Jesus: The I AM
John 8:51–59
Jesus’ declaration “before Abraham was, I am” identifies Him as Yahweh, the self-existent God of the Exodus who vanquished the gods of Egypt and now comes in the flesh to lead a second Exodus out of spiritual bondage.
Outline
- Context of conflict with children of the devil
- Abrahamic covenant and Egyptian bondage
- Exodus as reintroduction of Yahweh
- Plagues as judgments on Egyptian gods
- Jesus as the I AM in the flesh
- Conclusion and invitation to worship
Themes: I AM · Yahweh · Exodus · Deity of Christ · Egyptian Gods · Second Exodus · Self-Existent · Covenant Faithfulness
Key Cross-References: John 8:51-59, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 15:13-16, Exodus 1-15, Deuteronomy 32:17, Psalm 106:36-37, 1 Corinthians 10:19-20, Colossians 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:3
MANUSCRIPT
John 8:51-59 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
“Before Abraham was, I am” These are the words that Jesus spoke immediately before his enemies picked up stones, intending to execute him.
Jesus’ words came after an exchange in which he exposed the Jews who claimed to believe in him as children, not of Abraham, and not of God, but of Satan. They claimed that they were children of Abraham and therefore privileged children of the covenant. They claimed that God was their Father. Jesus corrected them. Although they were physical descendants of Abraham, they were nothing like him. They did not share his faith, or his obedience. True children of Abraham were anyone who had faith like Abraham. These Jews on the contrary were just like Satan, loving lies and harbouring murderous intent. They were his children.
With that, Jesus brought his conflict with these Jews into perspective. It was not him against Jewish leadership. It was him against Satan. It was Satan behind their unbelief, and they were his willing tools.
It was only after Jesus couched this conflict in those terms that he uttered the words, “Before Abraham was, I am.” That these words were significant and controversial is obvious by the Jewish response. Whatever they meant, the Jews deemed them worthy of death.
So, this morning how might we, non-Jews, thousands of years removed understand these words, and the Jewish response? For that, we must not only go as far back as Jesus’ day, but even further. We must go back another 1500 years to the book of Genesis where we find the account of Abraham.
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV)
So, this is Abraham with whom the Lord made a covenant. God would make a great nation out of Abraham’s descendants. He would bless them. He would make Abraham’s name great, and through Abraham he would bless the world.
But all of this wouldn’t come about without difficulty. God would later say to Abraham:
13 "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." (Genesis 15:13-16, ESV)
Here the Lord foretells of the Egyptian bondage. God’s covenant with Abraham would be confirmed to Abraham’s son Isaac, and again to Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob and his sons would eventually settle in Egypt where their descendants would remain for hundreds of years.
Generation after generation of descendants of Abraham would live lives immersed in Egyptian culture. Although settled in Goshen in North Eastern Egypt, the Jewish people would have been exposed to the full breadth of Egyptian influence.
They would have likely learned the Egyptian language and used it in trade and daily interactions.
They would have been exposed to Egyptian art, architecture and writing which would have influenced their own.
The would have learned agricultural techniques, gleaned from Egyptian technologies, and acquired a variety of other skills.
They would become accustomed to the Egyptian diet with abundant fruit and vegetables produced by the nutrient-rich soil along the Nile River.
Although many of these things would be used by God to enrich the culture of the Jewish nation, there was another aspect of assimilation which would have served as a continual temptation to the Jews – that of Egyptian religion.
You could imagine what the average Jew would have witnessed and experienced in Egypt as part of their daily lives. Living in the vibrant agricultural community of Goshen in Northeast Egypt, they were constantly surrounded by expressions of the polytheism of their Egyptian neighbours.
Each morning, a Jew might see their Egyptian neighbors offering prayers and sacrifices to the Nile god, Hapi (haw-pee), seeking his blessings for abundant waters and fertile lands. The Nile, a lifeline for Egypt, was venerated as a divine source of life, and Hapi’s significance permeated every aspect of agricultural and economic activity.
As they navigated the marketplace, Jews would regularly encounter symbols of Hathor, the goddess of love and protection, often depicted as a cow or with cow horns. Hathor was believed to bestow joy and fertility, and her worship included numerous festivals and public ceremonies. Seeing Egyptians adorn their homes and bodies with images of Hathor, the Jews could not escape the pervasive influence of her worship.
