The Greek text

To understand the 'I AM' sayings of Jesus, first we need to understand a little bit about the Greek text in John's gospel.

• On several occasions in John’s gospel, the Greek text records that Jesus said the words, ego eimi;
• The Greek word ego means ‘I’;
• The Greek word eimi means to ‘exist’ or to ‘be’, but it is also in the first-person singular so it must always be translated as, ‘I exist’ or ‘I am’;
• Because the word eimi ('I am') is in the first person singular, it does not need the word ego ('I') in front of it. The word eimi on its own tells us that the person is saying 'I am'
• ego eimi strictly mean 'I - I am';
• Adding the word ego before eimi is a way of emphasising the word eimi; in English we would normally use an exclamation mark (!) to show emphasis, so we could translate ego eimi as “I am!”

To recap: Jesus is being very emphatic when he declares 'I AM!'

Now that we have a basic understanding of the Greek text, it is time to begin looking at our English translations. Remember, in all the verses listed below Jesus is saying ‘I am!’ in an emphatic way by using the phrase ego eimi; I have highlighted this emphasis by placing the words ‘I am’ in bold text.

Examples found in John chapter 8

While Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders at the temple in Jerusalem, he began to testify to them about who he was:

1. (John 8:12) 'Again, therefore, Jesus spake to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who is following me shall not walk in the darkness, but he shall have the light of the life."'
2. (John 8:18) “I am [one] who is testifying of myself, and the Father who sent me doth testify of me...”
3. (John 8:24) “...if ye may not believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins...”
4. (John 8:28) “...When ye may lift up the Son of Man then ye will know that I am [he]...”
5. (John 8:58) “...Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming – I am.”

I shall look at each of these verses in more depth later in this article, but for now, notice that Jesus culminates this series of statements by making reference to Abraham.

Abraham had lived about 1,900 years prior to the time when Jesus was born. Also Abraham was considered as the Father of the Jewish faith. Jesus not only claimed to be pre-eminent when compared to Abraham, and to have lived longer than Abraham, but he also emphasised the words, ‘I am!’ This is significant because God’s name is ‘I AM’.

God revealed himself as ‘I AM’

i. About 1,500 years prior to the time of Jesus' birth, Moses had met with God. During this time God had revealed to Moses that his name was ‘I AM’. To understand this fully and how it relates to Jesus we will need to examine this story in some depth by examining a few verses at a time.

Exodus 3:1-2

v1 And Moses hath been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leadeth the flock behind the wilderness, and cometh in unto the mount of God, to Horeb;

v2 and there appeareth unto him a messenger of Jehovah in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush, and [Moses] seeth, and lo, the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed.

ii. Our translation states that a ‘messenger’ appeared to Moses, although many translations refer to him as ‘the angel’ (e.g. ESV). The word 'angel' is not really very helpful as it can conjure up images of winged creatures or cherubs or suchlike. The Hebrew word being translated is malach which means ‘messenger’. The reason that it is often translated as ‘angel’ is because ‘angelos’ is the Greek word for ‘messenger’. The Hebrew word malach was translated into Greek as angelos to help Greek speakers understand that a 'messenger' was appearing to Moses. Unfortunately the Greek word 'angelos' has not been accurately translated from Greek to English, and many English bibles still use a Greek word that does not clearly represent in English what the Hebrew word means.

iii. When describing the messenger our translation states that he is 'of Jehovah’, although many translations refer to him as ‘of the LORD’ (e.g. ESV). The word 'LORD' is not necessarily helpful as, again, it is not an accurate translation of the Hebrew. The actual Hebrew word is YHWH, and it is the personal name of God. For fear of taking God's name in vain, Jews refused to say the name 'YHWH', but instead created a tradition of substituting the word Adonai in its place, which means 'Lord'. This tradition was fully accepted into Jewish culture by the time the New Testament was written (for example, Deut 6:16 contains the name YHWH in the Hebrew text, whereas when Jesus quotes the same scripture in Matt 4:7, the Greek text uses the word kurios which is the Greek word for 'Lord').

