Jesus' I AMs

[Webers.Home]

.
Before coming into the world as a creature, God's son was a divine being
known as the Word (John 1:1a)

The Word is translated from the Greek noun logos (log'-os) which basically
refers to something spoken as opposed to something written, viz; logos
refers to voice, i.e. speech.

God's spoken words first appear in the Bible at Gen 1:3 where it says:

"Let there be light"

So we could legitimately paraphrase John 1:2 to read like this:

"All things were made by God's voice; and apart from His voice was not any
thing made that was made."

Thus it's seen that God preferred to command the cosmos into existence
instead of cogitating it into existence.

"By the voice of God the heavens were of old" (2Pet 3:5)

God's speech is more than sound and syllables; it is an extension of Himself,
i.e. His speech is charged with an energy so powerful that it can make inert
objects become alert with consciousness; e.g. John 1:4

"In God's voice was life"

Seeing as how the words that come out of God's mouth are no less divine
than Himself, then I think it's valid to concur that His speech is a sentient
being.

Please don't ask me how God's voice is a sentient being because it is just too
far beyond the capability of my below-average IQ to comprehend.

So then, when Jesus said "I am the life" I think it safe to paraphrase him as:
"I am that life", i.e. the life in God's voice; and seeing as how the life in
God's voice is an extension of Himself, then we certainly cannot refuse to
recognize The Word as more than just a divine being, instead, as the
supreme of all beings.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• 1John 1:1-2 . .That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of life-- for the life was manifested, and we
have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.

So the life that's in God's voice is a sentient being who always was, always
is, and always shall be. That (almost) makes perfect sense because if God
always was, always is, and always shall be; then of course His voice would
be no different in that respect.

The part that's difficult to grasp is how God's voice is a sentient being when
the human voice is just noise; and the moment it speaks words, they fade
away to nothing and can't be recalled with any more ease than recalling the
ring of a bell or the toot of a horn, i.e. spoken human words are DOA (dead
on arrival) and that's because the human voice isn't a sentient being.

Now, this sentient eternal being we've been examining isn't merely academic
doctrine; it's a supernatural presence.

• 1John 5:11-12 . .God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have God's son does not
have the life.

The eternal life spoken of in that verse, and in 1John 1:1-2, is of course the
self same life that Jesus spoke of when he said: "I am the life". (John 11:25
and John 14:6)

If I could take some liberties here, I might paraphrase 1John 5:11-12 to
read like this:

"God has given us His voice, and this voice is in His son. He who has the Son
has this voice; he who does not have God's son does not have this voice."

God's voice, a.k.a. His son, a.k.a. eternal life, isn't aboard Jesus' followers
by means of a physical presence, rather, a spirit presence.

• Rom 8:9-10 . .You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he
does not belong to him.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• John 14:6 . . I am the way

The Greek word translated "way" is somewhat ambiguous. It can not only
indicate a route-- a path, a road, or a trail --but also progress.

For example, it takes roughly five months for people afoot to complete the
entire route of the Pacific Coast Trail from Campo California to Washington
State's border with Canada.

Resourceful hiker trash report their daily progress on social media platforms
like FaceBook and YouTube. Successful thru hikers-- those who complete the
journey --publish one final progress report when they reach their ultimate
destination: the border.

That's the sort of progress report that Jesus announced on the cross when
he said "It is finished." His crucifixion was trail's end, and he capped the
journey by crossing the border, viz: by rising from the dead.

People who have come to faith in Christ, do not need to retrace his steps
because they already did. God-- by means of some strange procedure that I
do not understand at all --reckons them crucified, died, buried, and
resurrected along with, and in, His son. (Rom 6:3-11, Gal 2:20, and Col 3:2-3)
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• John 11:25 . . I am the resurrection.

People in the Christian resurrection will be immortal. (1Cor 15:51-54)

At the time Jesus made that statement, he wasn't immortal. We can be sure
of that because had he been, then it would've been very difficult for the
Romans to execute him on the cross. He's immortal now (Rom 6:9 and 1Tim
6:16) but he wasn't then. So; there's apparently more to the resurrection
that he spoke of than immortality.

Christ was not only a human life, but he was also a divine life.

• John 1:1 . . In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.

• John 5:26-27 . . For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted
the Son to have life in himself.

• 1Cor 15:45 . .The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam, a
life-giving spirit.

• 1John 1:1-2 . . That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands
have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life
appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

So, when the life of Jesus' mortal body expired on the cross, his eternal
aspect was unaffected because eternal life is immune to death, i.e. it cannot
end nor can it be killed. This characteristic is true of his followers too.
Though their bodies pass away, their eternal aspect will never pass away.

