The Eight "I AM" Statements in the Gospel of John

166 Pages·2015·0.6 MB·English

by  Tom Lee

The Eight "I AM"

Statements in

the Gospel of John

by

James Thomas Lee, Jr.
03/28/15
08/03/21
02/12/22
Copyrighted 2015 by James Thomas Lee, Jr.
ISBN 978-1508769590, 1508769591 (paper)
Imprint: Independently published
Table of Contents

Chapter Page Number

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 1 – AUTHOR, DATE, AND OCCASION OF JOHN'S GOSPEL ......9
A. DATE AND AUTHORSHIP OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ................................................9
1. The Identity of the Disciple that Jesus Had Loved .........................................12
2. All of the above Clues together indicate the Apostle John.............................14
B. SOME OF THE REASONS THAT JOHN HAD WRITTEN HIS GOSPEL ..........................17
C. AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION ABOUT JOHN ....................................................19
CHAPTER 2 – JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE................................................23
A. JESUS WAS GOING TO HIS THIRD PASSOVER ........................................................27
1. An orderly Organization among the Disciples ...............................................29
2. Jesus had fed five Thousand Men and their Families .....................................31
B. JESUS HAD SAID THAT HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE ................................................36
C. JESUS IS THE SOURCE OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL BREAD ...............................40
CHAPTER 3 – JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD ..................................43
A. JESUS HAD NOT TAKEN THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE TO JERUSALEM .......................44
B. THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES HAD TRIED TO TEMPT HIM ....................................46
1. How one can know that it had been a Plot against Jesus ................................48
2. What Jesus might have written in the Ground ................................................50
3. Why Jesus had not done as the Law of Moses Commanded ..........................52
C. JESUS HAD TOLD THEM THAT HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD...........................53
D. JESUS HAD AGAIN BEEN OPPOSED BY THE PHARISEES .........................................55
E. TODAY PRESENTS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST ....58
CHAPTER 4 – JESUS IS THE GREAT "I AM" ..................................................61
A. JESUS HAD ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THEY WERE ABRAHAM'S SEED .....................62
B. JESUS HAD SAID THAT SATAN WAS THEIR FATHER ..............................................64
C. JESUS HAD SAID THAT ABRAHAM HAD REJOICED IN HIM .....................................66
1. He had said that He had been before Abraham ..............................................69
2. Why the Jews had been so Skeptical of Jesus ................................................71
D. HOW TO BE ETERNALLY SAVED BY THE GREAT "I AM" ......................................73
CHAPTER 5 – JESUS IS THE DOOR OF THE SHEEP .....................................79
A. JESUS HAD SHARED A PARABLE ABOUT A DOOR .................................................82
1. The Thieves and the Robbers .........................................................................83
2. The Shepherds ................................................................................................85
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3. The Porter and the Strangers ..........................................................................87
B. JESUS GIVES ABUNDANT LIFE TO HIS SHEEP .......................................................87
CHAPTER 6 – JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD ...........................................91
A. THE GOOD SHEPHERD GIVES HIS LIFE FOR ALL HIS SHEEP ................................95
1. Jesus is the Shepherd of the Jewish People and of Gentiles ...........................95
2. No one could take the Life of Jesus from Him ...............................................99
B. THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAD AGAIN CHALLENGED JESUS .......................................100
CHAPTER 7 – JESUS IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE .................101
A. MARTHA AND MARY HAD BOTH REACTED THE SAME WAY ..............................104
1. Jesus had said that He is the Resurrection and the Life ................................108
2. Why Jesus Might Have Wept .......................................................................109
B. JESUS HAS POWER OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE ............................................112
C. THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND THE PHARISEES HAD CONSPIRED AGAINST JESUS .......113
CHAPTER 8 – JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE ............117
A. JESUS HAD SAID THAT HE IS THE WAY ..............................................................121
B. JESUS HAD SAID THAT HE IS THE TRUTH ...........................................................124
1. The Truth is an Everlasting Standard and Not for Sale ................................125
2. As the Truth, Jesus is the Living Word of God ............................................128
3. The Truth of Jesus naturally leads the Saints of God into Right Paths ........129
C. JESUS HAD SAID THAT HE IS THE LIFE ...............................................................130
D. JESUS HAD SAID THAT HE IS THE "ONLY" WAY TO BE SAVED ........................131
1. The "Creator of Everything" is the "ONLY" Way to be Saved ...................132
2. An Important Exception to All People Being Born Lost ..............................135
CHAPTER 9 – JESUS IS THE TRUE VINE ......................................................139
CHAPTER 10 – FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE "I AM" STATEMENTS 145
APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................153
APPENDIX A – AN EXPLANATION OF TRUE BIBLICAL SALVATION ..155
A. CHOOSING TO BE SAVED IS AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE ..........................................156
B. SALVATION IS COMING BY FAITH TO THE "CREATOR OF EVERYTHING" .............158
C. LOOKING PAST THE DECEPTIONS AND THE DISTRACTIONS OF LIFE ....................161
D. THE ONLY CONCLUSION THAT MAKES SENSE ..................................................162
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Chapter Page Number

ENDNOTES ........................................................................................................163
INDEX .................................................................................................................167
ABOUT THE AUTHOR .....................................................................................183
The Eight "I AM" Statements in the Gospel of John

