John 8:23-25, 28, 30: "You are from below," He told them, "I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”  "Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning."  So 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 on My own. But just as the Father taught Me, I say these things."  As He was saying these things, many believed in Him.
 
Tauntingly they asked, “Who are you?” dripping with exasperation and mocking on their mouth. Moses is reported asking the same of YHWH on behalf of these Jews' grand sires, “What should I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13 ISV) The answer in both cases is the same, identically the same, “I Am” (vs 24, 28; Exodus 3:14). I remember hearing once that an adherent of Eastern philosophy, Buddhist or Confucian, was in discussion with a Christian. The Christian quoted the Exodus verse and the Eastern man halted the Christian. He was stunned that any being, no matter how progressed, could make such a claim. You see many translate the Hebrew  (hâyâh, (haw-yaw')) as 'I Am that which or Who I shall be'. In short, "I the LORD don't change." (Mal 3:6) The Eastern man was unable to conceive of any being who neither had need for nor the ability to change or grow. On the basis of this one claim Eastern man converted.

“But wait just a minute, Gary! You are forgetting the word "He". The verse reads I am He. Wouldn't that change things somewhat?”

Well yes, it might alter things. One might imagine the Jews asking, "He? He who?" It would be almost like Jesus is yelling, "I'm it! Ready or not here I come." Well, it's the hidden, the invisible 'He'. Oh, reader did you notice that "He" is italicized? I didn't make that happen; it is a technique of the translators and editors. They thought the context called for the addition of an English word that does not appear in the oldest texts. So they inserted the third person singular pronoun 'he'. One may choose to read it in or not. So no, there is no change to the actual meaning.

In both of these cases, Moses with YHWH and Jesus with the Jews, the question being asked was, "Who?" Both YHWH & Jesus answered with a proper pronoun. YHWH said, Moses, "Tell the Israelis: 'I AM sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14 ISV) Jesus had already told them, and would tell them again later, "I Am" (vs 24, 28). In effect both of them told their respective questioner, "My name is I Am."

In Jesus' case the Jews immediately threw another question at Him, ignoring all together what He just said. It is possible to look at the Jews' question (vs 25) as sarcasm, "Just who do you think you are?" Maybe they were reacting to Jesus just calling them sinners. (vs 24) In effect He announced that all their legalistic observances were worse that useless. Only when they came to believe in Him would they find salvation. They did not, could not see themselves as sinners. Their teachings had convinced them that letter-of-the-law obedience was all that was required of them. I don't know how many times I've heard, "The first step is to recognize that there's a problem." These refused to take that first step and Jesus emphasizes the point by making the same claim later (vs 28).

In my experience, not to mention that of St. Paul, Christians are not immune from this form of 'worship'. Somehow we are prone to read, listen, study and then develop formulae for how to please Abba and formulate doctrinal positions. Once created we religiously practice our formulae and defend our doctrines against all comers. Paul upbraided the Galatians over exactly this issue, "O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you not to obey the truth, to whom before your eyes Jesus Christ was written before among you crucified? This only I desire to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of Law or by hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, do you now perfect yourself in the flesh?" (Galatians 3:1-3 LITV)

The Jews could not have missed the meaning of Jesus' twice-repeated announcement. Jesus was clearly claiming equality with YHWH. More than being just equal, Jesus states clearly that He and the One who appeared and spoke to Moses are One and the same. And just in case they missed it the first time, He goes and speaks it clearly a second time, emphasizing and spotlighting the first. Now every person is left with no other option than to decide what he or she will do with Jesus. Certainly, because of Jesus' assertion, this was uppermost in the Jews' thought. Because of what Jesus taught, we too must choose one of three positions. Jesus must be either, Liar, Lunatic or LORD – the pre-existent One.

I find it interesting that a comic character adopted this statement as his own moniker. Popeye claimed at least once in every episode, "I yam what I yam & that's all what I yam." I'm surprised that Cosby or some other stand up artist didn't latch on to this putting Popeye's words coming from the burning bush. We know that names contain and convey meaning, so what was Jesus saying? Alongside identification as YHWH, what meaning is Jesus conveying? What is the subtext of Jesus' statement?

