Jesus: The Great “I AM”

Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Deity of ChristDivine Life and Doctrine

 Article in Brief

As a Member of the Godhead, Jesus Christ shares complete deity with the other Members of the Godhead. In fact, the Bible repeatedly identifies Jesus with the Jehovah of the Old Testament.

It is no exaggeration to state that the central subject matter of the Bible is about Deity. Secondarily, the Bible is about Deity’s desire to enable human beings to be forgiven of their sin so that they may spend eternity with Deity. The words “Christ” and “Christianity” accentuate the fact that the Christian religion is all about Christ. Christianity is the one and only religion through which human beings may approach God in order to enter into a right relationship with Him (Acts 4:12). Specifically, the central feature of the Christian religion is the Person of Christ, i.e., His divinity. The very nature of an infinite, divine Being is such that it was absolutely indispensable for Deity to assume human form, taking on human flesh, in order to atone for human sin. No other being could have achieved this mandatory requirement (Hebrews 10:4; Micah 6:6-8). Since all humans have sinned (Romans 3:9ff.), it was necessary for God to become human and die for human sin. It absolutely had to be God Himself—a member of the Godhead. From eternity, it was the second Person of the Godhead Who was selected to fulfill this critical need: “Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world” (John 10:36). Jesus was “set apart” to achieve a specific task. This doctrine is of such paramount importance to the Christian religion that a person can become a Christian if and only if that person orally confesses that Jesus is, Himself, divine (Romans 10:9-10).1 Indeed, the validity and legitimacy of virtually all other religions, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims, stands or falls on this one doctrine alone. For if God requires human beings to confess orally the deity of Christ before He can forgive them of their sins, and a person’s religious beliefs deny that Jesus is divine, that person simply cannot be pleasing to God and, therefore, remains unsaved and unacceptable to Him.

Moses Encounters Jehovah

When Moses was being commissioned by God at the burning bush to return to Egypt, go before Pharaoh, and convey to him God’s demand to let the Israelites exit Egypt, Moses manifested considerable reluctance and offered several excuses why he was not the man for the job. One of his excuses pertained to God’s identity:

Then Moses said to God, “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’” (Exodus 3:13-14).

Extensive discussion has characterized Christendom through the centuries regarding God’s response to Moses in this passage. Yet the bulk of Christendom generally agrees that the expressions “I AM” and “I AM WHO I AM” are allusions to the eternality of Deity.2 No mere human being can make a comparable claim. All humans have come into existence. But not Deity. Deity is eternal in nature and infinite in divine essence—with no beginning and no end. This passage pinpoints the one true God, the only Being that possesses Godhood. None of the gods conjured by the minds of mere humans through the millennia are real. But the God Who spoke to Moses really exists.

Jesus Connects His Own Divinity With Jehovah

Those who deny the deity of Jesus must attempt to explain away Jesus’ repetitious conduct while He was on Earth. Since John’s purpose in writing his Gospel account was to demonstrate that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31), he, in particular, “went out of his way” to flag Christ’s divinity.

John 8:58

It may well have been Moses’ encounter with Jehovah in Exodus 3:143 to which Jesus alluded on one of those occasions when He was verbally assaulted by the Jews:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM (ego eimi).” Then they took up stones to throw at Him (John 8:51-59).

A perusal of 61 English translations revealed that all of them translate Jesus’ words as “I AM,” without inserting “he” afterwards. The translators apparently felt that Jesus was claiming affiliation with Jehovah. Without a doubt, Jesus surely identified Himself with the LORD [Jehovah]4 of Exodus 3—an identification that His critics no doubt considered blasphemy and deserving of the death penalty by stoning.

But what does the expression in both passages mean? The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ NWTrenders the sentence: “Jesus said to them: ‘Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.’”5 Compare this rendering with the NWT’s handling of Exodus 3:13-14—

But Moses said to the true God: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I say to them?”  So God said to Moses: “I Will Become What I Choose to Become.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the Israelites, ‘I Will Become has sent me to you.’”6

Are the renderings “I have been” and “I Will Become What I Choose to Become” legitimate renderings for the underlying Greek and Hebrew? What do the bulk of scholarly linguistic authorities through the centuries say on the matter?

