It is I and I Am

 

Last Sunday, Pastor/Elder Willie Nolte preached  a sermon about “God the Son” Jesus Christ, pointing out that in John 6:15-21, Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-51 all recount the renowned story of after miraculously feeding the five thousand plus from just five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee. In all accounts, when the disciples see him, they believe he must be a ghost. After all, the depths of the sea were called the abyss; the “abyssos” in Greek, meaning the pit, a very deep hole to the lowest parts of the earth believed used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons.  

 

This belief in the abyss is confirmed in Matthew 16:13-18, where the spring “called the “Gates of Hell” in Caesarea Philippi, which is the source of the Banias River, one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River, was the backdrop for Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him, “On this rock (that confession) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not^]prevail against it.” The hole, which was the Spring’s source was considered the gate to the Underworld. The disciples in the boat, not recognizing Him and seeing a person performing the impossible walking on water assumed a ghost from the abyss had surfaced. But, The Lord Jesus said to them (and is recorded in all three Gospel accounts), “It is I; do not be afraid.” The Greek translation for “It is I” is the term “eimi egō” meaning “I Am”, specifically to be, to exist, to be present. This is a very rare term used in the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. 

 

In Exodus 3:13-14 Moses said to God in the burning bush, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” The term “I Am” is the Hebrew word “Hāyâ”, meaning to be, to exist, be in existence; to abide, remain, continue. God is the great “I Am”. In John 8:58 Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” The “I am” here the Greek, “ego eimi”.

 

A little later, in John 6:35, Jesus states: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. And Jesus clarifies in John 6:50-51, “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” In both verses, the term “I am” here the Greek, “ego eimi”. Who has the power to forgive sin and give eternal life, but our all seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present sovereign Creator God? 

 

In John 4:25-26, the woman at the well said to Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” The term “I am” here the Greek, “ego eimi”. In John 8:12, Jesus proclaims: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The term “I am” here the Greek, “ego eimi”. In John 10:9-11 Jesus declares, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. The term “I am” here the Greek is“ego eimi”.

 

In John 11:25-26 Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” The term “I am” here the Greek, “ego eimi”. In John 14:6 Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The term “I am” here the Greek is “ego eimi”. In John 15:1 Jesus pronounces, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” Then continues on in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” In both verses, the term “I am” here the Greek is “ego eimi”.

 

In John 10:27-30 Jesus asserts, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” Christ is stating “It is I and I AM, I exist, I am present, come to Me”.

 

In Christ, Brian