However (as we shall see in Ex 3:15), YHWH is the personal name of God that he has asked to be known by, whereas 'LORD' is a title that people have given to God to avoid declaring his name. Initially the name YHWH was transliterated into English as JHVH and written as Jehovah. As the name in Hebrew does not show vowels, the actual pronunciation is unknown (the vowels may have been deliberately lost at some point so that the name was kept unpronounceable). Some modern bibles translate the name as 'Yahweh' (e.g. WEB). I would humbly suggest that either Yahweh, Jehovah or Yehovah appear to be acceptable ways of saying God's name in English, although it is impossible to be definite about the pronunciation.

iv. Having established a few basic facts, we now need to discover who this 'messenger of Jehovah' actually is. Let's continue examining the bible story:

Exodus 3:4-6

v4 … and God calleth unto him out of the midst of the bush, and saith, 'Moses, Moses;' and he saith, 'Here [am] I.'

v5 And He saith, 'Come not near hither: cast thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou art standing is holy ground.'

v6 He saith also, 'I [am] the God of thy father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob;' and Moses hideth his face, for he is afraid to look towards God.

v. Here we see that the 'messenger of YHWH' declares himself to be God. But this raises a question: If the messenger is God, then why does Moses call him the 'messenger' of God? On the one hand it is very clear that the messenger is God and reveals himself to be God. On the other hand, God is revealing himself to Moses in the form of a 'messenger of YHWH'. Why is this?

First we can note that this messenger, who is directly associated with God, was already known before the time of Moses. Jacob, when he blessed Joseph, mentioned the messenger as the one who redeems and blesses (Gen 48:15-16).

Second, there is a similarity between the God who revealed himself to Moses as a 'messenger', and the God who revealed himself to the world through his incarnation as a human being (cf. Col 1:15, v19, ESV). This similarity is not accidental: Jesus is referred to as the 'messenger of the covenant' in Malachi 3:1 (or 'angel of the covenant' Darby bible). It is important to bear this in mind as we continue to examine how this story in Exodus relates to Jesus.

vi. Having seen how God appeared to Moses in the form of a messenger, we now need to examine the name that God called himself, and how that name relates to Jesus.

Exodus 3:13-15

v13 And Moses saith unto God, 'Lo, I am coming unto the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they have said to me, What [is] His name? what do I say unto them?'

v14 And God saith unto Moses, 'I AM THAT WHICH I AM;'

He saith also, 'Thus dost thou say to the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.'

v15 And God saith again unto Moses, 'Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this [is] My name – to the age, and this My memorial, to generation – generation.

vii. It is in these verses that God reveals himself to be 'I AM' (Hebrew: Eheye); so why does God, in the very next verse, state that his name is Jehovah (Hebrew: YHWH)? This is because God calls himself by the Hebrew word Eheye meaning 'I AM' or 'I EXIST', but we are to call him YHWH meaning 'HE IS' or 'HE EXISTS'. Humans can call God, 'HE IS', but only God can call himself, 'I AM'.

viii. So now, having established all of this, we can return to John 8:58 where Jesus said, “...Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming – I am.” By declaring that he existed before Abraham, Jesus is making a bold statement of his eternal nature. But also, by emphasising the words, 'I AM!' Jesus is effectively claiming to be the 'messenger of the Lord' who appeared to Moses and who revealed his name to be 'I AM'. This is a direct and unequivocal statement by Jesus of his own divinity and as the 'I AM' who revealed himself to Moses as 'the God of Abraham'.

The 'I AM' sayings of Jesus

The 'I AM' sayings in John's gospel

Having established the background to this phrase, let us now turn our attention to the 'I AM' sayings of Jesus as contained in the gospel of John. There are seven places in John's gospel where Jesus makes the emphatic statement 'I AM...' followed by a metaphor (e.g. 'I am the good shepherd'); and there are also many times where Jesus simply says 'I AM!' on its own.

JESUS SAID...

1. (John 4:26) ‘Jesus saith to her, “I am [he], who am speaking to thee.”’ [full text: John 4:5-42]

• Nb. Some translations can obscure the fact that Jesus said ego eimi ('I AM!'), e.g. KJV, ESV, so please be aware of this.

Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well when he declared 'I AM!' Jesus had already alluded to his identity by telling the woman that he could give her living water (John 4:10), and the woman had then asked him if he was greater than Jacob, the patriarch and grandson of Abraham (v12). As the conversation proceeded, the woman understood Jesus' identity as a prophet (v19). Then she went on to say... "I have known that Messiah doth come, who is called Christ, when that one may come, he will tell us all things"(v25). It is at this point that Jesus reveals his identity as 'I AM!' In this way, Jesus not only revealed that he was the Messiah , but also that he was truly greater than Jacob as he was the God of Jacob. The fact that the woman does not appear to understand that Jesus is identifying himself as 'I AM' should not detract from the fact that he chose the words ego eimi (I AM!) as his way of revealing his identity to her.

2. (John 6:20). ‘[Jesus] saith to them, “I am [he], be not afraid.”’ [full text: John 6:16-21]

• Nb. Some translations can obscure the fact that Jesus said ego eimi ('I AM!'), e.g. KJV, ESV, so please be aware of this.