• John 10:27-28 . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they
follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish

• John 11:25-26 . . He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Eternal life is available right now, in this life, before people pass on.

• John 5:24 . . I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him
who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed
over from death to life.

• John 5:25 . . I tell you the truth; a time is coming, and has now come,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will
live.

But there's a catch. Christ is the resurrection. Therefore people cannot have
eternal life a la carte as it can only be had by having Christ too seeing as he
is, in some mysterious way, the very existence of eternal life even as his
Father is the very existence of eternal life.

• 1John 5:11-12 . . God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son.
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does
not have the life.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
The 10th chapter of John begins with what appears to be a community
stockyard where large numbers of sheep from all over are penned when they
aren't out to pasture; probably during winter when grasses might be scarce.

It also appears that more than one shepherd is keeping sheep there; and
then in Spring, when the weather begins warming and grasses are greening
up, the shepherds come to round up their flocks and move them out to
pasture.

One of the shepherds in this story stands out. He apparently has a vested
interest in his sheep because he bought and paid for them out of his own
pocket whereas the other shepherds are seasonal wranglers, i.e. employees.

The exceptional shepherd in the story is personal with his sheep, and has
even given each individual head a pet name; and the sheep have somehow
memorized their own names, which makes it easier for Mr.Exceptional to cull
his sheep from the stockyard without inadvertently taking another man's
sheep by mistake.

Mr.Exceptional's sheep not only know their own names, but they are familiar
enough with the timbre of his voice to recognize it from among all the other
shepherds. This suggests to me that this particular shepherd continually
communes with his sheep along the trail to pasture and also when they're
settled down for the night too. I wouldn't be surprised if he sang to his
sheep like cowboys sometimes do to calm the nerves of the cattle under
their care.

Then the scene shifts to the outdoors, a ways off from the stockyard. The
sheep are bedded down for the night under circumstances where the only
way that predators can get to the sheep is past Mr.Exceptional himself, i.e.
over his dead body, so to speak. The location could be a cave, or a small box
canyon with high walls: anything would do just so long as there is only one
way in and one way out.

• John 10:11 . . I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep.

The thing to note is that the quality of Mr.Exceptional's daring, his
competency, and his reliability is so high that he can confidently guarantee
that any, and every, sheep seeking shelter in his stronghold is 110% safe
from all alarm.

• John 10:9 . . I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved

Were Mr.Exceptional a so-so shepherd; then he wouldn't dare say "will be"
saved; no, he'd have to tone it down a bit and say "can be" saved. That
would leave him some room for error. But when he says "will be" saved, he's
claiming a 0.0% failure rate. This shepherd is one tough cookie!
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• John 6:48-49 . . . I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness, and they died.

Manna was very nourishing but limited; it didn't sustain Moses' people
indefinitely even though it was God-given and miraculous.

Psalm 78:24-25 is commonly translated to say that the manna was angels'
food, but in none of the other fifteen places where the Hebrew word appears
is it translated to indicate celestial beings. It usually speaks of strength,
valiance, and/or superiority.

I think we can safely paraphrase Ps 78:25 to say that manna was powerful
food; and indeed it was because it's common to develop deficiency diseases
when people eat only one kind of food at every meal day after day;
especially vegans. But according to Deut 8:4, the people apparently enjoyed
exceptional health.

• John 6:50-51a . .This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a
man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from
heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever;

Jesus chose a good comparison. Up till that moment, the Jews knew of no
foods superior to manna.

• John 6:51b-52 . . And the bread which I shall give for the life of the world
is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying: How can
this man give us his flesh to eat?

The Jews misunderstood Jesus to mean cannibalism. Well; he laid that idea
to rest with this statement:

• John 6:61-62 . . Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus
said to them: Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend
to where he was before?

In other words; in order for people to successfully cannibalize Jesus' body, it
would have to be accessible where they could cut into it with a knife and
fork. Were he to depart for heaven, which he eventually did; people would
lose access to his body and thus find it impossible to comply if true that his
teaching spoke of cannibalism. So we can rule out a literal meaning of his
words right off the bat.

Jesus' teachings were somewhat cryptic.

• John 6:63 . .The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I
have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Spirit words oftentimes contain hidden meanings not easily discerned by
human intelligence.

• 1Cor 2:13-15 . .We speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in
words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The
man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned.

Jesus' spirit words were not well-received by the audience that day.

• John 6:66 . . From this time many of his disciples turned back and no
longer followed him.

Well; no surprise there. The reason they gave up on Jesus was simply
because they were listening to his spirit words with human ears instead of
hearing them with ears provided by God; ergo:

• John 6:63-65 . .There are some of you who do not believe. This is why I
told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.

In order to get in on the Father's enabling, people must first be confident
that Jesus' teachings are reliable.

