Jesus said, “I Am . . . “

Summer Sermon Series

January 3 – February 7, 2021

In the gospels both the authority and identity of Jesus are revealed in a series of statements that begin with “I am” (Greek: ego eimi). We see this clearly in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus teaches “You have heard … but I say to you”. Here Jesus speaks as God would speak.

For Jews who knew their Bibles and heard Jesus, the meaning would have been clear. Jesus was saying, “hearing me you are hearing God speak”. In this series we will look at the “I am” statement where they appear most frequently; in John’s Gospel. There are seven in total.

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Summer Sermon Series Schedule

Click sermon title to listen . . .

3-Jan	I am the Resurrection and life	John 11:1-44	Joel Ortiz
10-Jan	I am the Bread	John 6:26-59	Stephen Baxter
17-Jan	I am the Light	John 8:12-20	Liam Conway
24-Jan	I am the Good Shepherd	John 10:1-30	Stephen Baxter
31-Jan	I am the Vine	John 15:1-17	Scott Ambrose
7-Feb	I am the Way	John 14:1-14	Stephen Baxter

1. I am the bread of life 6:35, 41, 48, 51.
2. I am the light of the world 8:12, 9:5.
3. I am the resurrection and the life 11:25.
4. I am the good shepherd 10:11, 14.
5. I am the true vine 15:1, 5.
6. I am the door/gate of the sheep 10:7, 9.
7. I am the way, the truth and the life 14:6.

The first three interpret miracles Jesus had just performed. The next two, “I am the good shepherd” and “I am the true vine” imply that Israel, will be replaced by the followers of Jesus as the people of God. And the final two refer to Jesus as the way to enter relationship with God.

 There are other “I am” saying that are not as clear in our English translations. Some examples are:

• ‘For you will die in your sins unless you believe I am’ 8:24.
• ‘When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know I am’ 8:28.
• ‘Truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’ 8:58.
• ‘I tell you this now, so that when it takes place you may believe I am’ 13:19.

Throughout the Old Testament God uses similar wording, such as when the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, “I am God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1); or when God spoke with Moses saying, ‘I am the God of your father” (Exodus 3:6). Then when Moses asks God for a name, God answers “I am who I am” (3:14).

This saying, “I am who I am” becomes the personal name for God in the OT and is written in Hebrew without the vowels. It is translated as ‘Yahweh’ in our English bible translations. So, when Jesus says, “I am” he is claiming God’s name. He does not just speak for God like Moses or one of the prophets. He speaks as God.

This is profound. When we follow Jesus, we are following God. When we worship Jesus, we worship God. In this series we will focus on these sayings of Jesus and allow the Spirit to reveal to us how “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3) and how “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” (Colossians 2:9).