"Before Abraham was, I am"

Read John 8:56-59

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A distinctive characteristic of John’s gospel is the group of seven titles claimed by Jesus, all beginning with “I am”. (In Greek ego eimi). These are used by Jesus to explain who he is and what he has come to do (Jn.6:35; 8:12; 10:7; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1), and most significantly they point to him being truly God.

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The background for these sayings is found in the Old Testament. In Isaiah, God declares “I am he” and in its Greek version this is translated as ego eimi (Is. 41:4; 43:10,13; 46:4) Behind these verses is a reference to the name of God, when he revealed himself to Moses as “I am who I am” (Exod.3:14).

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So Jesus’s self-awareness of his deity is well expressed in the I am sayings. This is seen most clearly of all in John 8:58: “Before Abraham was, I am”. Such a claim to timeless existence, coupled with the Old Testament background, was nothing less than a claim to being God, as his hearers clearly understood (8:59). It was either blasphemy or the most amazing truth – that in Jesus God had entered into our world. It’s that truth which is the glory and wonder of Christmas (Jn.1:1-2,14; 14:10-11). “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see! Hail the incarnate Deity!” (C.Wesley).