Similarly, the reverence for Heqet, the frog-headed goddess of fertility, was another daily reminder of the deeply rooted Egyptian beliefs. Heqet was invoked during childbirth and was associated with the annual flooding of the Nile, believed to bring renewal and prosperity.
Then there was the omnipresent figure of Ra, the sun god, whose images would have dominated the landscape. Temples and obelisks dedicated to Ra were focal points in Egyptian cities, and his worship was central to daily life. The Jews would have witnessed the daily rituals performed by priests to honor Ra, ensuring the sun’s journey across the sky. This daily homage reinforced Ra’s perceived power and the Egyptians’ reliance on his favor.
Another god, Geb, the god of the earth, was believed to be responsible for the fertility of the land. Jews saw their Egyptian counterparts offer sacrifices to Geb, hoping for bountiful harvests and protection from natural disasters.
Perhaps most striking were the funeral practices dedicated to Osiris, the god of the afterlife. The elaborate mummification process, the grand tombs, and the rituals to secure a place in the afterlife were ubiquitous. Jews living in Egypt would have been keenly aware of the significance placed on Osiris and the afterlife.
Thus, the Israelites in Egypt were constantly exposed to these influential gods, whose worship shaped every facet of Egyptian society.
[TRANS]
While in Egypt, the Jews managed to maintain much of their distinct identity. This was partly because they were primarily shepherds and keepers of livestock, occupations that set them apart from the Egyptians, who were mainly urban traders and agriculturalists. The Egyptians looked down upon shepherds, considering them an abomination, as noted in Genesis 46:34. This separation helped the Jews maintain their cultural and religious practices. However, over time, prejudice against them grew, fueled by their distinctiveness and resulting in fear among the Egyptians. This fear ultimately led to the Jews' oppression and enslavement by the Egyptians.
We read that after a King arose who did not know Joseph:
Exodus 1:9-14 … he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.
Remember that hundreds of years earlier, God had made a covenant with Abraham in which he promised to bless him, provide a land for his descendants, and through him bless the entire world. Those promises looked impossible to be fulfilled at this time in Israel’s history. They were enslaved, possessed no land of their own, and were despised by the people around them. We might not blame them for giving into rising doubts about God’s promises.
But then we read this…
Exodus 2:23-25 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
The time had come for God to bring his people out of Egypt.
In his providence he had used the Israelites hundreds of years of sojourning in Egypt to prepare them as a nation. They went into Egypt as 70 people, and would leave numbering in the millions. They went in as nomadic shepherds, and would come out as a people heavily influenced by one of the most stable, educated and technologically advanced nations on earth. God used their time in Egypt to prepare them to come out to become their own nation under his theocratic rule.
However, as much as God used Egyptian influence to develop his people as a nation, there were aspects of this influence which he would have to purge from Israel if they were to be his faithful covenant people.
For this reason, he wouldn’t simply bring his people out of Egypt in one swift action of deliverance. Instead, he would bring about a dramatic course of events designed to remind the Jews of who he was. Specifically, who he was in contrast to the gods of Egypt. This explains why God chose to carry out the events of the Exodus the way he did.
God intended the Exodus to be the seminal event which would forever establish his relationship with the children of Israel. This is why the Exodus is continually invoked by biblical authors both explicitly and implicitly. Exodus-like themes pervade scripture and ultimately provide a framework through which we can understand the redemptive work of Jesus.
What was the Lord's motivation for the Exodus? We are told in Exodus 2:24 that the Lord was moved to action upon hearing the groaning of his people. It was then that "God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." It was his covenant faithfulness which led him to stretch out his mighty arm over Egypt to redeem his people.
But why did God choose to deliver his people with such grandeur? Why the prolonged clash with Pharaoh? Why the succession of miracles? Why the inauguration of the Passover? Why the dramatic judgment of Pharaoh and his army?
Even amid harsh conditions and brutal opposition, the Lord prospered the children of Israel over the 430 years that they were in Egypt. Jacob's family of less than one hundred when entering Egypt grew into a people numbering in the hundreds of thousands at the time of the Exodus.
The Lord's intention through the Exodus was not simply to rescue his people from slavery but to claim them as his treasured possession. They would be his people, and he would be their God. Before this could take place, however, they would have to quickly become reacquainted with the God of their fathers. For twenty or so generations, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived amid Egyptian culture and religion. For many of them, the God of their fathers was but a dim memory, while the gods of Egypt were an ever-present reality in their day-to-day lives. For this reason, the Lord would use the events of the Exodus to reintroduce himself to his people.