In the first place, the Greek words ἐγὼ εἰμί [ego eimi] in John 8:58 literally mean “I am.” The first term is the usual nominative first person singular pronoun “I.” The second term is the present tense active indicative first person singular verb “to be.” Hence, the words unquestionably mean “I am.” The Hebrew of Exodus 3:14 reads אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה which is literally “I am who I am,” “who” being a relative pronoun, and the repeated term is a first person singular imperfect verb in the Qal. The Septuagint translates the three Hebrew words into Greek as “ego eimi ho on” which means “I am the one who is.” The idea of ongoing existence is the apparent thrust of the words: “[T]he thought of eternal life is always present in the ἐγὼ εἰμί.”7 Observe that when all is said and done on the subject, Jesus’ allusion to Exodus 3:14 trumps linguists’ evaluation of the Hebrew text, since He provided a proper understanding of the Hebrew by John’s inspired rendering of His words.8 Jesus said that the words mean, “I AM.” Morris insisted: “It is an emphatic form of speech and one that would not normally be employed in ordinary speech. Thus to use it was recognizably to adopt the divine style.”9

But what did Jesus mean when He declared “I AM”? Some commentators assume that the expression is intended to imply an unstated predicate and so offer several hypothetical possibilities—from the pronoun “He” (“I am He”), to “I am the Messiah,” to “I am the Deliverer,” or some other identification. However, noted Greek grammarian A.T. Robertson explains that in John 8:58, the verb εἰμί [eimi] “express[es] existence as a predicate like any other verb” and that “in John 8:58, εἰμί is really absolute.”10 In other words, “I AM” is its own predicate. Commenting on Jesus’ use of the same expression in John 8:24, he further explained “‘that I am’ without supplying a predicate in the absolute sense as the Jew (Deut. 32:39) used the language of Jehovah” could have been Jesus’ meaning, concluding that “Jesus seems to claim absolute divine being.”11 Marvin Vincent, classics professor and professor of New Testament Exegesis and Criticism at Union Theological Seminary, New York City, is not tentative about the meaning of verse 24: “[t]he words are rather the solemn expression of His absolute divine being.”12

Swiss theologian and textual commentator Fredric Godet explains Jesus’ claim regarding Abraham:

I am not only his contemporary, is the reply of Jesus, but I even existed before him. The formula, amen, amen, announces the greatness of this revelation concerning His Person. While γενέσθαι, was born (literally: became), designates the transition from nothingness to existence, εἰμί, I am, indicates a mode of being, not the result of such a transition: viz. existence (am) as an attribute of the personality (I). Jesus says: I am, not: I was. This latter expression would have designated mere priority with respect to Abraham, and would be strictly compatible with the Arian view of the Person of Jesus, while the former expression places the existence of the subject who thus speaks in the rank of the Absolute, the Eternal, the Divine. It recalls the words of Ps. xc. 2: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art, God!”13

Nineteenth century German Protestant theologian, historian, biblical commentator, and linguistic authority, August Tholuck, observed: “After a usage of the Hebrew,…the expression ἐγὼ εἰμί is to be construed: ‘I am that, I am who I am.’… γενέσθαι and eίnai mark the distinction between human existence limited by time, and eternal existence.”14 In other words, as a finite being, Abraham’s existence was limited by time; but Jesus, being infinite, is eternal in nature. Tholuck continues: “The sense therefore is: ‘In my higher Being, in a manner not restricted by time, I am who I am, before Abraham had existence.’”15

Likewise, Heinrich Meyer, German Protestant theologian, member of the Hanover Consistory, known for his valuable 16-volume exegetical and critical commentary on the New Testament, added his confirmatory observations: “As Abraham had not pre-existed, but came into existence (by birth), therefore γενέσθαι is used; whereas εἰμί denotes being per se, which belonged to Jesus, so far as He existed before time, as to His divine nature, without having previously come into being.”16 Marcus Dods, 18th-century theologian, biblical scholar, Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Principal in the New College, Edinburgh, explains Jesus’ words: “Before Abraham came into existence I am, eternally existent. No stronger affirmation of pre-existence occurs.”17 Kittel described it as “the pre-temporal existence of the Son.”18 And Warfield insisted: “He claims for Himself the timeless present of eternity as His mode of existence.”19

