The Key Question

Last evening I was praying and was reminded of a verse found in John 8:58 NIV:  “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

Recently I have been spending time thinking about Jesus' statements about who He was and what He came to earth to do.  Here Jesus makes probably the most clear-cut statement about who He is.  David Guzik has this to say in His commentary:

i. I Am: The ancient Greek phrase is ego emi, which is the same term used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in Jesus' day to describe the Voice from the burning bush.

ii. In using the phrase I Am (John 8:24, 8:58, 13:19) Jesus used a clear divine title belonging to Yahweh alone (Exodus 3:13-14, Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 43:10) and was interpreted as such by Jesus' listeners (John 8:58-59).

iii. "The phrase harbours within itself the most authentic, the most audacious, and the most profound affirmation by Jesus of who He was." (Stauffer)

We can tell by the response of the people who heard Jesus say this that they had no doubt about His intent in making this statement.  Here is John's record of the aftermath - John 8:59 NIV: "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."

They were reacting to what they thought was blasphemy, as Jesus was saying that He was God.  He was using the same title that God used when Moses first encountered Him.  It is clear that while the Jews were waiting for the Messiah, they did not think that He would have actually been God's son.  They were waiting for a King to save them, but did not expect God.  Thus, Jesus equating Himself with the Father, was beyond shocking, it was unthinkable to them.  They held even the name of God in such high regard they wouldn't even say His name, just initials that referred to His name (translated to English as YHWH). Here is a quote from  http://www.behindthename.com/name/yahweh:

"A name of the Hebrew God, represented in Hebrew by the tetragrammaton ("four letters") יהוה (Yod Heh Vav Heh), which was transliterated into Roman script as Y H W H. Because it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God, it was only written and never spoken, which resulted in the original pronunciation becoming lost."

If they held the name of God in such high regard, one can only imagine how their minds must have been shocked to hear Jesus say He was God! The Jews just could not wrap their mind around the fact that God would humble Himself and become a man, and not even a man of great wealth and prestige.  They had so long heard stories about the great and awesome God, who came in fire and clouds, who won battles for them and did amazing miracles, they couldn't adapt all that thinking to the person of Jesus.

The Apostles and disciples who followed Jesus daily, were able to make that jump in logic, because they saw what Jesus did and heard what He said. One could say they were able to make that jump because of their relationship and experience.  The knew that Jesus was who He said He was, and were willing to follow Him, and believe Him.

I don't think much has actually changed since that time.  There are those who just can't or just won't allow the truth of Jesus' words to resonate in their hearts.  There are those that have never experienced relationship with God, so they only have stories and ideas, and things passed to them from others, regarding Jesus and God.  There are those that can't wrap their mind around a God who was willing to come to earth as fully man, who then suffered and died for all men, that they all might be saved.

There are also those that do believe Jesus' words!  There are those that have experienced God's love and forgiveness, His mercy and compassion, His blessing and peace.  There are those that have experienced miracles and healing, those that have seen their lives turn-around because of their encounter with Jesus, and they know He is who He say He is!  There are those that are followers of Jesus, who have experienced a living relationship with Him, and know that what He said is true.

So the key question this morning is how I react to Jesus saying He is God?  Do I believe this?  If so, how should it affect my life?

Lord, I pray that You will reveal Yourself to us all, that we would have no doubt that You are God!