Turn to Exodus 3 where we find God preparing Moses to lead his people out of Egypt.
Exodus 3:1-22 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
Moses expected that if he mentioned the God of their fathers, they would ask, “What is his name?” The fact that Moses anticipated this question reveals something to us about the degree to which Israel had been affected by Egyptian polytheism. We would think that the mention of the God of their Fathers would be enough. They were supposed to be monotheists. They were supposed to be of the conviction that there was only one true God. God to them was not simply one named God among a host of other named gods. He was the one, true, transcendent, and all-powerful God. The God who revealed himself to, and made covenant with, their Fathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
If God would make a holy nation out of these people, a nation entirely consecrated to him as the only true, transcendent God, he would have to reintroduce himself to his people and divest them of any sympathies they might have to Egyptian polytheism. This is what he begins to do in his answer to Moses.
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” This is simultaneously an answer and a non-answer. We name things to distinguish them one from another. What God is saying is that he is the transcendent God who defies categorization. He is not a being, but is the source of all being. He is the eternal, self-existent, unchanging, transcendent God, who has no equal nor rival. He continues:
15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
He is the same God who appeared to their Fathers. If they had adopted any notion that the god who appeared to their fathers was analogous to any of the Egyptian gods, they should stand corrected. There is one God, and he is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and has now appeared to Moses, to call his people out of Egypt.
He then says to Moses, “This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” “If they ask what my name is, tell them ‘I AM.’ Tell them ‘Yahweh.’ Let them know that I am the supreme, transcendent source of all life and being. This is how I want to be known by them, and throughout all generations.”
Now, admittedly, that is probably not the answer Moses wanted, nor would it be an answer readily understood by Israel. It was abstract and certainly needed more explanation. That is exactly what God would give Moses and Israel. Not through more speech, but through all the events of the Exodus.
Do you doubt this was the purpose of the Exodus? Consider what the Lord said about his own actions throughout the book of Exodus. Over and over again he stated that he was doing what he was doing so that Pharaoh, Egypt and Israel would know that he was the only true, self-existent, transcendent God.
Consider these passages:
Exodus 7:5 The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
Exodus 6:7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exodus 7:17 Thus says Yahweh, “By this you [Pharaoh] shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.
Exodus 8:22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you [Pharaoh] may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth.
Exodus 10:1-2 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you [Moses/Israel] may know that I am Yahweh.”
Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh.” And they did so.
Exodus 29:46 And they [Israel] shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God.
The events of the Exodus were designed by God to be a grand re-introduction of himself to his people. Beyond this, he would reveal himself to this generation of Jews in a way in which he had not revealed himself to their fathers.
Exodus 6:2-3 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am Yahweh. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them.
God intended every detail of the Exodus to work together as a sort of crash course for Israel. His people, after centuries under Egyptian influenced needed to re-learn who their God was. Through the Exodus God displayed his supremacy over every other so-called god, and over the greatest earthly kingdom of the time.
This is the reason for the plagues. Each of the plagues which God poured out upon Egypt was meant to demonstrate that he, not the gods of Egypt, possessed all power over creation. God said this was his intention in Exodus 12:12:
Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am Yahweh.
Consider the gods of Egypt and how Yahweh illustrated their impotence and his transcendence.
The Egyptians worshipped Hapi, the god of the Nile. Yahweh’s first plague was the turning of the Nile into blood – a humiliating defeat of Hapi.
The Egyptians worshipped Heqet, who was depicted as a frog or a frog-headed woman. Yahweh’s second plague was a plague of frogs, illustrating that they answer to him and him alone – and Heqet was powerless to stop him.
The Egyptians revered Geb, the god of the earth. Yahweh’s third plague brought gnats and lice from the dust of the earth, demonstrating that Geb had no control over the very ground from which these pests arose.
The Egyptians honored Khepri, the god associated with creation and rebirth, often depicted as a scarab beetle. Yahweh’s fourth plague unleashed swarms of flies, showing that Khepri had no dominion over these swarms that brought chaos and discomfort.
The death of livestock struck at Hathor, the cow goddess, demonstrating her inability to protect the animals associated with her worship.
The Egyptians venerated Isis, the goddess of medicine and peace. Yahweh’s sixth plague inflicted painful boils on the Egyptians, revealing Isis’s impotence in providing healing and peace.
