Jesus in His Own Words
I Am
John 8:51-59
There are certain questions in life that seem simple, but the way we answer those questions affects everything. And in Matthew chapter 16, Jesus asked his followers one of those questions.
Matthew 16:13
Apparently, Jesus thought that was a pretty important question. So as we start this new series today, let me ask you: who do you say that he is?
I read about a college professor who teaches a class on the life of Jesus, and every time he teaches it, on the first day of class, he gives a standardized psychological test, divided into two parts.
The first part is about Jesus. So it asks questions like, "Was Jesus the life of the party, or "Was he an introvert?" "Was Jesus a worrier?" "Did he ever get moody?" Things like that. And then the second half of the test asks the student to describe their own personality, and it uses slightly different wording, but it basically asks the same questions: are you an introvert; do you worry a lot, etc.
You know what he's found, year after year? Let me quote him: "We all think Jesus is like us. Introverts think Jesus is introverted; extroverts think Jesus is extroverted," etc. People tend to make Jesus in their own image.
I think we all tend to force Jesus into this distorted image of ourselves. Political conservatives like to believe that Jesus would be a member of the NRA. Political liberals like to think Jesus would support Planned Parenthood. Basketball players say that at the end of the game, when the pressure is on, it's Jesus who helps them make their foul shots. Wealthy preachers say the one who gave them their Ferrari and private jet is...guess who? Jesus. It seems like we can make Jesus anything we want him to be!
You also see that creativity coming out in different cultures. For example, this is a Korean depiction of Mary and Jesus, looking very Asian. This is an African version of Jesus looking very African. And this is a classic American depiction of Jesus, and sometimes you see this Jesus with stunning blue eyes-which is my favorite, because he looks Scandinavian.
And of course, none of those versions make Jesus look particularly middle-Eastern or Jewish. Why? Because we prefer a Jesus we can relate to, and that means someone who's a lot like us. Someone who doesn't make us feel uncomfortable and doesn't rub us the wrong way.
And when we do that, here's the problem: we wind up fooling ourselves. We say the name "Jesus," but the "Jesus" we're relating to is not the actual Jesus; it's the one we've created in our mind. And this might sound obvious, but I'll say it anyway: nobody's life will be changed by an imaginary Jesus.
So if you struggle with this sometimes, like I do, this series is for you. Because we're going to allow Jesus to speak for himself.
In the Gospel of John, which is my favorite Gospel, there are seven places where Jesus describes himself beginning with the words "I am." So we're going to walk through those and allow Jesus to define himself on his own terms.
J. Sidlow Baxter, who is an Australian pastor, wrote this:
"Fundamentally, our Lord's message was Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, "I am the bread." He did not come merely to shed light; He said, "I am the light." He did not come merely to show the door; He said, "I am the door." He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, "I am the shepherd." He did not come merely to point the way; He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Can you imagine if I got up on this stage, and I said, "Listen-I know you came here for answers. Look at me. I am the answer." What would you think of me if I said that? He's lost it. He wants to start his own cult. Nobody talks like that, right?
But Jesus talked like that. "I am the light. I am the truth." Those are staggering claims. Either he's insane, or he's a liar, or we better pay attention to what He says! So over these next few weeks, I invite you to pay attention.
Of all the bold things Jesus said, the one we're going to look at today is by far the boldest-so bold that it almost got him killed on the spot. I would say all the other "I Am's" depend on this one. It's recorded in John chapter 8, beginning in verse 51...
John 8:51-59
Let me point just two things that I want you to see.
First, let's talk about
1. What Jesus Claimed about Himself
The dialog that we just read is actually the end of a much longer conversation that started about halfway through this chapter. The conversation took place in Jerusalem during one of the main Jewish holidays, called The Feast of Tabernacles. It was the holiday that commemorated the forty years that the people of Israel had wandered in the wilderness between getting out of Egypt and getting into the Promised Land, and how God had provided for them during those years. And Jesus attended the Feast because he was a faithful Jewish man.
So at the very end of the conversation, Jesus makes the most crazy, offensive claim he had ever made. But first, he kind of builds up to it with several, slightly less offensive claims.
Notice where he starts in
verse 51
" whoever obeys my word will never see death."
In a few minutes we'll talk about the "not seeing death" part. But first let's focus on this: Jesus was saying there was something different about the words that he spoke. Jesus believed that his words carried authority.
In fact, did you see the way he starts this? "Very truly I tell you..." Older versions of the Bible translate this, "Truly, truly I say unto you..." And Jesus used that phrase all the time. So what? Well, if you read any of the Old Testament prophets, they're always saying, "Thus says the Lord..." Right? Because they were relaying a message from God to the people. "Thus saith the Lord."
When they said that it was like saying, "Here's what God wants to tell you guys."