While the disciples were in their boat in a storm, they saw Jesus walking on the water. Frightened by this sight, Jesus reveals his true identity to them by saying 'I AM!' The book of Job mentions that it is God who walks on the high [waves] of the sea, referring to waves that are lifted up in a storm (see Job 9:8). Jesus' declaration of, 'I am!' while walking on water can be viewed as a direct reference to this passage in Job.

3. (John 6:35/ 6:41 / 6:48 / 6:51) "I am the bread of life" / "I am the bread that came down out of the heaven" / "I am the bread of the life" / "I am the living bread that came down out of the heaven" [full text: John 6:25-69]

Jesus said these words while referring to the manna that God provided in the Old Testament (see a summarised version of that story in Ps 78:19-25, ESV). Originally, the people were commanded to do the work of collecting the manna on a daily basis, and this work would be evidence of whether they were obeying God's laws and doing the work of God (Ex 16:4-5, ESV). Likewise the Jews were seeking Jesus on a daily basis for bread (as he had fed the 5,000 the previous day), but Jesus told them that the work they were supposed to do was to believe in him (John 6:26-29).

Jesus went on to reveal himself as the heavenly bread. During the Exodus, God had said that, after they received the heavenly bread, the people would know and acknowledge his identity as YHWH their God (Ex 16:12, ESV); the physical manifestation of manna (heavenly bread) would cause the people to know God through a revelation of his character and power. Jesus fulfils a similar role to the manna; through his physical manifestation (being born as fully human while remaining as God), he reveals God; and those who come to him in faith will know him as the I AM, and know YHWH as their God.

During these conversations, Jesus also reveals his identity as the one who quenches hunger and thirst (John 6:35), as the one who does not cast aside any who come to him (v37), as the one who will raise people up in resurrection (v40) and as the giver of eternal life to those who receive him (v48-51).

• Nb. See further thoughts on Jesus as 'the Living Bread' & 'the Bread of Life' on the page, Jesus is the LIFE

4. (John 8:12) "I am the light of the world" [full text: John 8:1-12]

During the Exodus story, God went before the people in a pillar of fire which gave the people light so that they did not walk in darkness during the night (see Ex 13:21-22). Jesus now declares that he is the light which will keep people from walking in darkness (John 8:12). In doing so, he identifies himself as the God (or the messenger) who appeared in a flame of fire to Moses (compare Ex 3:2 & Ex 14:19-20). The immediate context of Jesus' proclamation, 'I am the light', is that a sinful woman had just been saved from being stoned to death. After saving her from death, Jesus extends his saving power to the world, proclaiming that all may walk in the light of life if they follow him.

• Nb. See further thoughts on Jesus as 'the Light (of Life)' on the page, Jesus is the LIFE

5. (John 8:18) [Jesus said] “I am [one] who is testifying of myself, and the Father who sent me doth testify of me...” [full text: John 8:13-20]

Having already told the people that he was the light of the world, the people questioned the validity of his testimony. Jesus makes it clear that there are two people testifying to who he is: both God the Father and also Jesus (God the Son). This is a fundamental concept of the trinity, that Jesus and the Father are separate persons of the trinity. Yet there is one God. Jesus proceeds to affirm that he is fully one with the father by telling the people that, if they knew Jesus, then they would automatically know the Father (John 8:19, ESV); Jesus would later explain this by saying 'I and the father are one', which the Jews understood fully as a claim of divinity (John 10:30-33). It is from Jesus' own statements that we begin to understand the idea of there being one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is why, as we have already discussed, Jesus could appear to Moses as the 'messenger' of God, yet also reveal himself to be God.

6. (John 8:24) [Jesus said] “...if ye may not believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins...” [full text: John 8:21-24]

Jesus began to speak of his ascension to heaven (which would happen after his death and resurrection). Unless the people believed in Jesus' divinity as the 'I AM', they would be unable to join him in heaven and would die in their. Jesus will proceed to explain that he is the one capable of setting people free from sin (John 8:31-36), but here in this verse he is explaining that the freedom from sin only comes through faith that Jesus is truly the divine God known as 'I AM'.

7. (John 8:28) [Jesus said] “...When ye may lift up the Son of Man then ye will know that I am [he]...” [full text: John 8:25-30]

In this verse, Jesus was referring to his crucifixion when he was to be lifted up on the cross (compare John 3:14-18, 12:32-33). Even during the crucifixion there were some who placed their faith in Jesus as divine (see Matt 27:50-54, Mark 15:37-39). It is by preaching the gospel message of the cross and the resurrection that people come to faith in Jesus and begin to understand who he truly is.