In his popular Expository Thoughts J.C. Ryle astutely observes:

This famous verse, I believe, can only receive one honest interpretation. It is a distinct assertion of our Lord’s eternity—His existence before all creation…. Let us carefully note what a strong proof we have here of the pre-existence and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He applies to Himself the very name by which God made Himself known when He undertook to redeem Israel. It was “I AM” who brought them out of the land of Egypt. It was “I AM” who died for us on the cross. The amazing strength of the foundation of a sinner’s hope appears here. Believing on Jesus we rest on divinity, on One who is God as well as man.20

Cronin summarizes his review of centuries of commentary on Exodus 3:14: “We have seen ample evidence that the Ehyeh [‘I AM’—DM] of Exodus 3:14b has been long recognised [sic] in Judaism as the Personal name of God and YHWH as His proper name, where ‘Personal’ indicates the name by which God is known to Himself.”21

Commenting on John 8:58, Edwin Abbott, English schoolmaster and theologian, explained: “[T]aken here, along with other declarations about what Jesus IS, it seems to call upon the Pharisees to believe that the Son of man is not only the Deliverer but also one with the Father in the unity of the Godhead.”22 Buchsel agrees: 
“[T]here is here ascribed what Scripture attributes to the Father.”23 C.K. Barrett, British biblical scholar and Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham, adds: “The meaning here is: Before Abraham came into being, I eternally was, as now I am, and ever continue to be.”24 Professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, Charles Erdman likewise observed:

Jesus startles them by replying that, for him, life has been, and ever will be, an eternal state…. This is a claim of identity with God in his changeless Being. No wonder that the Jews “took up stones…to cast at him” as a blasphemer. Such he was, or else he spoke the truth. The claims of Jesus are unmistakable. He was either a deceiver or the divine Son of God.25

Vincent summarizes succinctly the meaning in John 8:58 voiced by all of these linguistic scholars: “Jesus’ life was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute, timeless existence, I am.”26

John 4:26

On several occasions, Jesus used the same expression—without a predicate—in the presence of others to refer to Himself. When He encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, she assured Him: “‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things’”—to which Jesus responded: “I who speak to you am He.” Again, “He” is not in the original. The order of the Greek is literally, “I am (ἐγὼ εἰμί)—the One speaking to you” (John 4:26). Her subsequent actions show that she was grappling with the implications of Jesus’ declaration: “The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, ‘Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’” (John 4:28-29). Upon doing their own investigation, the Samaritans of her city exclaimed to her: “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). They realized they were in the presence of deity.

John 8:24

In addition to verse 58, John chapter eight has two additional affirmations. In the first instance, Jesus interacted with hostile Jews:

Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:21-24).

In the NKJV, “He” is in italics as having been supplied by the translators. In keeping with the theme of the book of John, Jesus was undoubtedly emphasizing His deity to His enemies. He gives them several indications of His divine identity that they failed to grasp (“Where I go you cannot come,” “I am from above,” “I am not of this world,” etc.). Then He drove home the point: “If you do not believe that I AM….” The only way for any person to be saved and ushered into heaven into the presence of Deity is if that person acknowledges and confesses that Jesus is divine. The deity of Christ is the foundational platform on which the entire scheme of redemption rests. It’s not an exaggeration to state that one cannot even talk about being right with God, saved, and forgiven of sin without understanding the divine Person of Christ as the sole means to that end.

John 8:28

Four verses later, Jesus made the same point to the same audience:

Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:25-29).

Once again, “He” is in italics. Jesus declared His intimate relationship with the Father as the backdrop of His own divine identity and eternal role in the salvation of mankind. Indeed, He announced to them that they were the very ones who would participate in His death by “lifting him up”—an obvious prediction of His crucifixion. What’s more, His resurrection would unquestionably cinch the point by proving His divinity. 

John 13:19

Another instance is seen on the occasion when Jesus washed the feet of the apostles. His remarks foreshadowed the betrayal of Judas:

I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, “He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.” Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me (John 13:18-20).

Observe that Jesus was alerting the disciples to the fact that He knew that Judas was going to betray Him, even quoting Scripture that anticipated that fact—all further proof of His divinity. He was pressing them with the fact that when it happened, they would have additional confirmation of His claim to Godhood. As if that were not enough to make the point, Jesus strongly accentuated the fact with a double “amen” (rendered “most assuredly”)27 followed by a reiteration of the Godhead: the Holy Spirit Whom Jesus would send (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7), Himself, and His Father Who sent Him.

