CHRIST'S UNIQUE CLAIMS

Some of the most obvious considerations, when thinking about the supremacy of Christ, are the claims He made about Himself.  Other teachers said they were telling the truth.  Christ said, "I ... am the truth" (John 14:6).  Other teachers asked people to follow their teachings.  Christ asked people to follow Him.  More than twenty times in the Gospels Jesus spoke about the need to follow Him.  The other great leaders taught people to worship God… Jesus accepted the worship of Thomas (John 20:28).  Jesus made statements that clearly implied that He was God, and some of His hearers were so scandalized by these remarks that twice they wanted to stone Him for blasphemy (John 8:54-59; 10:30, 31).

Seven "I am" statements appear in John's Gospel, showing that Christ claimed to be the source of eternal life.  He said, "I am the bread of life" (6:35); "I am the light of the world" (8:12); "I am the gate" (10:7, 9); "I am the good shepherd" (10:11); "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25); "I am the way and the truth and the life" (14:6); "I am the true vine" (15:1).  Leon Morris reminds us that "in each case the Greek form of 'I am' is emphatic."  Each saying includes the personal pronoun "I."  "There is no need to include the personal pronoun unless emphasis is required."  Morris concludes that to Jewish ears, the words I am "aroused associations of the divine."  These and other statements of Christ make us agree with J. T. Seamands' statement that the uniqueness of Christ "is not something we concede to Christ, but something He confronts us with." 

-- Ajith Fernando in “The Christian's Attitude Toward World Religions” 

#6382

THE “I AM” OF JESUS – Part 2 of 2

John’s Gospel gives us a series of breathtaking declarations from Jesus -- statements that don’t just describe what He does, but reveal who He is. We continue today with the last four. Take time with each of these statements. Let them draw you closer to Christ.

4. “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11):  He knows your name. He leads you with tenderness. He seeks the lost. He lays down His life for you. Let His voice be the loudest in your life today.

5. “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25):  Jesus doesn’t just promise life after death -- He brings life into the dead places now. Wherever hope has faded, He speaks resurrection. Where do you need His life-giving touch?

6. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6):  Jesus is not one option among many. He is the path to the Father, the truth that sets us free, and the life that never ends. Follow Him with fresh trust today.

7. “I am the True Vine” (John 15:1):  We are not called to strive, but to abide. Fruitfulness flows from connection, not effort. What would it look like to rest in Him instead of trying to produce for Him? If you want to be fruitful, concentrate on your relationship with Jesus.

Each “I Am” is a doorway into the heart of Jesus. Each one reveals a facet of His glory. Each one invites us to trust Him more deeply. He is everything we need. He is everything our world longs for. He is the great “I Am.”

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6334

THE “I AM” OF JESUS – Part 1 of 2

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  (John 8:58)

The Gospel of John gives us a series of seven breathtaking declarations from Jesus -- statements that don’t just describe what He does, but reveal who He is. Each “I Am” pulls back the curtain on His divine identity, echoing the name God spoke to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM.”  In Jesus, the eternal God steps into human history and says, “This is who I am for you.” Take time with each statement. Let these words draw you closer to Him as we approach Holy Week.

1. “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35):  Jesus meets our deepest hunger -- not with something, but with Himself. We chase satisfaction in a thousand places, but only Christ can fill the emptiness within us. Where are you hungry today? Bring that hunger to the One who satisfies.

2. “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12):  In a world clouded by confusion, fear, and darkness, Jesus shines with truth, hope, and clarity. He doesn’t just show the way -- He is the way. Invite His light into the places where shadows still linger.

3. “I am the Gate” (John 10:7):  Jesus is the doorway into safety, rest, and abundant life. He guards, guides, and welcomes all who come to Him. Are you trying to live life out there through your own strength? Walk in through His grace instead. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

#6333

LIVING IN THE PRESENT

“God replied to Moses, ‘I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.’”  (Exodus 3:14 NLT)

Live life in the present tense. When we spend our time dwelling on mistakes we have made in the past (which we can’t change) or anticipating problems in the future (which can’t be foreseen), we are prone to stress. And we are robbed of the joy of the present moment. It is interesting that in the Old Testament the most holy name for God is translated “I Am.” And throughout the Gospel of John Jesus refers to Himself as “I Am.”

The following piece by Helen Mallicoat reminds us of the significance of that truth in our lives:

I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking to me. “My name is I Am.” He paused. I waited. He continued. “When you live in the past, with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I Was. When you live in the future, with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not I Will Be. When you live in this moment, it is not hard. I am here, My name is I Am.” 