8. (John 8:58) [Jesus said] “...Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham's coming – I am.” [full text: John 8:31-59]

At the beginning of chapter 8, Jesus had kept an adulterous woman from being stoned to death (John 8:1-11). However, immediately after making this final declaration of, 'I am', the crowd decides to attempt stoning Jesus to death (John 8:59). When he returns to the temple he faces the same situation and asks why they keep trying to stone him to death, and they reply that it is because he is making himself to be God (John 10:30-33). Earlier when we looked at the Samaritan woman, we saw that she asked Jesus if he was greater than Jacob, Abraham's grandson (John 4:12), but here the Jews now ask Jesus if he is greater than Abraham who died (John 8:53). Again Jesus affirms his greatness; not only is he greater than Abraham, but he existed both before and after Abraham, and declares himself to be I AM, the self-existent one.

9. (John 10:7 / 10:9) "I am the door of the sheep" / "I am the door" [or the gate, NIV] [full text: John 10:1-10]

To understand this we need to investigate what had occurred just prior to Jesus making this declaration. In the previous chapter, Jesus had healed a man who was born blind (John 9:6-11). But when the man testified that Jesus had healed him, he was thrown out of the synagogue (see John 9:18-34). It is after Jesus finds the man again that he begins speaking about the door. By being thrown out of the synagogue, the man had the door slammed in his face (metaphorically speaking), and was no longer allowed to enter in to the presence of God. This is the situation that Jesus is directly addressing.

First, Jesus speaks of the thieves and robbers (the Pharisees) who enter the sheep-pen (the synagogue) without going through the door (without placing their trust in Jesus) (see John 10:1). Then, Jesus speaks about the sheep (such as the blind man) who hear the voice of the shepherd (Jesus) but do not listen to the voices of strangers (the Pharisees) (see John 10:2-5). When the people listening to Jesus fail to understand this metaphor (John 10:6), Jesus makes it clear that he is the door (that leads away from the dead religion and legalism as found in the synagogue, and that leads towards life in God) and that salvation comes from him. Although the man was physically barred from entering the synagogue, by placing his trust in Jesus as 'the door', the man could have free entry into God's kingdom (see John 10:7-10).

10. (John 10:11, 10:14) "I am the good shepherd" [full text: John 10:11-18]

In the immediate context, Jesus is referring to himself as the good shepherd in contrast to the hired hands (the Pharisees in the synagogue, who had thrown out the man born blind in the previous chapter). However Jesus is also stating his divinity, so we shall focus on that aspect it.

We have already seen that, when Jacob blessed Joseph, he mentioned that the 'messenger of YHWH' was the one who redeemed and blessed; but Jacob also talks about God as the one who fed him (Gen 48:15-16). The Hebrew word is actually indicative of grazing (as a sheep grazes on grass), and shows that God was tending Jacob in the role of shepherd (see ESV). The psalmists confirmed that God has taken on the role of a shepherd (Ps 23:1, 80:1).

When speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, God specifically said that He would be a shepherd to His people (Ezek 34:11-16). God also promised that he would provide King David as a shepherd to his people (Ezek 34:23-24). So we are faced with an interesting situation in Ezekiel: God has claimed the role as shepherd of His people, yet he also gives the role to David. Furthermore, God then promises Ezekiel that there would only be one shepherd (Ezek 34:23, 37:24). But how can this be if we have just read that there are two shepherds (God and David)? Furthermore, by the time of this prophecy, David had been dead for many years.

By declaring, 'I am the good shepherd', Jesus affirms that he is the son of David who is fulfilling the prophecy about David. But Jesus also affirms that he is the I AM who is the true shepherd of His people. The fulfilment of this prophecy is only possible because Jesus is fully God and also fully human as a descendant of David; He is the good shepherd who fulfils the prophecy of David as shepherd, but he also fulfils the divine role of God as shepherd. Thus the prophecy is fulfilled: there is only need of one shepherd because Jesus is the good shepherd.

11. (John 11:25) "I am the rising again and the life" [or the resurrection and the life, ESV] [full text: John 11:1-44]

It was after the death of Lazarus, and just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, that Jesus declared, 'I am the resurrection and the life'. Jesus was declaring that all who believed in him would receive the gift of eternal life. Furthermore, all who believe in Jesus will never die. That is, having been resurrected at the end of time, those who believe in Jesus will not face the second death (see Rev 21:8). Jesus requires Christians to have faith in his resurrection power, and to trust him because he is the 'I am!'

