The Great “I AM”

“When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

(John 18:6)

Picture this: The soldiers have come to arrest Jesus, who asks them who they are looking for. “Jesus of Nazareth,” they say.  “I am he” relies Jesus, and the armed toughs who came to arrest him fall to the ground on the strength of his words.

Consider this; God incarnate has just stated His name: I Am!

The soldiers are lucky that they weren’t struck dead when they heard this!

The past several Notes we have posted contain the great “I Am” statements of Jesus in John’s Gospel.  Consider the power of this for a moment…  Jesus IS the great I AM!  It was He who spoke the words and the universe came into being!  His word holds the entire creation together, and it is His Word that will guide us through life if we are wise enough to learn it and let it guide us.  His Word is the power of God for salvation of mankind; maybe it deserves a little more priority on our part.

The Light of the World

‘…”I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’

(John 8:12)

This is one of the great “I am” statements that Jesus made in John’s Gospel.  Notice that Jesus is saying that he is the light of the world.  It is hard to realize sometimes that our world largely lies in darkness.  This darkness is not an absence of lighting, but rather the darkness of sin, rebellion and of the spirit.  Our world lacks the light of true life; God’s presence.

As we go through our days, are we in the light as Jesus used the term; the light of God’s truth?  When we walk with Jesus we are…  The question is, are we walking with Jesus?

I recently spoke to a guy who was complaining that life wasn’t going well.  He was upset because nobody appreciated his efforts, his work and his contributions.  It seemed that everyone around him overlooked everything that he was doing for them.  I asked if he was concentrating his attention of his relationship with Jesus, and he told me that he was! Yet, all he was concerned about was what other people were thinking, and whether or not they appreciated him.  I hate to say so, but this poor guy is living in darkness.  If we are walking with Jesus that is, in His light, we don’t even notice that we are being slighted, because our attention is illuminated by the light of His truth. If we are not walking in the light of His truth, it is very easy to be consumed by slights and snubs…

“I AM!”

‘”I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”’

(John 8:58)

Jesus was before Abraham!  This came as a shock to those who heard Him say so, and even more so because of the way He said it: “Before Abraham was born, I am”.  Notice the switch from past to present tense; Jesus was telling people that He is God in the flesh, for “I Am” is one of the names of God.

It is interesting how many people say that they believe in God, but that they don’t even want to hear about Jesus.  I suppose there may be several possible reasons for this, but just think of it: Jesus and God the Father are one!  Jesus is the One who defeated the works of the Devil: sin, death, lies…

Gee, I wonder, is there a spiritual reason that people fear the name of Jesus?

Come on in!

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

(John 10:9)

Another of the “I am” statements of Jesus, this time He is saying that He is the gate to the pasture.  Nobody can find salvation except through Jesus Christ.  We may think we have found something great, but only Jesus can offer us “The Way”.  This is for good reason, too.

Jesus is the one who paid the price for sin, the One who made the peace treaty between Man and God.  It is through this reconciliation that we can be in fellowship with God.  This is the way that God designed, and this is the way that God will accept: we really aren’t in a position to dictate terms to God.

So, Come on in!  Enter through the gate and find pasture, that is to say find rest, peace and security.  This is what Jesus has to offer, and it sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

Related articles

• Jesus is My Closest Friend (brokenbelievers.com)

The Resurrection and the Life

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

(John 11:25-26)

Well do you?

The reply that Jesus got to this question was: “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27)

Jesus Christ is our hope for eternal life, of this there can be no doubt whatsoever.  But this is not all, He is also our hope for life on this earth.  In Christ we can find fulfillment, satisfaction, peace and purpose.  If you want to live a full life, you will find it in Christ; when you really come to understand what you have and how to live.  As you go to work today, or as you deal with all of the cares of life, keep your focus on what you have in Jesus… see how your outlook will change.  For more on how our lives can gain purpose and direction, see my recent post on Individual Prayer.

The Way

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

(John 14:6)

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life… Everyone wants to find these things.  We usually look in all the wrong places of course, but here it is.

If you want to improve your life; improve your relationship with Jesus Christ.  If you want to find Truth; improve your relationship with Jesus Christ.  If you want to find life; improve your relationship with Jesus Christ.

You and I were created for a purpose, and that was to live in a purposeful relationship with God; it stands to reason that if we do what we were created to do, our lives would be filled to the fullest.  So, let’s get with it!

If you don’t have a relationship with Him yet, then it’s time to surrender your life to Him.  If you do have a relationship with Him and need to improve it then I would suggest you check out my earlier post called Individual Prayer.

Jesus said that we can only come to God through Him, so what must we do?  Put our attention and effort into our relationship with Jesus Christ!

Related articles

• Individual Prayer (lifereference.wordpress.com)