The Egyptians believed in the power of Nut (Noot), the sky goddess, and Set the god of storms and disorder. Yahweh’s seventh plague sent devastating hail from the sky, showing Nut’s inability to control the heavens and prevent such destruction.
The Egyptians worshipped Renenutet (ren-en-oo-tet), the goddess of nourishment and harvest. Yahweh’s eighth plague brought locusts to consume all remaining crops, proving Renenutet had no protective power over the harvest.
The Egyptians revered Ra as the sun god. When Yahweh brought deep darkness over the land it was a direct affront to him. It demonstrated that Yahweh, not Ra, controlled darkness and light.
And the final plague of the death on the firstborn struck at the heart of Egypt’s beliefs about the afterlife. This final and most devastating plague showed that Osiris, the god of the afterlife, had no power to save or protect Egypt’s future generations. The life and afterlife of every living being was in the all-powerful hands of Yahweh.
SATAN
Now, were these gods real? Did they actually exist? Yes and no. They were certainly real in the sense that men had created them, ascribed to them power, and offered them worship. But they were real in another sense as well. Moses would later characterized the rebellion of Israel in this way:
Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
The Psalmist in Psalm 106 wrote about the Jews worship of the false god Molech:
Psalms 106:36-37 They served their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;
And Paul would say in the New Testament regarding the Gentile worship of other gods:
1 Corinthians 10:19-20 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
There is a sense in which idol worship is demon worship. Satan is capable of producing what appear to be miracles. He is capable of seducing, deceiving, and capturing souls. He is more than happy to encourage idol worship and then embody the fake gods being worship.
So, in this sense we can understand the Exodus as God storming a spiritual citadel erected by Satan in the form of Egyptian polytheism and vanquishing it. It’s Yahweh binding Satan and spoiling his house. It’s God releasing his people from the grip of the devil, with Satan left powerless in the face of his unmatched might.
Besides these judgments on the gods of Egypt (or better, Satan), the Lord demonstrated that he was also sovereign over the hearts of men. He met Pharaoh’s hard heart with further hardness, using Pharaoh’s rebellious heart to bring himself glory. By the end of the exodus event, there was no question that God was the almighty, and that no rival god, let alone any earthly King, could stand before him. All of this was intended to teach the Jews, and the Egyptians, in glorious fashion, that there was only one God, and that his name was Yahweh.
It wasn’t just Yahweh’s sovereign power and transcendence that was on display through the Exodus however. There was much more.
Through the Exodus, Israel learned, among other things, that:
Yahweh is unique and the sole creator.
Yahweh can suspend the laws of creation and produce miracles.
Yahweh is not only sovereign over creation, but also the hearts of men.
Yahweh is faithful to his covenants.
Yahweh fulfills his promises.
Yahweh redeems his people
Yahweh is merciful to the suffering of his people.
Yahweh is a personal God who invites his people into relationship.
Yahweh makes a distinction between his people and all other peoples.
Yahweh is provider, protector, and guide.
Yahweh is a warrior who fights for his people.
All of this was designed by God to help Israel fill in the gaps in their understanding of what it means that He is the great “I AM.” All of this was designed to lend definition and meaning to the name “Yahweh.”
From this point on, when they spoke his name, they would know that they were speaking of the one true, all-powerful, all-knowing, always-present, unchanging, covenant-keeping, redeemer, who as a relational God, loves, provides for, protects, and guides his people. Through the Exodus, “Yahweh” became imbued with precious, awe-inspiring meaning.
We know that the Exodus had this effect upon Israel because when we come to Exodus 15, after their deliverance, Moses and the people erupt in wonderful celebratory and worshipful song. The theme of the song? All that they had learned about Yahweh, and their devotion to him.
Exodus 15:1-21 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, saying, “I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 Yahweh is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
Notice the personal nature of this song. It’s a song of personal devotion meant to be sung by the people of Israel about their faith in, love for, and devotion to Yahweh. “Yahweh is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” It continues:
3 Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is his name. 4 “Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. 5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O Yahweh, glorious in power, your right hand, O Yahweh, shatters the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. 8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
And then that wonderful declaration sung by a people who had been surrounded by polytheistic worship for centuries:
11 “Who is like you, O Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
Of course this is rhetorical. They are proclaiming through song, “There are no gods like you Yahweh. There are no gods who are majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds and doing wonders, like you!”
