WATCHWORD:
9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Colossians 2:9-10
12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” 13 But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I Am who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. Exodus 3:12-15
54 Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ 55 but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.” 57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple. John 8:54-59
Meditation:
I Am Who I Am
Heaven forbid that I should ever question God. If He tells Abraham, and you and I, that His name is I Am, then that’s His name. It sounds like an incomplete statement to these human ears of ours, and yet in Exodus the name stands alone, with almighty, all-inclusive power.
When we get into the book of John, we see some specific references and it helps us understand, point by point. In John 6:35 we read I Am the Bread of Life. In this passage, Jesus is making the point that material things, such as wealth or bread, things held in the hand, is not what people should seek after. The people need to put their confidence in Jesus, and all that He stood for, instead of in material things. In that same chapter, Jesus makes the clear point that just as bread is necessary to sustain physical life, so Jesus is necessary for spiritual and eternal life.
As we read on through John, we see I Am references repeated, time and time again: “I Am the light of the world (John 8:12). I Am the good shepherd (John 10:11). I Am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). I Am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). And in John 15 we read, I Am the vine… Each statement, making the point that Jesus is essential for life, spiritual and eternal.
We should not miss a point within a point. Each of the above seems like a practical reference that we humans can understand. For those hearing Jesus speak these claims for the first time, the teachers of the Law, this was blasphemy! This “mad-rabbi” was claiming to be God, Yahweh, and they prepared to stone him! But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.
The teachers of the Law took His claims seriously, claims of being God. How do we experience I Am? How do we live that out, day by day? Is He the bread of life for us? Is He the light unto our paths? Is He our good shepherd, leading us beside still waters? Does He restore our souls?
Finally, for you and me, is I Am the way, the truth and the life, each moment of our lives, in all that we do? When we take the Sacraments, and hold the Broken Bread in our hand can we prayerfully imagine that it represents I Am, Jesus, the Creator God, the Almighty? As you sip the wine, that is His life-blood, can you image that you are nourishing the Holy Spirit within? We pray that it be so.
Bulletin Board:
That Jesus is himself God is the heart of the gospel, because apart from his deity he could not save a single soul. –John MacArthur
Closing Prayer:
Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you that you hold all of our days and know everything that will happen today. Please, go before me today. Give me strength in the midst of weariness and hope in the midst of any frustrations or hurts. I need you Lord, every hour, I need you. I surrender this day to you, trusting in your mercy, strength and grace. Amen.
