If you could ask Jesus right now if He was God.. what would His answer be?
“I Am” Is His answer. We don\'t have to wonder or guess. He has already said it and still says it.. if you have an ear to hear. Follow me through a short biblical journey if you will. (Note: I will keep “I AM” in all caps when Jesus is speaking)
As we see in Exodus 3 when Moses asks the Lord what name to give when explaining that God sends him..
Exodus 3:14 NKJV
[14] And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Then let\'s look at prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 48:12-13 NKJV
[12] “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called:
I AM He, I AM the First, I AM also the Last.
[13] Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.
Keep this in mind as we move further.. notice “I Am He” that is the first and last and also created the heavens and earth.. which we know God has done in Genesis 1
Genesis 1:1 NKJV
[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Also interesting enough in Acts when Paul is preaching of Jesus, he quotes John The Baptist explaining “I am not He”
Acts 13:24-25 NKJV
[24] after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
[25] And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’
Here are some “I am” statements from Jesus to His disciples when explaining who He is.. (I put I AM in all caps)
John 8:23-25 NKJV
[23] And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I AM from above. You are of this world; I AM not of this world.
[24] Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM He, you will die in your sins.”
[25] Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
I believe we can agree so far we\'ve seen from the beginning He\'s been saying His name is I AM.
But, let\'s go a little further..
John 8:28-29 NKJV
[28] Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
[29] And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”
Again “I Am He” from Jesus and He also refers to Himself often as the ‘Son Of Man’ because it’s how He appeared to the prophet Daniel in a vision.
Daniel 7:13-14 NKJV
[13] “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
[14] Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
And how about when Phillip asked Jesus to show them the Father?..
John 14:8-11 NKJV
[8] Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
[9] Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
[10] Do you not believe that I AM in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
[11] Believe Me that I AM in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Hopefully the whole Father in Him and Him in the Father isn\'t too confusing. Just stick to paying attention to His ‘I AM’ name.. remember what he says to the Jews when questioning Him about Abraham and Jesus’ age as He explained the Father to them..
John 8:54-58 NKJV
[54] Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
[55] Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.
[56] Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
[57] Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
[58] Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
Noticed how He said He knows the Father and kept His word?. Let\'s look at His WORD..
John 1:1-2 NKJV
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] He was in the beginning with God.
Okay pretty simple then.. Jesus is also the Word which John says is God. Jesus confirmed that as well by keeping His Word.
I think now we can move to His capture and trial when accused and questioned by the Pharisees.
Let\'s look at what Jesus answers to the ones arresting Him.
John 18:3-6 NKJV
[3] Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
[4] Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”
[5] They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I AM He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.
[6] Now when He said to them, “I AM He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
There is just power in that I AM name huh.. makes sense, since Paul and Timothy claims it to be above every name!
Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV
[9] Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
[11] and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now to the trial..
Mark 14:60-62 NKJV
[60] And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”
[61] But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
[62] Jesus said, “I AM. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Just as He showed Daniel in his vision, Jesus says the Son Of Man will be coming with the clouds of heaven.
Remember when Jesus said that the Father hasn\'t left Him? But why did He say this on the cross?
Matthew 27:46 NKJV
[46] And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Well we know that the Father hasn\'t left Him but it was in that moment He took on our sins that kept us separated from God.
Isaiah 59:2 NKJV
[2] But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
But thank God for His gift of salvation so we can be reconciled to God
John 3:16 NKJV
[16] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 10:9 NKJV
[9] that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
[8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
[9] not of works, lest anyone should boast.
II Corinthians 5:17-18 NKJV
[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
[18] Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
Now let\'s go on after Jesus ascended to heaven and appeared to John in a vision. I\'ll just let John and Jesus wrap this up..
Revelation 1:17-18 NKJV
[17] And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I AM the First and the Last.
[18] I AM He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I AM alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Revelation 22: 12-21NKJV
[12] “And behold, I AM coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
[13] I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
[14] Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
[15] But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
[16] “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I AM the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
[17] And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
[18] For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
[19] and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
[20] He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I AM coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
[21] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.