12 You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. 13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O Yahweh, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
And with that they recognized that God had redeemed them. They had been purchased by him. They belonged to Yahweh. They continue:
17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Yahweh, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. 18 Yahweh will reign forever and ever.” 19 For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Through the Exodus God reintroduced himself to his people. He is Yahweh, the I AM. There are none who compare. There is no power which challenges. There are no gods who can compete. There is no demonic or Satanic power that can stand. He is the one and only, the ground of all being, the self-existent, transcendent God who is also immanent, ready to make covenant with is people, and enter into relationship with them.
That this was God’s intention is clearly seen in what he says to Moses as they prepared the Tabernacle in Exodus 29:
Exodus 29:43-46 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God.
So, the tabernacle and later the temple stood as the testament that Yahweh was the God of Israel, who dwelt among them. He was simultaneously the all-power creator, and the merciful, relational redeemer – who invited his people to worship him and him alone. The tabernacle and the temple were the earthly meeting place of man, and the I AM.
Now, let’s return to John 8.
Still in the context of the Feast of Booths which took place on the Temple grounds, celebrating Yahweh’s miraculous deliverance of his people from Egypt, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees. Whereas they viewed themselves as children of Abraham, and therefore God’s covenant people, Jesus exposed them as children of Satan.
So, we have on one side of this conflict vessels of Satan, and on the other Jesus. But the scene is much greater than that. Jesus said to the Jews:
John 8:56-58 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was claiming here, evidenced by the fact that they responded by attempting to execute him. He was identifying himself with Yahweh, the great I AM of the Exodus.
He saw in them the fingerprints of Satan, and responded to them accordingly. They had the intent to murder Jesus, and would eventually succeed in doing so, but could they ever really defeat him? No. Why? Because the same God who stormed the citadel of Satanic power at the Exodus, exposing Satan as impotent before him, had come in the flesh and was now standing in front of them. The same God who vanquished Egypt, that bastion of demonic power, and redeemed his people from its oppression, had stepped into his creation to once again free his people from Satanic captivity. But this time with a unalterable spiritual deliverance to once and for all bring his people into covenant relationship with himself, forever.
In other words, Yahweh had come in the flesh in order to personally lead his people in a second Exodus. An Exodus out of spiritual oppression and death, and into the promised land of spiritual freedom and life.
Jesus, whose name aptly means, “Yahweh saves,” was the great I AM in the flesh. This is why Paul could describe him this way:
Colossians 1:16-17 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And why the writer of Hebrews could say of him:
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power…
Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh, embodying all the attributes and characteristics that were revealed to the Israelites during the Exodus. As Yahweh, He is the creator and sustainer of all things, the one who has power over all creation. Just as Yahweh demonstrated His supremacy over the gods of Egypt, Jesus displayed His authority over Satan. Just like Yahweh proved sovereign over nature, sickness, and even death, Jesus calmed the storm, healed the sick, and raised the dead.
Just as Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, is faithful and true to His promises. Jesus, as the fulfillment of God's covenant, came to redeem His people and bring them into a new covenant relationship with God. Just as Yahweh heard the cries of His people in Egypt and delivered them, Jesus hears the cries of those oppressed by sin and offers them deliverance through himself.
Just as Yahweh revealed himself to be the compassionate and merciful God who provides for, protects, and guides His people, so too did Jesus come as the merciful saviour.
Yahweh is the self-existent, eternal "I AM," and Jesus claimed this title for himself. He asserted His divinity and eternal existence. He is the same God who revealed Himself to Moses and led the Israelites out of bondage. In Jesus, Yahweh came to dwell among His people once again, not in a tabernacle or temple, as was just celebrated during the Feast of Booths, but in human flesh, bringing the presence of God directly into the world.
Jesus, the great "I AM," is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Son of God who came to defeat the forces of Satan, and to invite us into a relationship with the Father, through himself. He calls us to follow him in a second Exodus wherein we might find freedom from sin, relationship with the Father, and eternal life in his presence.
If you’re a Christian this morning, this is the Jesus that you worship.
If you’re not a Christian, this is the Jesus who is calling you to follow him so that you can find redemption and forgiveness, and enter into relationship with the one, true God.
Now, just as it was fitting for Moses and the children of Israel to break out into song after learning more about who Yahweh was, it’s fitting for us to stand and sing a song of praise to Jesus – Yahweh in the flesh. Let’s stand and sing.