• John 6:67-69 . . You do not want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the
twelve. Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of
God.

That was easily the wisest decision Peter ever made. Though he didn't have
a clue what Jesus was talking about at first, our guy was confident that
Jesus was the voice of God. That's a really, really good place to start with
Christ.

• John 12:49 . . I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me,
He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• John 15:1 . . I am the true vine

A religion that incorporates father confessors resembles the true vine; but a
setup like that, though structured like the true vine is, nevertheless, an
impersonation of the real McCoy.

Still speaking to the branches of the true vine; Jesus says:

• John 15:3 . . Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you.

The Greek word translated "clean" doesn't indicate sinless perfection.
Katharos (kath-ar-os') speaks of hygiene, i.e. bathed, washed, purified,
purged, and/or sanitized; which is accomplished by means of the genuine
father confessor.

• 1 John 1:9 . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Sill speaking to the branches of the true vine; Jesus says:

• John 15:4a . . Abide in me, and I in you.

The abiding about which Jesus spoke is all the same as fellowship, which is
intimately associated with the hygiene instructed by 1 John 1:9

• 1 John 1:3-7 . .That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you,
that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto
you, that your joy may be full.

. . .This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto
you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we
have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.

Sill speaking to the branches of the true vine; Jesus says:

• John 15:4b-6 . . As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. If a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and
cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

In a nutshell; when a branch fails to keep itself cleaned up, then it dries up;
i.e. it becomes yard debris which in that day ranchers disposed by means of
a bonfire. Needless to say; a yard-debris Christian has pretty much
permanently lost their fellowship with God while down here on the earth.

NOTE: "Fellowship" is translated from the Greek word koinonia (koy-nohn
ee'-ah) which isn't redemption. It's more like association and/or partnership
in a common endeavor. And seeing as how it's futile to prune dead wood,
then I think it's safe to assume that yard-debris Christians have lost that
benefit too.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• Rev 22:16 . . I am the offspring of David

The Greek word translated "offspring" is genos (ghen'-os) which basically
refers to kin, viz: one's relatives.

Christ's kinship with David is quite a bit more specific in Rom 1:1-3 where it
says:

"Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh"

The Greek word translated "seed" in that passage is sperma (sper'-mah)
which is a bit ambiguous because it can refer to spiritual progeny as well as
to biological progeny; for example:

• Gal 3:29 . . If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed.

That seed is obviously spiritual progeny; whereas David's is biological
because it's "according to the flesh" i.e. his physical human body.

Seeing as Jesus' dad Joseph played no role in his son's conception, and his
wife was a virgin at the time, then Jesus' biological association with David
defaults thru his mother, i.e. Mary was biologically related to David; which
places her baby in David's tribe; the tribe of Judah. (Heb 7:14)

This fact may be somewhat insignificant to most Gentiles-- other than their
interest in Christ's connection to Abraham's promises --but Jesus'
association with David is extremely important to the Jews because in order
to validate Jesus' right to rule over the land of Israel, he absolutely must be
biologically situated in the Davidic dynasty: no getting around it. (2Sam 7:8-17
and Ps 89:3-4)
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• Mark 14:61-62 . . Again the high priest was questioning him, and saying to
him: Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said: I am;

The connection between the Christ (a.k.a. Messiah) and the son of the
Blessed (a.k.a. God) wasn't something new and unusual. The connection
was already well-known; not just among Judaism's elite, but also among
ordinary pew warmers too.

So; how did they know? Who told them that Messiah would be the son of
God rather than just another nondescript son? For example:

"I said: You are all sons of the Most High." (Ps 82:6)

In a nutshell: It was believed that all kings of the Davidic dynasty were each
in their turn the son of God in a special way. For example David (Ps 89:27)
Solomon (2Sam 7:12-14) and all the others (Psalm 2 and Psalm 45)

NOTE: The Hebrew equivalent to Christ is mashiyach (maw-shee'-akh) which
simply means anointed-- i.e. divine appointment to a throne --and isn't
limited to Jewish monarchy, e.g. Cyrus (Isa 45:1)

So then, Jesus admitted that he was indeed the son of God; and by doing so
laid claim to the Davidic monarchy-- not only in the presence of the high
priest, but also Pilate; the Roman official governing Israel at that time.

• John 18:37 . . Pilate said: You are a king, then? Jesus answered: You are
right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• Rev 22:16 .. I am the root of David

This hails way back to the eleventh and fifty-third chapters of Isaiah where
there's predicted that David's root will sprout a twig that ultimately becomes
a branch.

The two chapters aren't very long; and I have to say they are very much
worth the reading because they tell so much about Christ's person, his
purpose, his work, and his future kingdom on earth.

• Rev 22:16 . . I am the bright morning star.