Did you realize Jesus never said that? He never said, "Thus saith the Lord." Instead, what did he say? "Truly, truly I say to you." In other words, He wasn't speaking on someone else's authority. He relied on His own authority.
In fact, in Matthew 7:28, it says the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. The words of Jesus were just different. They carried power and authority simply because he said them.
Now obviously, that was offensive to the religious leaders. But not as offensive as what He said next.
Verses 54-55
So Jesus doesn't just say, "Hey-when you hear me speak, you're hearing God speak;" he says, "the God you claim to follow-the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-you don't actually know him like you think you do, but I know him." Man! Those were fightin' words! "You guys claim to know God, but the way you live; the way you treat people; the way you regard me shows that you actually don't know Him.
But I know him really well." In fact, Jesus claimed to know God so well that in another place he said, "I and the Father are one."
And as offensive as that was, it was about to get worse!
verse 56-58
Now, if Jesus were only trying to claim that He had been alive for a really long time, he would have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was. I was already there." And that would have been pretty bold in itself, right? Like, "5,000 years ago, I was already around." But he didn't say that. He didn't say, "I was;" he said, "I am." Why would he say it that way?
Exodus chapter three: A voice speaks to Moses from a burning bush. The voice tells him to go to Egypt and free the Hebrew people from their slavery. And Moses says, "What if somebody asks me who it is that's sending me? What should I tell them?" And here's the answer he gets in
Exodus 3:14-15
Do you see that word "Lord," in all capital letters? Look for that in your Bible, because any time you see "Lord" in all caps, that's translating the Hebrew word YHWH. So God says, "YHWH is the special, covenant name you should call me." And that word YHWH is a form of the phrase "I am."
So at the burning bush, God was identifying himself as the only self-existent being in the universe. Everyone and everything else is dependent on something else for their existence, right?
We learned that this morning. By the way, in the scientific community, there is widespread agreement that the universe itself came into being suddenly and dramatically. It's called the Big Bang. As recently as 60 years ago, many scientists didn't believe that. They just assumed the universe had always been here. But there's been a lot of evidence over the past several decades that there was a beginning.
And that raises some big questions. In fact, Francis Collins, who directed the Human Genome Project, said, "The existence of the Big Bang begs the question of what came before that, and who or what was responsible."
See, everything in the universe came from something. Everything had a starting point. Except God himself. There's never been a time when He didn't exist; He doesn't have a beginning; He doesn't have an end; He just is. And the only name that captures that is: "I am."
So when Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I Am," are you starting to see why it was so offensive? Jesus was claiming to be God. Sometimes people say, "No, I don't think he meant that." He meant that! Why else would the religious leaders immediately pick up rocks and try to stone him? The words of Jesus were considered blasphemy, because he was a man claiming to be God.
Back in the 1970s there was a book written called The 100. It was written by an astrophysicist named Michael Hart, and he tried to list the 100 most influential people in history. So the list included Sigmund Freud and Louis Pasteur; all these great people. And he ranked them.
Do you know where he ranked Jesus? Third place. Number one was Muhammad; number two was Isaac Newton, and number three was Jesus.
Now if Jesus was simply a great leader or an influential man, then He deserves to be considered like everyone else and there can be some argument about where He falls on the list. But if he was actually who He claimed to be, then we better get it right. In fact, I sure don't want to be the person who ranks Jesus third, then has to stand before Him as God and explain my rationale!
The truth is He doesn't even belong on the list because He is incomparable! He is in a class by Himself! .
C.S. Lewis said,
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Jesus claimed to be God in human flesh. You see that throughout the four Gospels; it's affirmed in the other books of the New Testament; and even after the New Testament was complete, and the early church leaders met in councils to formalize their beliefs, they consistently concluded that Jesus was fully human...and at the same time, he was fully God.
This is what Jesus claimed about himself. So if that's true, if that's the real Jesus, not the one we make up in our imaginations, what does that mean for us?
Let's talk about that:
2. What This Means for Us
In some ways, we're going to be answering that question all through this series. But for today, let me point out three things in this passage.
First, it means He's
- the giver of life
In verse 51, Jesus says whoever obeys my word will never see death. How could he say that? Well, for one thing, if Jesus really is the great "I am," that means he's the source of life. Nobody had to give him life; he's always existed; so it would make sense that he has the power to give life to others.
But it's also because of His resurrection. Look at
1 Corinthians 15:20
In other words, "If you belong to Christ, then Easter is a preview of what's going to happen to you. Just like Jesus, you will rise to eternal life."
If you ask people if they're afraid to die, a lot of people would say, "No. It's a natural thing; I'm not afraid of it." But I'll tell you what: I've been in hospital rooms many times when death is drawing close. And very often, the sick person is unwilling to let go. They're just clinging on to life. It's almost instinctual.
