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<\/a>A major theme of the Gospel of John in the Bible\u2019s New Testament is that it relates incidents in which Jesus was asked who he was. For example, Jesus was asked, \u201cWho are you?\u201d \u201cWho do you claim to be?\u201d \u201cIf you are the Messiah, tell us plainly\u201d (Jn 8.25; 8.53; 10.24).\u00a0Sometimes, he answered (Jn 10.24-30; 18.33-38; cf. Matt. 26.63-64).<\/p>\nOne such incident is recorded in John 8. (Bible quotations are from the NRSV unless otherwise noted). We read that Jews asked Jesus, \u201c\u2018Who are you, anyway,\u2019 they asked. \u2018Just what I have been claiming all along,\u2019 Jesus replied\u201d (Jn 8.23 NIV). He here refers to early in his ministry when Nicodemus\u2014a Torah teacher and Sanhedrin member\u2014came to Jesus with a humble attitude of inquiry, even saying to him, \u201cRabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs you do apart from the presence of God\u201d (John 3.2).<\/p>\n
Jesus then told Nicodemus he needed to \u201cborn again\u201d (Jn 3.3 NIV). He explained, \u201cjust as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up\u201d (v. 13). He referred to the incident recorded in Num 21.9 as a symbol of his imminent crucifixion. Jesus herein combined two Old Testament motifs that refer to himself\u2014the Son of Man in Dan 7.13-14 and Yahweh\u2019s suffering Servant in Isa 52.13. So, in John 8 Jesus says of his crucifixion, \u201cWhen you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he\u201d (John 8.28), that is, the Son of Man. (The \u201che\u201d is supplied and therefore is not in the Greek text. And Jesus meant that a person will be born again by truly believing in Jesus dying\u00a0 for his or her sins.)<\/p>\n
Many traditionalists\u2013Christians who believe Jesus was and is God\u2013claim Jesus saying \u201cI am he\u201d in John 8 alludes to God\u2019s declaration \u201cI am\u201d in Exodus 3. This text is about Moses seeing a burning bush at Mount Horeb that miraculously did not burn up, and God spoke to him from it. Moses then asked God his name. God replied, \u201cI AM WHO I AM\u201d (Ex 3.14). This is the meaning of God\u2019s name, which is given in the next verse as \u201cYHWH\u201d (v. 15). This name for God appears in the Hebrew Bible nearly 7,000 times. English Bible versions usually substitute the word \u201cLORD\u201d for it in full caps. The pronunciation of YHWH is uncertain, but it likely is \u201cYahweh\u201d or \u201cYehvah.\u201d So, traditionalists insist that Jesus saying\u201cI am\u201d (Gr. ego eimi<\/em>) without a predicate, in John 8, alludes to Ex 3.14 and thereby indirectly identifies himself as Yahweh.<\/p>\nThis interpretation is skewed because it divorces these \u201cI am\u201d sayings in John 8 from their immediate context, which is that Jesus claimed to be \u201cthe light of the world\u201d (Jn 8.12; 9.5) and \u201cthe Son of Man.\u201d So, Jesus\u2019 answer to their question, \u201cWho are you?\u201d was what he had been telling them, starting with Nicodemus from the beginning, that he was the Son of Man of Dan 7.13, who, as the suffering Servant, would be lifted up by crucifixion. Thus, Jesus means in John 8.28, \u201cWhen you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he\u201d\u2014the Son of Man.<\/p>\n
Jesus said more to them which included, \u201cwhoever keeps my word will never see death\u201d (John 8.51). He meant they would not remain dead forever but would receive eternal life at the resurrection (e.g., Jn 3.16, 36; 5.21; 17.2). These Jews did not understand this and retorted, \u201cAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?\u201d (v. 53). Jesus concluded his answer by saying, \u201cYour ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad\u201d (v. 56). We read next, \u201cThen the Jews said to him, \u2018You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?\u2019 Jesus said to them, \u2018Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am\u2019\u201d (vv. 57-58).<\/p>\n
Traditionalists believe this last declaration of Jesus indicates he preexisted Abraham. But it more likely means Abraham experienced something about Jesus. It could have been the very important incident in which Abraham obeyed God by going to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar (Gen 22.1-10). As Abraham lifted the knife to slay Isaac, demonstrating his faith in God, \u201cthe angel of the LORD\u201d stopped him (vv. 11-12). Then we read, \u201cAbraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son\u201d (v. 13).<\/p>\n
