Before Abraham Was, I AM

In the most unmistakable assertion of His deity, Jesus claims the divine name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Today we'll explore why this claim matters eternally.

John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'"

Truly, everything that Jesus has said and done in the opening eight chapters culminates in this unmistakable assertion of His deity. Here Jesus is going to use the divine name that He revealed to Moses at the burning bush.

When God comes to Moses and tells him to go to Pharaoh and command him to let God's people go, Moses asks, "When they ask me what's Your name, what should I tell them?" God responds, "Tell them 'I AM' has sent you. Tell them My name is 'I AM.'"

In Greek, that's "ego eimi." Six thousand eight hundred times throughout the Old Testament, that is the loftiest, most elevated name for God—the name Yahweh. The Jews were so paranoid about using this name in an unworthy manner that they substituted other terms.

But here Jesus says, "Before Abraham was born, 'I AM.'" Not "before Abraham was born, I was," but "before Abraham was born, I AM."

Jesus is saying, "I didn't come into being. I existed before Abraham. I made Abraham. I made the heavens and the earth. Whatever your idea is of the God speaking to Moses at the burning bush—that's Me."

Some critics have said that Jesus never claimed to be God but that couldn't be further from the truth. He claimed to be God in countless ways that His audience understood without any confusion:

• He said He could forgive sin (they responded, "Who can forgive sin but God alone?")
• "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father"
• "If you honor Me, you honor God"
• "If you receive Me, you receive God; if you reject Me, you reject God"
• He said He was the only light in a dark world
• He said He was the only bread that satisfied
• He said He was the only Shepherd who could lead to the Eternal Promised Land
• He said He is the door that leads to life
• He claimed power to raise the dead, change hearts, execute divine judgment
• When Thomas fell down and said, "My Lord and my God," Jesus received it as acknowledgment of who He really was

So clear were His claims that in verse 59, they picked up stones to throw at Him. They wanted to crush the Rock of Ages. They picked up stones for two purposes: to drive someone away or to execute for blasphemy. That's exactly what's happening here.

They drove Him away. They didn't want anything to do with the Savior of the world. They wanted Him dead. And you know what's tragic? It says "Jesus hid Himself from them."

You need to understand that Jesus's patience does not last forever. In Romans 1, He gives nations over to their sin. In Revelation 2, He gives churches over to their sin. In John 8, He gives individuals over to their sin. There's a point where if you drive away the Son, it says He hid Himself.

Can I tell you something?

Jesus says if you come and believe in Him, you won't taste death. Why? Because Jesus Christ tasted death for those who would believe. Now you have to ask the question, how can Jesus grant eternal life? Because in verse 58, Jesus says He is the Eternal I AM and only an eternal God can grant you eternal life.

We know in full what Abraham only knew in part. Abraham brought up his one and only son 2,000 years before the Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Moriah, and the Lord said, "Stop the knife. I'll provide." Forty-two generations, 2,000 years later, another one and only Son would go up that same exact mountain, and there the Lord would not stop the knife.

There was no other substitute. It was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. There Abraham looked forward; we look back at the most horrific event in human history. And we, like Abraham, rejoice and are glad.

Do you want to know just how much you can trust in the promises of God this morning? He's faithful. God tells Abraham in Genesis 15, "If I don't keep My promises, I'll be torn asunder." You want to know just how far He went? He sent His one and only Son to be torn asunder in keeping His promises so that you and I can have life, so we can have forgiveness of sins, so we don't have to die in our sins, so we don't have to taste death.

Stay dialed in.