But there is something about dying knowing that we belong to Christ that makes that experience different! There is a peace, and even a joy, not only for the person dying, but for the family and friends that witnesses it that brings a hope to that experience
But you know what? If we really believe this, it doesn't just help us on our death bed. Because Jesus taught that the secret of life is to let go of our lives...to stop clinging on...to stop being afraid to die in a thousand little ways.
So if we are confident that Jesus has us, we will hold our lives loosely; we'll take more risks; we'll love people a little more recklessly; we'll stop letting fear control us. So if Jesus is really who he says he is, that means he's the one who can give life...and knowing that changes the way we live.
Secondly, if Jesus is who he says he is, it means He
- deserves our worship
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, before he told him what his assignment was, he gave him this strange instruction. Do you remember what God told Moses to do? He said, Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. In that culture, taking off your sandals represented reverence and awe as you enter the presence of God. In other words, this was a moment of worship.
So think about this: Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I Am." He was equating himself with the burning holiness of God. Which means, just as Moses took off his sandals and bowed down before God, it's right for us to bow down and worship Jesus.
He deserves our worship.
When you read about the history of the early church in the New Testament, there are times when people were so impressed with the early church leaders-like Paul and Peter-they were so impressed that they tried to worship those guys. Do you know how Paul and Peter always responded? They were horrified! Like, "Get up off your knees! Don't worship me! I'm just a man!"
In the book of Revelation, there's a place where John the Apostle sees this vision of an angel, and it's so amazing, he falls at the angel's feet and starts to worship him. And the angel says, "Get up! I'm just a servant like you are!"
But here's the thing: every place in the New Testament where people bowed down before Jesus and tried to worship him, you know what Jesus did? He allowed it. In the Gospels; in the book of Revelation; Jesus receives the worship of his people. Because he deserves it.
You know what? We are born worshipers. All of us worship something. Have you ever gone to a sporting event, and an athlete does something great, and all the fans in the audience go like this? (bowing down). They are showing reverence and awe to this person.
All of us have this inner drive to worship-to make something the center of our lives; to say, "This is worth living for." Here's my suggestion: take that inner longing to worship, and direct it toward the one who actually deserves it. Don't worship someone on the Top 100 list; worship the One who stands above the whole list.
If Jesus is really who he says he is, then when we approach him, we're on holy ground.
And then third, if he's really who he says he is, it means He
- deserves our obedience
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and he told Moses to take off his sandals, and he identified himself as the eternal "I am," he did not then say, "Moses, how can I help you achieve your dreams? How can I help you fulfill your plans?"
What did he say? "Here's how you're going to help me fulfill my plans. You're going to go to Egypt, and you're going to set my people free." And Moses struggled with that; Moses pushed back a little bit, like we do sometimes. But ultimately he realized that if this is God, he gets to tell me what to do.
So if Jesus is the same God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, guess what? He deserves our obedience. In our passage today, several times Jesus talks about people who "obey his word."
Pastor and author Tim Keller writes:
"If Christ is really God, then all the conditions are gone. To know Jesus Christ is to say, "Lord, anywhere your will touches my life, anywhere your word speaks, I will say, 'Lord I will obey."
That means there are no conditions anymore. If he's really God, he can't just be a supplement. We have to come to him and say, "Okay, Lord, I'm willing to let you start a complete reordering of my life."
Is that a scary thought? It probably should be kind of scary. That whatever Jesus says-about forgiving people, about money, about marriage, about everything in life-he commands our obedience. And it's kind of scary, because it challenges us.
Like, if you took this seriously, what would change in your life today? That's kind of scary.
And maybe you're thinking, "Well then why would I obey Jesus, if it's so scary?" Here's why: because the one who commands you has holes in his hands and a gash in his side, because he went to the cross and laid down his life for you. We should obey him because he promises us life when our bodies give out, and he says, "Nothing can snatch you out of my hand." We should obey him because he says, "I will no longer call you my servants; I'm going to call you my friends." We should obey him because when we do, he empowers us to do things we never thought we could do.
See, the Jesus that we dream up in our own imagination is here to help us fulfill our plans. The real Jesus is like a blazing fire who commands us to fulfill his plans. What an honor! And here's the ironic thing: when we do that-when we give up control of our lives, and every day we say, "Lord, command me," and we follow after him, we wind up fulfilling our destiny and getting bigger dreams than we ever could have thought up ourselves.
Of all the things that Jesus claimed, this has to be the boldest: he claimed to be God. And if that's true, it changes everything! Because it means he's the one who can give life; he's the one who deserves our worship, and he's the one who deserves our obedience.
So...who do you say that he is?
Let's Pray.