-- Robert Jeffress in “Choose Your Attitude Change Your Life: How to Make Life’s Circumstances Work for You, Not Against You”

#6297

THE GATE

Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:7-10 NIV)

If you are familiar with the “I am” passages in the Gospels, then you probably remember this verse as the “I am the door” passage. I wondered why the modern translators changed this to “gate”? Perhaps because the Greek word has its root in a word that means “to rush in; properly, that through which a rush is made.” Thus, in the context of sheep and shepherd, it seems appropriate to think of a gate. And when Jesus completed this saying with the promise, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”; this gate or door should be one that we want to rush through.

-- Rev. Kenneth A. Mortonson in “What Do You See?”

#4209

WHERE THERE IS NEED, THERE IS GOD

Just as water is ever seeking the lowest depths in order to fulfill them, so is Jehovah ever seeking out [our] need in order to satisfy it. Where there is need, there is God. Where there is sorrow, misery, unhappiness, suffering, confusion, folly, oppression, there is the I AM, yearning to turn [our] sorrow into bliss whenever [we] will let Him. It is not, therefore, the hungry seeking for bread, but the Bread seeking the hungry; not the sad seeking for joy, but rather Joy seeking the sad; not emptiness seeking fullness, but rather Fullness seeking emptiness. And it is not merely that God supplies our need, but He Himself becomes the fulfillment of our need.

-- Roy and Revell Hession in We Would See Jesus


#4044

WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?

"Jesus asks the disciples, 'Who do you say I am?'" (Matthew 16:15)

Jesus Christ is end of all, and the centre to which all tends.  Whoever knows Him knows the reason of everything.

-- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

#3635

WHO IS JESUS?

"Jesus asks the disciples, 'Who do you say I am?'" (Matthew 16:15)

We observe that the teaching of our Lord Himself, in which there is no imperfection, is not given in that cut-and-dried, fool-proof, systematic fashion we might have expected or desired.  He wrote no book.  We have only reported sayings, most of them uttered in answer to questions, shaped in some degree by their context.  And when we have collected them all, we cannot reduce them to a system.  He preaches but He does not lecture.  He uses paradox, proverb, exaggeration, parable, irony, even (I mean no irreverence) the 'wisecrack.'  He utters maxims, which, like popular proverbs, if rigorously taken, may seem to contradict one another.  His teaching therefore, cannot be grasped by the intellect alone, cannot be 'got up' as if it were a 'subject'.  If we try to do that with it, we shall find Him the most elusive of teachers.  He will not be, in the way we want, 'pinned down.'  The attempt is (again I mean no irreverence) like trying to bottle a sunbeam."

-- C. S. Lewis


#3624

A KING WORTH FOLLOWING

If you have a Sunday school image of Jesus as mousy and passive, [the Book of] Revelation will help you forget it.  The risen Christ appears to John in chapter 1, and John faints.  Jesus declares, "Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One, I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades.  Write, therefore, what you have seen." (Revelation 1:17-19)

Jesus proceeds to give instructions for all the churches John is overseeing.  He then reveals the throne room of heaven, a place of awe-inspiring worship. If you allow yourself to picture these scenes, your private world will shrink and you'll see why this is a King worth following, even into the mouth of hell.

Revelation is not primarily about Satan or the Antichrist.  It's about Jesus Christ, King of a glorious kingdom in which you are invited, even now, to participate.

-- Karen Lee-Thorp in A Compact Guide to the Bible


#3622

CHRIST'S UNIQUE CLAIMS

Some of the most obvious considerations, when thinking about the supremacy of Christ, are the claims He made about Himself.  Other teachers said they were telling the truth.  Christ said, "I ... am the truth" (John 14:6).  Other teachers asked people to follow their teachings.  Christ asked people to follow Him.  More than twenty times in the Gospels Jesus spoke about the need to follow Him.  The other great leaders taught people to worship God… Jesus accepted the worship of Thomas (John 20:28).  Jesus made statements that clearly implied that He was God, and some of His hearers were so scandalized by these remarks that twice they wanted to stone Him for blasphemy (John 8:54-59; 10:30, 31).

Seven "I am" statements appear in John's Gospel, showing that Christ claimed to be the source of eternal life.  He said, "I am the bread of life" (6:35); "I am the light of the world" (8:12); "I am the gate" (10:7, 9); "I am the good shepherd" (10:11); "I am the resurrection and the life" (11:25); "I am the way and the truth and the life" (14:6); "I am the true vine" (15:1).  Leon Morris reminds us that "in each case the Greek form of 'I am' is emphatic."  Each saying includes the personal pronoun "I."  "There is no need to include the personal pronoun unless emphasis is required."  Morris concludes that to Jewish ears, the words I am "aroused associations of the divine."  These and other statements of Christ make us agree with J. T. Seamands' statement that the uniqueness of Christ "is not something we concede to Christ, but something He confronts us with."

-- Ajith Fernando in The Christian's Attitude Toward World Religions


#3614