John 8:48-59. The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

 "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.  I am not seeking glory for myself but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.  I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed!  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?  He died, and so did the prophets.  Who do you think you are?"

Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.  My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.  Though you do not know him, I know him.  If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

 "I tell you the truth,"  Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am."  At this they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Sermon. Our text this morning is from a longer section of John’s gospel that can only be described as tumultuous. You have heard of the straw that breaks the camel’s back. One bale of straw a camel won’t notice. That may be true for several bales. But there comes a point when the load becomes such that one more blade of straw is too much. It’s one blade too many and it breaks the camel’s back.

That’s something of what we have here. In rapid succession Jesus makes one claim after another. And then there is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The religious leaders can take no more and they pick up stones with which they intend to kill him. Added to his claims about himself, Jesus is also, if we can use the word, attacking the religious leaders. It’s too much—way too contentious.

The passage has some deep roots in the Old Testament figure of Abraham. We need to lay down some groundwork here. Before Abraham, there wasn’t a Hebrew people. Before Abraham, there were no children of God. Abraham was the first. He was the father of the nation Israel. God chose Abraham to be the father of a people God would call his own. God made some promises to Abraham. He would become the father of a great nation. God also promised Abraham that through his descendants all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The promise was that out of Abraham there would come a savior. And Abraham believed God and God considered Abraham’s faith as all Abraham needed to be in a right relationship with God. That is also true for us. It has always been that way—that a right relationship with God is established by faith alone.

Now, into our story. The religious leaders with whom Jesus was contending took it as gospel truth that because they were descendants of Abraham, they had inherited a special place of privilege with God. So when Jesus said there was no way under heaven that they were children of Abraham, they took exception. Jesus told them that if they were Abraham’s children, they would do the things Abraham had done, like trust God, which they didn’t.

The religious leaders didn’t buy it. In fact, they took it a step further. Not only were they descendants of Abraham, but God alone was their father. Jesus responded to that saying that if God were their father, they would—three things—they would love Jesus, they would believe Jesus, and they would hear what he had to say. Since none of these were true, it was apparent that God was not their father. It was a stinging rebuke by Jesus that in fact they were strangers to God.

The religious leaders were so exasperated at that point that they could no longer argue; what they did was label. They called him names, which is what one does when one doesn’t know what else to say. They called him names. They called him a Samaritan and demon-possessed. They told him that he was mad with the madness of the evil one.

To that Jesus said we will let God be the judge of that. We will let God sort it out. And Jesus added that whoever walks in the paths that he takes will be vindicated by the judge and will never see death. Now, that caught their attention; this was something they could argue about. Actually, they thought he had lost his mind and they would now prove it.

Remember what I said about Abraham. Abraham was the pillar of Israel. He was the best of the best. He was right with God. Nobody trusted God as he did. He was committed to God; he even entertained God in his own home. God came to his tent one day and Abraham served as host. Yet, he died. All the prophets of God had died. So when Jesus said that whoever keeps his word will never die, the religious leaders took Jesus to mean that he was superior to Abraham. So they challenged him. The asked him, who do you think you are that you would set yourself above the greatest in Israel, our father Abraham?

Jesus was making claim after claim, each one upping the ante. Including what we learned in the sermon last week, Jesus claimed to speak a truth that would set people free. He claimed to come from the Father. He claimed to tell the truth. He said if anyone keeps his word, they will never see death. Then he added in response to their question about who he was—he said he is the one who uniquely knows the Father and does exactly what the Fathers says—always.

For the religious leaders it was all too much. Nevertheless, in response to their questions Jesus didn’t stop there. He brought Abraham back into the picture. Jesus said, “Your father Abraham, who means so very much to you, rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, and he saw it and was glad.” Abraham had died 2000 years before. God had promised Abraham that one of his descendants would be the Messiah. That Abraham saw the Messiah—by vision of what was to come, or from heaven after his death—the religious leaders had no problem with that. They actually believed it. But Jesus didn’t say Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing the Messiah’s day. Jesus said Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, and he saw it and was glad. Jesus was saying that it was he that Abraham was excited about.

The religious leaders said, ”You are not yet 50 ears old and you have seen Abraham?” Then Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” Let’s not make any mistake about what Jesus is saying. The religious leaders were not mistaken. They knew exactly what the claim was. It was obvious. They just didn’t believe it. Jesus told them that he goes back before Abraham. Jesus used the language of God when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Moses was told to go back to Egypt and deliver God’s people. Moses thought it would be a good idea to know God’s name, so he asked. God said, “I AM who I am. Just tell the people that I AM has sent me to you.” Jesus used the name of God for himself. Jesus was saying I am God who spoke to Moses. I am God whom Abraham knew. I am the timeless one. I have always been.

This was the reason they picked up the stones with which to put him to death. There was no doubt in their minds about what Jesus was saying. The doubt was in their hearts.

The passage leaves us with a choice to make. It’s the same one the religious leaders had to make. Will we reject the claim? Or will we take him at his word? They asked him who he was and he told them. They understood him to say he was God. He makes the claim. The next step is ours.