Everything Turns on Who He Is
In the boat the disciples had asked, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41). In time the whole country was asking. He had fed thousands, healed the sick, and spoken like no one they had ever heard. Some said a prophet. Some said a deceiver. Some said a king. Jesus did not leave the question open. He answered it Himself, with two small words: I am (John 8:58).
Seven times in John's Gospel He adds a picture. I am the bread of life (John 6:35). I am the light of the world (John 8:12). I am the door (John 10:9). I am the good shepherd (John 10:11). I am the resurrection, and the life (John 11:25). I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). I am the true vine (John 15:1). And in the temple, with His enemies around Him, He says it with no picture at all: Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). They reached for stones.
Nothing you believe matters more than what you believe about Jesus. It shapes your days, and it settles your eternity. If He is a good teacher, you can take His advice and leave the rest. If He is the God who spoke to Moses, He has a claim on all that you are. John wrote his book for that very reason: that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:31).
The seven sayings in John's Gospel in which Jesus joins the words I am to a picture of what He is to His people, together with the sayings in which He uses the words alone, above all Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58).
The Deity of Christ gives the full doctrine, and John surveys the book. This study walks through the sayings as He spoke them.
Who do you say He is? And if He is who He said He is, what will you do with Him?
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For Deeper Study
- John: The Gospel of BeliefAmazon Merrill C. TenneyA classic evangelical study that follows John's purpose from the signs to the cross.
- Be AliveAmazon Warren W. WiersbeA warm, clear walk through John 1 to 12 by an evangelical Bible teacher with a Baptist background.
- The Forgotten TrinityAmazon James R. WhiteA Reformed Baptist's biblical case, with attention to Jehovah's Witness and Oneness objections. We differ on election.
- Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's WitnessesAmazon Ron RhodesAn evangelical apologist's practical guide to the verses Witnesses raise.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Miracles
Jesus' miracles were signs of who He is, works of compassion, and a foretaste of His kingdom. They happened as the Gospels say, they were written that we might believe, and God still answers prayer and heals as He wills, though He has not promised healing in this life.
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