I AM:

Firstly, I Am salvation from sin: believe or die in your sins (vs 24) In the Levitical system forgiveness could only happen following a proper sacrifice offered by the supplicant, made by the priests, and made sure once a year by the High Priest on one day a year when he is allowed to enter the direct presence of YHWH in the Holy of Holies. Yet, here and several other places Jesus makes a point of stressing that He had the authority to forgive sins. But, here He goes one step farther; He purports to be the source of forgiveness. He as much as says that I Am has been the power above the Mercy Seat all along. No longer just the emissary, He is the LORD God who makes you to be clean. (Exodus 31:13)

Secondly, I Am tells us that He's from the world above – El Roi, the LORD God that sees, The perspective from which He views this world allows Him to know objectively all causes, motives, junctions and consequences. Not only does He see the 'big picture' but, He can zoom in on the tiniest of details and then communicate this to His audience. While speaking with the woman at the well (John 4:1-44), she remarked, "Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did.  Is this One not the Christ?" (John 4:29 MKJV) Remember the detailed instructions Jesus gave the disciples when entering Jerusalem for His final earthly Passover? (Mark 14:12-15) Step by step, He told them what they'd encounter and how they were to respond. In an overcrowded Jerusalem, Jesus instructed several of the disciples to secure a room for them to celebrate the Passover. They must have thought, "Yeah right, during Passover everything is already booked." But once again Jesus predicted (¿Prophesied?) precise instructions and afterwards it's recorded, "So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover." (Mark 14:16 NKJV) These two show that Jesus was fully conversant with both past and future. He knows ours too. Do you have future-shock? Trust Jesus to have it all covered.

Thirdly, though He is equal to and identified as God, I Am states clearly that He opted to take a subordinate, humble role, “I do nothing on My own.” (vs 28) There are many other instances where Jesus states this same thing. This signal statement lets us know that Jesus' entire earthly life was one of humble dependence. “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death--even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8 HCSB) Since Jesus lived a life of humility, everything He accomplished is a model for us. Every action he took is relative to you and I, to our humanity because He became one of us in every sense of the term. Paul instructs us to, “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 2:5 HCSB) Do you willingly accept a lower standing in the groups you're part of? Do you insist on at least being understood? What gets your goat?

Lastly, I Am would finally be recognized when they “lift up the Son of Man” (vs 28). Certainly, this prophesy was delivered to the Jews there present and referenced the means of His sacrificial death – a Roman cross. But, on another level I Am is setting the ground work for koinonia “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35 HCSB) and His prophesy, “As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to Myself." (John 12:32 HCSB) In the context of koinonia, we are the means by which Jesus is lifted and by which all may know we are His. Selah (think 'bout that)

It seems apparent that the Religious Leaders were not the only ones among the listeners who caught Jesus meaning in announcing and repeating “I Am”. The final statement in our passages states that, “as he was saying these things, many believed in him.” (vs 30)  How is it that this one statement, “I Am”, even repeated twice for emphasis, was able to make any difference? What did it communicate to them? What need did it respond to? What was Jesus telling these fellow Jews? Summarizing and combining the subtext of the four I Am observations, we might be able to hear Jesus through the listeners' ears, “In a voluntary overture, I Am here alongside you, humbled, flesh-wrapped, dependent and obedient, yet I Am fully aware of what awaits you as well as the minutest of details of your life and every single one of your choices. Regardless of what you've done, I Am here and freely offer sacrifice for you and all your descendants, I Am mercy and salvation. I Am, 'I change not' (Malachi 3:6 KJV). I Am at the Father's bidding and am worthy of your faith and belief. Trust me and live, refuse me and die – 'choose this day whom you will serve' “ (Joshua 24:15 MKJV)

ASIDE: Even though this is the first time Jesus makes this claim, He is not the last person who will. False Christs will also make the same claim in the Last Days. (Matthew 24:5; Mark 13:6)  This tells us that "I Am" is significant enough to be stolen and imitated. What place in your life does I Am play?