• Nb. See further thoughts on Jesus as 'the Resurrection and the Life' on the page, Jesus is the LIFE

12. (John 13:19) [Jesus said] “From this time I tell you, before its coming to pass, that, when it may come to pass, ye may believe that I am [he].” [full text: John 13:18-31]

This declaration happened during the Last Supper, when Jesus began speaking about his imminent betrayal by Judas. Not only was Jesus speaking of future events, but he also quoted the prophecy in Ps 41:9 (see John 13:18). Jesus prophesied that his death was going to be a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, and highlighted this before it happened to help his disciples recognise his identity as the I AM.

13. (John 14:6) "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" [full text: John 14:1-11]

Having spoken about his imminent departure to heaven, Jesus then declares himself to be the Way to Father God, the Truth of Father God, and the Life of Father God. He goes on to state that anyone who has seen the physical manifestation of Jesus has automatically seen Father God, thus Jesus identifies fully with God and again demonstrates his identity as the I AM.

• Nb. See further thoughts on Jesus as 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life' on the page, Jesus is the LIFE

14. (John 15:1 / 15:5) "I am the true vine" / "I am the vine" [full text: John 15:1-16]

The prophet Isaiah had portrayed the nation of Israel as a vineyard that produced bad fruit (Isa 5:1-7). But Isaiah also prophesied of a future time when there would be a vineyard full of good fruit (Isa 27:2-6). Jesus reveals himself to be the fulfilment of this prophecy, and declares himself to be the source of all good fruit. Jesus states that, without him, it is impossible for his disciples to bear fruit.

15. (John 18:4-8) [full text: John 18:1-12]

v4 ‘Jesus ... said to them, “Whom do ye seek?”

v5 they answered him, “Jesus the Nazarene;” Jesus saith to them, “I am [he];” – and Judas who delivered him up was standing with them; –

v6 when, therefore, he said to them – “I am [he],” they went away backward, and fell to the ground.

v7 Again, therefore, he questioned them, “Whom do ye seek?” and they said, “Jesus the Nazarene;”

v8 Jesus answered, “I said to you that I am [he]...”’

On the one hand, Jesus is simply identifying himself as Jesus the Nazarene. This should have been enough for the soldiers to rush forward and arrest Jesus. However, by declaring ego eimi ('I AM!') Jesus is also revealing himself as God. This divine revelation causes the soldiers to draw back and fall to the ground. There is something supernatural happening when Jesus reveals himself as I AM.

The 'I AM' sayings in Revelation

Jesus also said ego eimi ("I AM") in the book of Revelation, so we shall briefly look at those examples too.

JESUS SAID...

16. (Rev 1:8 / 1:11 / 1:17 / 21:6 / 22:13) "I am the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and end," saith the Lord, "who is, and who was, and who is coming – the Almighty" / "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last" / "I am the First and the Last" / "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" / "I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and End – the First and the Last"

• Nb. Depending on the Greek text used, some translations do not contain the 'I am' statement in Rev 1:11 (e.g. ESV); the other 'I am' statements appear in all versions.

The Greek text reads: 'I am the Α and the Ω', which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (Α is Alpha; Ω is Omega). If we were using the English alphabet, then Jesus would have said , 'I am the A and the Z'.

When he wrote his gospel message, John explained that Jesus was 'in the beginning with God' (John 1:1-3). Now Jesus reveals to John that he is not only the first but also the last. The very name I AM indicates the self-existence of God, that he is from everlasting to everlasting.

17. (Rev 2:23) "...I am he who is searching reins and hearts; and I will give to you – to each – according to your works." [or hearts and minds] [full text: Rev 2:18-29]

In the Old Testament, God had said to the prophet Samuel, 'humans look at the outward appearance [of other humans], but YHWH looks at the heart' (1-Sam 16:7). Now here in the New Testament, Jesus reveals to the church in Thyatira that he is the same I AM who spoke to Samuel and who continues to judge in accordance with what is in the heart and mind of a person.

18. (Rev 22:16) "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star!" [full text: Rev 22:16-21]

Jesus was born as a descendant of King David, and here declares himself to be a fulfilment of the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1-5.

Jesus had previously revealed that he was the I AM to the church in Thyatira (see my notes on Rev 2:23). He had also given a promise to that same church: those who overcame evil (by faith) would receive 'the morning star' (Rev 2:28). Now Jesus explains what he meant by that cryptic promise, stating that he himself is the morning star. Those who overcome will receive Jesus, the I AM, as their reward.