The New Testament book of Hebrews has a chapter that recounts brief histories about heroes of faith in God mentioned in the Old Testament. One is Enoch. The author of Hebrews states, \u201cBy faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and \u2018he was not found, because God had taken him.\u2019 For it was attested before he was taken away that \u2018he had pleased God\u2019\u201d (Heb 11.5).<\/p>\n
The author obviously refers to Gen 5.24. He then recounts other heroes of faith in God, including Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and then concludes, \u201cAll of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them\u201d (v. 13). This statement requires that Enoch being \u201ctaken\u201d does not mean he did not die, as is commonly thought. Thus, the fact that \u201che did not experience death,\u201d probably means he did not experience the pain of death. For this author of Hebrews had written earlier, \u201cman is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment\u201d (Heb 9.27 NIV).<\/p>\n
Accordingly, neither Enoch nor Elijah (2 Kgs 2.1, 11) escaped death. And they certainly did not experience resurrection, for Paul says Jesus is the \u201cfirst fruits\u201d of the resurrection (1 Cor 15.23). And they must have been taken up into the atmosphere, not the heaven where God dwells. For Jesus said, \u201cNo one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man,\u201d referring to himself (John 3.13)<\/p>\n
The author of Hebrews continues, \u201cBy faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, \u2018It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.\u2019 He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead\u2014and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back\u201d (Heb 11.17-19). This author means that Abraham\u2019s offering of Isaac, and the ram caught in the thicket, are a type referring to Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection. Plus, I explain in my book, The Third Day Bible Code<\/em> (pp. 123-32), that this Abraham-Isaac incident occurring on the third day of their journey is also a type of Jesus\u2019 resurrection on the third day. So, Jesus saying, \u201cBefore Abraham was, I am\u201d (Jn 8.58), may refer to Abraham\u2019s experiencing this incident in which his son Isaac was a type of Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection, which further indicates that Jesus outranks Abraham in the kingdom of God.<\/p>\nIn conclusion, Jesus\u2019 \u201cI am\u201d sayings in John 8 must be interpreted according to their context, which provides no evidence that Jesus therein identified himself as Yahweh. See similar \u201cI am\u201d sayings of Jesus and their contexts in the Gospel of John. E.g., Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, \u201cI am he,\u201d which refers to her remark about the \u201cMessiah\u201d (Jn 4.25-26). (Cf. Jn 9.35-37). Also, Jesus predicted in his Olivet Discourse, \u201cMany will come in my name and say, \u2018I am he'\u201d (Mk 13.6), which will not be a claim to the \u201cI am\u201d of Ex 3.14 but a claim to be Jesus. And Jesus\u2019 thrice saying \u201cI am he\u201d in John 18.5-8 refers to his previous self-identification \u201cJesus of Nazareth\u201d in v. 5.<\/p>\n
\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n
To see a list of titles of 130+ posts (2-3 pages) that are about Jesus not being God in the Bible, with a few about God not being a Trinity, at Kermit Zarley Blog click \u201cChistology<\/a>\u201d in the header bar. Most are condensations of my book, The Restitution of Jesus Christ<\/a>. See my website servetustheevangelical.com<\/a>, which is all about this book,\u00a0 with reviews, etc. Learn about my books and purchase them at kermitzarley.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major theme of the Gospel of John in the Bible\u2019s New Testament is that it relates incidents in which Jesus was asked who he was. For example, Jesus was asked, \u201cWho are you?\u201d \u201cWho do you claim to be?\u201d \u201cIf you are the Messiah, tell us plainly\u201d (Jn 8.25; 8.53; 10.24).\u00a0Sometimes, he answered (Jn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1477,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2939],"class_list":["post-6423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christology","tag-jesus-i-am-sayings"],"yoast_head":"\n
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