John 18:5-6,8

Still another instance of the occurrence of ego eimi in John is seen on the occasion of Jesus’ arrest:

Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Then—when He said to them, “I am He,”—they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none” (John 18:3-9).

Again, observe that the NKJV inserts the word He into the text. What was there in Jesus’ demeanor or words that would have caused the Jewish troops and the many other Jews who came—described by Luke as a “multitude” (Luke 22:47,52)—to draw back and fall to the ground? Surely not simple surprise that Jesus would admit to being the One for whom they were looking. If, on the other hand, being Jews, they were familiar with the divine identification associated with the words “I AM,” they would surely have been taken aback by His bold declaration—particularly if they were at all familiar with Jesus’ activities in and around Jerusalem in the recent days. Indeed, Jerusalem was abuzz with considerable talk regarding the Messiah (e.g., Luke 24:18-31). John had set the stage for this notoriety when he preached to people who “went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan,” including “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 3:5-7). The Complete Jewish Bible renders verse 6: “When he said, ‘I AM,’ they went backward from him and fell to the ground.” For John to record this incident in his book—which the other three Gospel writers did not record—is yet another deliberate accentuation of Jesus’ repetitious attempts to encourage the Jews to recognize what they, of all people, should have recognized: the arrival on Earth of the divine Messiah.

Observe that in all these situations,28 Jesus was stressing to His contemporaries—not merely that they must believe in Him—but that they must believe in Him as the Son of God, even as the theme of John indicates. To become a Christian, one must “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9). The essence of Christianity revolves around Christ’s deity. That divinity must both be believed and confessed in order to sustain a saving relationship with God.29

Matthew 14:27; Mark 6:50; John 6:20

Consider one additional incident that spotlights Jesus’ divinity. Matthew, Mark, and John all report the same incident in which Jesus walked on water. In all three accounts, when Jesus approached the boat in which the disciples were situated, He reassured them with these words: “It is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27); “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50); “It is I; do not be afraid” (John 6:20). In all three of these accounts, the Greek is the same: Ἐγώ εἰμι; μὴ φοβεῖσθε, which is rendered, “I AM—stop being afraid.” The import and impact of His words on them is seen in Matthew’s account: “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:33). The only reason for the disciples not to fear a life-threatening situation is if Jesus was more than a mere man Who, in fact, possessed the divine power to still a storm.

Conclusion

A host of additional scriptural evidence demonstrates the deity of Christ. The numerous indications that Jesus is to be identified with the LORD/Jehovah of the Old Testament is ample proof that Jesus is God. Though He assumed human form in order to come to Earth and atone for human sin, He remained an eternal Being Who shares complete divinity with the other two Members of the Godhead.

Endnotes

1 In addition to the essentiality of the oral confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the other prerequisites to salvation include faith in Christ, repentance, and water immersion for the remission of sins into and in the name of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 13:3; John 8:24; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; 1 Peter 3:21; et al). See these free books: https://apologeticspress.org/issue/receiving-the-gift-of-salvation/; https://apologeticspress.org/issue/baptism-and-the-greek-made-simple/; https://apologeticspress.org/issue/surrendering-to-his-lordship/.

2 This is not to say that the words “I am” are always used in Scripture to refer to the deity of the one who articulates the words. As in everyday discourse, a person can respond, “I am,” to any number of possible scenarios wherein the person is asked concerning his identity, e.g., “Are you the sister of so-and-so?” “I am.” Instances of this ordinary use of the expression may be seen in John 8:18; 9:9. However, in contexts in which Deity is plainly under consideration and doing the speaking, the divine import is self-evident.

3 While some question whether Jesus was connecting specifically with Exodus 3, many scholars insist that He was. See, for example, Ethelbert Stauffer who affirms: “This emphatic formula rests ultimately on the ‘I am that I am” of Ex. 3:14”—(1964), e)gw/, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 2:352. Also J.C. Ryle (1870), Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. John (New York: Robert Carter & Bros.), 2:132.

