When Moses met God at the burning bush in the Sinai desert, he was given instructions to go and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Moses wondered if the people would believe that he had spoken to God, so he asked God to tell him His name. In Scripture, a name is regarded as the manifestation of character or purpose. This is why a new name was often given to people or places by God after some decisive event which forever stamped its character upon a person or place.
So what is God’s name?
"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.’ … ‘This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’" (Ex. 3:14, 15b).
This name, I AM, connotes the eternal, unchangeable, and faithful nature of God. In this same passage, God gave Himself a further description, more precisely as "the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6). The God of the Universe more specifically identified with a people He called for His purpose: that they would reveal His nature and character to the world. I AM is the God of the present, yet His nature overarches the past to the future, because He is eternal. God Who created the vast Universe is also the God who is interested in us frail humans, because we were the ones He created to have fellowship with Him.
It was through the children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that God showed the power of His Word to provide and sustain, often miraculously. He gave us His Word (the Bible) at the hands of Jewish authors inspired by His Spirit. And through them, the eternal Word came in the person of Yeshua (Jesus), when "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).
In John 8, we find the Pharisees debating with Yeshua, when He claimed His divine and eternal nature. He said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58.) The Pharisees understood that Yeshua was claiming to be God, so they took up stones to stone Him (John 8:59), the Levitical consequence for blasphemy (Lev. 24:16), which they believed Yeshua was committing. Yeshua passed through the midst of them and out of the Temple.
In the Book of John, we find the "I am" theme continues when Yeshua delivered seven "I am" descriptions of Himself. These descriptions of His character reveal His Messianic self-understanding that He wanted to convey to those who had the spiritual discernment to understand the deeper meaning. Each one used a metaphor that was rich in meaning to His Jewish listeners. In this series, I am going to examine each one of these sayings:
- "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35,41,48,51)
- "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12)
- "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7,9)
- "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11,14)
- "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25)
- "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)
- "I am the true vine" (John 15:1,5)
“I AM the bread of life”
The first of the "I Am" sayings of Yeshua occurs in John 6. Here, we find Yeshua feeding the 5,000, and then twice saying about Himself, "I am the Bread of Life" (vv. 35, 48). Furthermore, He said, "He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). This speaks of Yeshua as our provider, Yahweh Yireh (often mispronounced, Jehovah Jireh) and so much more.
As Christians, we often read statements like this and take them at face value, even though we aren’t always exactly sure what they mean. "I am the Bread of Life" is such a simple statement, yet it is so profound when fully understood. Just exactly what did Yeshua mean by this statement that has become so familiar to us?
Read more… -here-
“I AM the light of the world”
The theme of this teaching is Yeshua’s statement about Himself, found in the Book of John: "When Yeshua spoke again to the people, He said, ‘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). He emphasized this when He said, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5).
Yeshua was equating Himself with God, goodness, perfection, holiness, truth, goodness, blessing, joy, faithfulness, refuge, security, safety, salvation, life, eternity, and immortality, which are all connected to the concept of light. Furthermore, following Him would keep us from walking or falling into darkness – the contrasting, symbolic, opposite place where God and godliness is not found.
Read more… -here-
“I AM the gate of the sheep”
Even in the 21st century, living in Israel connects you to the everyday life of the Bible. Why? Although we live in a modern era, much of what my family and I see and experience in Israel is the same as in the days of the Bible. From our house in the southern hills of Jerusalem overlooking Bethlehem, we can see shepherds grazing their flocks on the hillsides. So much of the biblical narrative is better understood through the simple observation of the daily life of Israel that so clearly illustrates the Bible, even today.
To understand the character of Yeshua as expressed through the biblical image of the shepherd, it is helpful to know the characteristics of both the shepherd and his sheep.
Read more… -here (part 1)- and -here (part 2)-