I Am The Way, The Truth & The Life
I AM
When Moses asks God in the desert who he is to say has sent him to the Israelites to lead them out of Egypt, God utters a simple yet profound title: ‘I AM’.
Translated to either, ‘I Am who I Am’, or ‘I will be Who I will be.’ This name has huge implications. As Alec Motyer says, “I AM is an open-ended assertion of divine sufficiency. Whatever circumstances arise, ‘I am with you and sufficient’ is the implication. And understanding of this name of God means that no matter how much of Himself the Lord is now revealing to Moses, there will always be more.You cannot exhaust this name. There always remains an abundance yet to be explored and experienced. There is no way that emergency needs or ever-changing circumstances and demands can catch Him out and prove Him inadequate or reach the end of His resources.”
What does it mean then, that Jesus claims this title for his own, not once, but 8 times through the gospel of John? Is Jesus claiming divinity? Is he claiming to be Yahweh, the great ‘I Am’? If so, what confidence should this give Christians today? How can this draw in those still exploring who Jesus is? Can Jesus possibly be the answer life’s deepest longings?