By comparing Isa 14:12, Luke 10:18, and Rev 2:26-28; it can be readily
deduced that the Bible's morning stars are persons wielding political power.
But none are as radiant as Christ because he's the signet promised to
Zerubbabel in Hag 2:21-23. In other words: Jesus wields the power of God
so much so that he is in the position of God as God.

• Rev 1:8 . . I am the Alpha and the Omega-- says the Lord God --who is,
and who was, and who is to come: the Almighty
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• Matt 11:29a . . I am meek

( Moses was meek too. Num 12:3 )

Jesus would likely get challenged for his statement seeing as how he was
very not passive while evicting merchants from the Temple area. So, if
meekness isn't the opposite of anger and aggression, then what are we
talking about here?

The Greek word translated "meek" is praus (prah-ooce') which means mild,
defined by Webster's as gentle in nature or behavior; i.e. temperate; viz:
agreeable, approachable, reasonable, calm, mellow, and self-controlled.

Well it appears to me that Jesus is the kind of man that picks his battles
carefully, and avoids getting all riled up over trifles, i.e. he's not bipolar, nor
ready to fight at the drop of a hat, nor does he consider every disagreement
an act of war to be won at any cost.

In other words; Jesus was temperate, self controlled, agreeable, reasonable,
approachable, patient, tolerant, not easily insulted, and lenient.

Non-temperate people could be characterized as moody, grudging, irritable,
emotional, thin-skinned, belligerent, militant, pugnacious, brawling,
defensive, confrontational, and reactive; around whom everybody has to
walk on egg shells all the time to avoid setting them off.

A man mellow in demeanor should never be assumed lacking in strength,
courage, conviction, or self confidence. Anybody who's studied the lives of
Moses and Jesus can easily testify that neither of those men were either
timid, wimpy, or vacillating.

• Matt 11:29a . . . I am humble.

Jesus didn't have a problem with conceit; defined by Webster's as as
excessive self-appreciation of one's own worth or virtue. In other words
hubris; which often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an
overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities.

We can trust Jesus' opinion of himself because he has been approved by a
much higher critic than even the best and the brightest among us.

• Matt 3:16-17 . . And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway
out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw
the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a
voice from heaven, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.

And again:

• Matt 17:4-5 . . Peter said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you
wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a
voice from the cloud said: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well
pleased. Listen to him.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• John 8:23-24 . . You are from below; I am from above. You are of this
world; I am not of this world.

Jesus had a tremendous advantage over his opponents. Before coming into
the world as the flesh of John 1:14, the Word was with God (John 1:1) which
means his religious training and his personal experience are far more
reliable, and far more advanced than theirs. Everything Jesus knew about
the Father was given to him straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak,
rather than from Judaism's rabbis who, even to this day, tend to disagree
among themselves.

• John 3:31-34 . . He has come from above and is greater than anyone else.
I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth,
but he has come from heaven. He tells what he has seen and heard, but how
few believe what he tells them! Those who believe him discover that God is
true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon
him without measure or limit.

• John 8:26 . .He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things
which I have heard of Him.

NOTE: According to Matt 12:42, Luke 11:31, John 1:1-14, and Col 2:3;
Christ's wisdom trumps Solomon's, so beware using proof texts from
Solomon's thoughts to moderate Christ's.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
• Matt 28:20 . . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age.

I would've expected Jesus to say "I will be with you" but "I am with you" is
better because it assured Jesus' men that his departure forty days later
would not cause an interruption in their association, viz: Jesus'
accompaniment with his men is permanent and perpetual.

The Greek word translated "age" is aion (ahee-ohn') which is the very same
word in the beginning of chapter 24 at verse 3 which reads:

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him
privately. Tell us-- they said --when will this happen, and what will be the
sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

It's been construed by some that "the end of the age" spoken of in Matt
24:3 and Matt 28:20 is the end of the world predicted at 2Pet 3:10 and Rev
21:1 but judging by Jesus' attending comments, I'm pretty sure it's limited
to the space of history between when he was here last time till the day when
he returns next time.

When Jesus made the promise in Matt 28:20, he had roughly 120 core
supporters (Acts 1:15) and several hundred rank and file (1Cor 15:6) yet he
made the promise to only the eleven apostles.

Anyway, in order for the Lord's promise to be valid, it had to include the
apostles' afterlife existence seeing as how they're all gone now and the end
of the age is not yet.

God made a similar promise to Jacob in the 28th chapter of Genesis which
reads:

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you
back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised
you."

That promise had to include Jacob's afterlife; which suggests an explanation
for Jesus' comment at Matt 22:31-32 where he said:

"But about the resurrection of the dead-have you not read what God said to
you: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He
is not the God of the dead but of the living."
_