Jesus Christ Is the Great I AM

One of the most profound claims Jesus made about himself was also one of the most controversial. When he declared "Before Abraham was, I am," he wasn't just making a statement about his existence—he was claiming to be the eternal God who revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush. This declaration of divine identity stands at the heart of Christian faith and separates Jesus from every other religious teacher in history.

The Divine Name Revealed

When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, he asked for God's name. The response was mysterious and profound: "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14). This name, often rendered as Yahweh or Jehovah, speaks to God's self-existence, eternality, and absolute being. Unlike created things that come into existence, God simply is—without beginning, without end, without dependence on anything else.

The name "I AM" became so sacred to the Jewish people that they would not even pronounce it aloud. It represented the unique, unchanging, eternal nature of the one true God. To claim this name was to claim equality with God himself—a claim that would either be true or blasphemous beyond measure.

Jesus' Bold Claims

Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus makes a series of "I AM" statements that build toward his ultimate declaration of divine identity. He claims to be the bread of life, the light of the world, the door of the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, and the true vine. Each statement reveals an aspect of his divine nature and mission.

But the most direct claim comes in John 8:58: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." The Greek text is emphatic—ego eimi, the same phrase used in the Septuagint translation of Exodus 3:14. Jesus wasn't claiming to have existed before Abraham; he was claiming to be the eternal, self-existent God who spoke to Moses.

The Reaction of the Religious Leaders

The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus was claiming. Their immediate response was to pick up stones to stone him for blasphemy. In their minds, either Jesus was speaking the truth and was indeed God incarnate, or he was committing the ultimate blasphemy by claiming equality with the Almighty.

This reaction appears repeatedly in the Gospels. When Jesus forgave sins, healed on the Sabbath, or spoke with divine authority, the religious leaders recognized these as claims to divine prerogatives. They never accused Jesus of being merely a good teacher who got carried away—they accused him of making himself equal with God.

The Implications of the Claim

If Jesus truly is the great I AM, then everything changes. His words carry the weight of divine authority. His commands are not suggestions but imperatives from the Creator of the universe. His promises are backed by the faithfulness of the eternal God. His sacrifice on the cross has infinite value because it is the God-man who suffers and dies.

This claim also means that Jesus shares in all the attributes of deity—omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability, and eternal existence. He is not a created being, no matter how exalted, but the uncreated Creator who took on human nature while remaining fully divine.

The Great I AM in Human Flesh

The wonder of the incarnation is that the great I AM became flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal, unchanging God entered into time and space, took on human nature, and experienced what it means to be human while never ceasing to be God. This is the mystery Paul speaks of when he writes about Christ, "who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7).

Jesus' humanity doesn't diminish his divinity, nor does his divinity overshadow his humanity. He is fully God and fully man, the perfect mediator between God and humanity. As the great I AM, he has the authority to forgive sins; as true man, he can represent us before the Father.

Meeting the Great I AM Today

When we encounter Jesus in the pages of Scripture, we are not meeting a mere prophet, teacher, or wise man. We are meeting the eternal God who spoke creation into existence, who revealed himself to the patriarchs, who gave the law at Mount Sinai, and who promises to make all things new.

This truth should fill us with both awe and comfort. Awe because we are in the presence of the Almighty God who holds all things together by the word of his power. Comfort because this same God loves us with an everlasting love and has given himself for our salvation.

The Choice Before Us

Jesus' claim to be the great I AM leaves us with the same choice faced by his contemporaries. We cannot treat him as merely a good teacher or moral example—his claims are too radical for such safe categories. Either he is who he claims to be, or he is a deceiver or madman.

C.S. Lewis famously argued that Jesus was either a liar, lunatic, or Lord—there is no comfortable middle ground. The evidence of his life, his fulfillment of prophecy, his resurrection from the dead, and the transformation of his followers all point to the truth of his claims.

The great I AM still speaks today through his Word, still calls people to himself, and still transforms lives. The question that echoes through eternity remains: "Who do you say that I am?" Our answer to that question determines not only how we view Jesus, but how we understand reality itself. For if Jesus is indeed the great I AM, then he is not just a part of our story—he is the author of it.