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Introduction

In his gospel, the Apostle John had recorded eight occasions when Jesus
had made metaphorical statements about Himself. In chapter one of this text
however, the evidence to show that he had actually written the gospel by his name
will first be presented. One should note from that discussion that that gospel had
not always had his name associated with it. Therefore, there had initially been
room for some doubt. One should also note that not everyone agrees about when
that gospel had been written. So that will also be a matter for discussion. Finally,
chapter one will also consider some of the important reasons that that gospel had
even been written.
Following those discussions, chapter two will begin looking at each of the
eight "I AM" statements. Jesus had initially said in John 6:35 that He is the bread
of life. After that, He had said that He is the light of the world. He had said that
He is the great "I am." However, the point of note about those three statements is
that they had all been made during the first half of the last year of His public
ministry. That is known because of John 6:4, which says, "And the passover, a
feast of the Jews, was nigh." That verse had referred to the third Passover of the
four that Jesus had attended during His public ministry. It had also preceded His
first "I AM" statement which as was just indicated above had been in John 6:35.
After that, He had said that He is the door of the sheep. He had said that He is the
good shepherd. Those statements had probably been in December. The final
three of His "I AM" statements had been made either near the end of the final
week or during the final week of His public ministry. In the matter with Lot and
with his sisters, Jesus had said that He is the resurrection and the life. A few days

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The Eight "I AM" Statements in the Gospel of John

later, He had told His disciples that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Then
before going to the cross, He had said that He is the true vine.
Those eight "I AM" statements only appear in the gospel of John. So that
means that John has given to the world descriptions of Jesus that are not available
from any of the other gospel writers. Therefore, those descriptions of Him are
very important because they help individuals understand more about Jesus in
much the same way as the names of God in the Old Testament help one better
understand more about Him. In fact, based upon the whole of Scriptures, Jesus
having said that He is the "I AM" during His discussion about Abraham with the
Pharisees and with the Jewish people is probably the most important "I AM"
statement of the eight. The reason is because it proves that He was not just born
as a human being that had later become a god. That statement by Him literally
shows that He had existed even before Abraham despite the fact that Abraham
had lived about two thousand years before. Thus, that statement as much as any
statement in the Scriptures shows that Jesus is eternal and that He is truly the Lord
and the Son of God.
As always, the hope in writing this book will be that the reader will be
drawn into a closer relationship with the Lord. While it may not be terribly
important to understand everything about Him, there is certainly nothing wrong
with knowing a lot about Him. So in closing this introduction and just to be clear,
Jesus is the Lord. He is the Savior. He offered Himself on the cross at Calvary to
pay the sin debt for everyone that will come to Him by faith in the right spirit and
with the right attitude. Therefore, He is truly worthy of everyone's consideration,
acceptance, and worship.

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Chapter 1 – Author, Date, and Occasion of John's Gospel

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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God." [John 1:1]
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In the below three sections, the most likely author of the gospel of John
will be identified. While his name was apparently John, not everyone agrees on
the author. They also do not all agree about when the gospel had been written. In
the second section, the occasion or the reason will be discussed for why a fourth
gospel about the life of Christ had been written. Then, this chapter will conclude
by identifying a very interesting relative of the man that had probably written the
gospel of John.

a. Date and Authorship of the Gospel of John

When one begins reading the gospel of John, the first thing that he or she
might notice is that the author of the book did not identify himself or the time
period in which he was writing. By contrast, the Apostle Paul had identified
himself as the author of thirteen epistles. James had identified himself as the
author of his epistle even though he did not identify himself further than just to
give his first name. Concerning his work, however, the consensus among most
theologians and scholars is that the half-brother of Jesus, who was named James,
had actually written that epistle. The Apostle Peter had identified himself as the
author of his two epistles. Jude had identified himself as the author of his epistle

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The Eight "I AM" Statements in the Gospel of John

and also as the brother of James. But the writer of the gospel of John did not
identify himself by name so that one can conveniently know for certain who
wrote it. Of course, one should note that the book's original name had also not
been associated in any way with the name of John, either, as it is currently.
Therefore, when it was first written, it was not called the gospel of John. That
means that the obvious questions to be asked now are who wrote it and when it
was written.
The first clue is that it did not appear in the oldest New Testament
manuscripts. That was most likely because it had not yet been written. The first
manuscript in which it did appear was called P52, which has been dated to about
125 AD [1]. The second clue is that it is a gospel because it provides an account
of the incarnated life of Jesus. But in saying that it is a gospel, it is NOT one of
the synoptic gospels. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke have been called
synoptic because they share parallel accounts about the Lord's life. However, the
gospel of John was NOT written in parallel with the other three gospels. In fact,
the percent of AGREEMENT between the gospel of Matthew, the gospel of
Mark, and the gospel of Luke is about ninety-three percent. But the percent of
DISAGREEMENT between the gospel of John and those other three gospels is
about ninety-two percent. That means that the gospel of John shares a lot of
supplemental information that for the most part does not appear in the other three
gospels.
The third clue is that the author was probably Jewish because he had been
familiar with the Jewish Feast of Passover. In fact, it is from the gospel of Luke
along with the gospel of John that one can know that the ministry of Jesus had
lasted between three and four years and that He had died at around the age of

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