I AM

Seven times in John's Gospel Jesus utters this phrase. Here's the list:

1. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
2. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
3. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
4. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
5. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).
6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
7. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser” (John 15:1).

These verses tell an amazing story about Jesus the Christ. Each deserves a study. Maybe I'll do that in the near future. However, the list doesn't stop with these seven passages. There are three others in John that might be considered the "I Am" of the I am's. It is found in Jesus' exchange with the religious leaders in John 8. Jesus, in going back and forth with the Pharisees revealed who he was in verses 24, 28 and 58. In each he used the term, "I am". 

That name was the one that God gave to Moses at the burning bush. You'll remember that one of Moses' excuses for not going back to Egypt was. The conversation took place in Exodus 3

13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

So, you can see the supposed complication. If Jesus used this name he was saying, I Am God! This was the name of Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Even to this day Jews do not write out this name in its entirety. They consider it too holy to spell completely. When copies of the scriptures were being made, it is said that each time a copyist came to this name, they would stop, take a bath, change clothes and pens, and then write out the Name. 

So, for Jesus to use this designation for himself was a big deal. Anyone claiming to be God would have been stoned to death for blasphemy. And that is exactly what almost happened in John 8:59 after Jesus' third use of the Sacred Name. This is how John told it, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." 

Jesus is God. He is the Great I Am. Do you believe that? If you don't, think again.