4 A word of clarification is in order. English translations typically capitalize every letter of the word “LORD” in order to alert the English reader that the divine name occurs in the Hebrew text. This name consists of four consonants (known as the Tetragrammaton): YHWH. Since the Jews resisted, apparently out of respect, pronouncing the name of God, the original pronunciation of the word is lost in antiquity. When read aloud, the Jews typically replaced the word with the Hebrew word for “lord,” i.e., adonai, even as the translators of the Septuagint inserted the Greek word for “lord” (kurios). Various suggestions have been made as possible pronunciation approximations, the most prominent being simply to insert the Hebrew vowel points from adonai into the Tetragrammaton—which resulted in “Jehovah,” first appearing in the 14th century. The ASV standardized the term in 1901. Since that time, scholars have generally indicated that “Yahweh” (pronounced yah-way or yah-vay) more nearly approximates the divine name. It is important to understand that the name “Jehovah” is a concocted name that attempts to represent the divine name—but no proof exists to verify this claim and, as indicated, the linguistic evidence is against it.

5 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2023), New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), JW.org, https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/8/.

6 Ibid., https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/exodus/3/.

7 Friedrich Buchsel (1964), εἰμί, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 2:399.

8 It matters not that Jesus spoke Aramaic. He inspired the New Testament to be written in Koine Greek.

9 Leon Morris (1971), The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), p. 473, emp. added.

10 A.T. Robertson (1934), A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press), p. 394.

11 A.T. Robertson (1960), Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press), 5:146, emp. added.

12 Marvin Vincent (1905), Word Studies in the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons), 2:170.

13 Frederic Godet (1893), Commentary on the Gospel of John (New York: Funk & Wagnalls), 2:122, emp. added.

14 August Tholuck (1836), A Commentary on the Gospel of St. John (Boston: Perkins & Marvin), p. 229.

15 Ibid.

16 Heinrich Meyer (1891), Critical and Exegetical Hand-Book to the Gospel of John (New York: Funk & Wagnalls), p. 293, italics in orig.

17 Marcus Dods (1902), The Gospel of St. John in The Expositor’s Greek Testament (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.), 1:782.

18 Gerhard Kittel (1967), le/gw, lo/go$: “Word and Speech in the New Testament,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel and Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 4:130.

19 Benjamin Warfield (1950), The Person and Work of Christ (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company), p. 60.

20 Ryle, 2:132.

21 K.J. Cronin (2022), “The Name of God as Revealed in Exodus 3:14,” https://exodus-314.com/part-i-summary.

22 Edwin Abbott (1906), Johannine Grammar (London: Adam & Charles Black), p. 187, emp. added.

23 2:399.

24 C.K. Barrett (1978), The Gospel According to St. John (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster), p. 352.

25 Charles Erdman (1922), The Gospel of John (Philadelphia, PA Westminster), p. 82, emp. added.

26 Vincent, 2:181, italics in orig. For more discussion on “I AM,” see James White (1990), “Purpose and Meaning of ‘Ego Eimi’ in the Gospel of John,” https://www.aomin.org/aoblog/general-apologetics/purpose-and-meaning-of-ego-eimi-in-the-gospel-of-john/.

27 For a discussion of the use of “amen” in the Bible, see Dave Miller (1996), Piloting the Strait (Pulaski, TN: Sain Publications), pp. 235ff.

28 Vincent discusses yet another instance of “I AM” found on the occasion when the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Jesus by force. Here was Jesus’ response to them: “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come” (John 7:33-34). Vincent indicates that the phrase “Where I am” refers to Jesus being “in absolute, eternal being and fellowship with the Father” since He used “the formula of the divine existence”—2:162.

29 But let us suppose for a moment that “He” should be inserted in each of these six occurrences of ego eimi. We must still ask the question: With the possible exception of John 18, why would Jesus say, “I am he”? He who? The answer can only be that He was identifying Himself as the Messiah, the divine Son of God. He, Himself, declared this very fact before the authorities: Matthew 26:64; 27:11; Mark 14:61-62; 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:37; 1 Timothy 6:13. Even His enemies admitted that He made such claims (Luke 23:1-2; John 10:33; 19:7).

REPRODUCTION & DISCLAIMERS: We are happy to grant permission for this article to be reproduced in part or in its entirety, as long as our stipulations are observed.