Bible Study Series - The 7 'I AM' Statements of Christ
In the Old Testament, God the Father called Himself ‘I AM THAT I AM’ (Exodus 3: 13,14) to identify Himself to the Israelites. Christ used the phrase ‘I AM’, 7 times in the Gospel of John. This is one of the reasons that the Jewish religious leaders were upset with Him. By using this phrase to describe Himself, Christ was equating Himself with God the Father. For the Jewish people, this was considered blasphemy. But, they should have realized based on their own Scriptures that Christ had come as the Messiah and was in fact equal to God the Father.
Exodus 3:13,14 - Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Today, we’ll discuss the next three ‘I AM’ statements of Christ.
I Am the Door (John 10:7-9)
I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14)
JOHN 10:7-9 - Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
JOHN 10: 11,14 - I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
This portion of scripture is very familiar to us. Christ is comparing Himself and the church as the Shepherd and His sheep. Christ calls Himself the door of the sheep. In ancient times, the sheep pen was a structure that was constructed of loosely stacked stones but had only one entrance. That entrance was an opening for the sheep to come in and go out. The shepherd would lay at the threshold of that entrance and act as the door. If a thief or wild animal wanted to get into the enclosure, it had to climb over the shepherd to get to the sheep.
This is a beautiful picture of Christ and His love for us. He stands before us as Protector against all harm. The enemy cannot reach us without going through Him first. Christ also calls Himself the Good Shepherd. In ancient times, a shepherd would have to risk his life for the sake of his flock if the flock was attacked. In John 10:12,13, we see that the hireling/worker for the shepherd does not care for the sheep and will flee when danger comes. The shepherd will never do that because he cares for his flock.
How does this apply to us?
These verses show us how much Christ loves us. He came down to this earth to fulfill God’s plan of salvation. He loves us enough to lay down His life for us. Like sheep, we can do nothing for Him. We are utterly dependent on Him for our every need, yet He doesn’t throw us away. He thinks of us as precious, cares for us, and keeps us from harm. As such, we should be good sheep and heed our Shepherd’s voice. We should hear His voice and follow His commands. We should not heed the voices of strangers or follow the excitements of the world. We must focus only on Christ, our Shepherd.
I Am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
JOHN 11:25,26 - Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? The context around this verse is also very familiar to all of us.
Christ spoke this ‘I AM’ statement to Martha when he came to Bethany after Lazarus’ death. It was a comfort and an affirmation to her and us.
With this ‘I AM’ statement, Christ is proclaiming that He is the source of eternal life. He is also showing that He has power over death. In those days, Jewish people believed that the soul only departed from the body after 3 days of being dead. Jesus came to Bethany after Lazarus had been in the tomb for 4 days. Christ showed His divine power before the people by resurrecting Lazarus after what the Israelites assumed was impossible. Had Christ come to Bethany earlier, the miracle of the resurrection would not have had the same effect on the Jewish people as it did.
How does this apply to us?
This ‘I AM’ statement shows us how powerful Christ is. He is fully God and fully man. He understands our frustrations and griefs, yet still takes time to comfort us, as He did with Martha after the death of Lazarus. Christ has complete power over death, which is seen in this miracle and through His own death and resurrection. By being children of God, we no longer have to fear death itself. We know that because Christ is the Resurrection and the Life, we will live eternally with Him even though our bodies will die.
The Series continues with the rest of the ‘I AM’ Statements of Christ
