At we find Jesus in Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles, it is clear that he determined to ratchet up his visibility and claims. This was his second visit of consequence to Jerusalem. He would leave and come yet again, for his final days. Most of his time was spent in the temple, teaching and, I always assume, healing. To a greater degree than before much of his time was spent in sharp dispute and argument with the Pharisees. He made several claims about himself that raised the hackles of the religious leaders and strengthened their determination to bring about his death.
Here are three of those claims.
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.’”
“Jesus continued, ‘You are from below, I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.’”
“So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM.’”
The first of those claims is clear. The other two are startling because of the use of the I AM, the name of God.
In Exodus 3:14 God self-identified as “I AM,” a third-person form of the verb “to be.” Moses was worried about his response were the Hebrews to ask him with regard to his conversation with God, “What is his name?” His anxiety implies that the Israelites tended to be skeptical and suggest that they might have been inclined to lower God to the level of other gods, each of whom had a distinctive name. “I AM WHO I AM” was an assertion that God is the one and only true God. God’s name later came to be regarded as so holy that its public pronunciation was forbidden. Rather than utter his real name people and Old Testament translators would substitute either SHEMA (Aramaic…”the name.”), or Adonai (Hebrew…”my lord.”). The translators of the Septuagint (the first Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendered the divine name as Kurios, Greek for Lord. That tradition continues in most modern English translations, where God’s name, YHWH, is translated ‘Lord.’
By using the “I AM” Jesus too was self-identifying: He was claiming to be God in clear and unambiguous terms. God is the Light of the world. God is the one who saves his people from their sins. God is the Son of Man who will be lifted up on the cross. Statements like these only strengthened the resolve of the Jewish leaders to remove Jesus. In their minds he clearly was blaspheming. Only the testimony of history reveals the truth of his claims. Believing Jesus was an act of true faith, both then and now. The believers of his day had his miracles to lean on. They saw him validate his words by his actions. They also had the scriptures, which testified in detail about his life. Today we have the historical record and the Holy Spirit to testify to the truth of his claims. But the end result is always the same…we must be willing to believe his words and follow him as our Lord. Given all the evidence the leap of faith is not a great leap, but it is there, and we must take it, daily choosing to take Jesus as our Bread of Life, Living Water, and Light for our world. Those are good choices, and they will land us in Heaven.
Prayer: “Father, I am weary today, so I intend to draw my strength from you. You are my Lord, Bread for my hunger, Water for my thirst, and Light for my path. You are sufficient for all the circumstances of my life. I will follow you today and ask for your strength as I engage the tasks of this day. Help me to do well in all that you set before me, and to honor you by my behavior and thoughts. I am yours. In Jesus’ name, amen.”