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Jesus’ “I Am” Statements
7
Life Changing Truths
by Stephen Altrogge
I love
Jesus’ “I am,” statements in the book of John.
When
someone says, “I am…,” it reveals something about their
identity. About the core of their being. About what is most important to them
and about them.
For
example, when I say, “I am a Christian,” I’m making a big, bold statement that
my identity in Christ is what’s most important to me.
So when
Jesus says, “I am…,” we should pay close attention. He’s
pulling back the curtain on his glorious character. He’s telling us something
profoundly important – something we don’t want to miss.
With that
in mind, let’s spend some time savoring Jesus’, “I am,” statements.
1. I
Am The Bread of Life
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not
hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst “ (John 6:35).
The
original hearers of this, “I am,” statement of Jesus would
have had two things in mind:
1. They had just seen Jesus miraculously feed a massive, teeming,
ravenous crowd using nothing but a few loaves and fishes.
2. God had miraculously provided bread in the desert for the people of Israel.
You could
say that had bread on the brain.
But
here’s the thing:
Both the
feeding of the crowd and the manna in the wilderness were intended to point to
a greater reality.
Jesus
tells them not to long for physical bread, even if that
bread is provided by God himself. Rather, they are to long for and
live for the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
What is
this bread of life? It’s Jesus himself.
Just like
physical bread satisfies our deepest hunger cravings, so Jesus satisfies the
longings of our hearts. He is the one who “fills us,” our deepest joy and most
satisfying pleasure.
Without
Jesus, even the most sumptuous pleasures of the world are empty and
unsatisfying. With Jesus, we can be content even in the midst of poverty.
Charles Spurgeon said:
I have
heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread
and a little water. Lifting up her hands, she said as a blessing, “What! All
this, and Christ too?”
The old
woman in the cottage truly understood what it meant that Christ is the bread of
life. He satisfied her even though she had nothing but a piece of bread and a
little water.
2. I
Am The Light Of The World
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Jesus’, “I
am,” statement that he is the bread of life is a profound
reminder to us that our only hope for joy and satisfaction is in him. He truly
is the bread of life.
This is
truly a profound, “I am,” statement by Jesus. Consider all the
times that God gave light to his people.
In the very beginning, God said, “Let there be light.”
He led
the people of Israel by a pillar of blazing fire.
After
Moses beheld the glory of the Lord, his face was so bright that he had to wear
a veil.
Scripture says that God dwells in “unapproachable light”.
And yet
here, Jesus is putting himself in a different category altogether. He
provides spiritual light for anyone who follows him.
Those who
don’t know Christ walk in the darkness, stumbling into landmines of sin and
destruction. They don’t walk in the path of peace and joy and righteousness.
They do what is right in their own, sin-blinded eyes.
But we
who know Christ have had the light of Christ shine in our hearts. God has
opened our eyes to see behold the glory of Christ and we now walk in the good,
well-lit paths of God.
Aren’t
you glad that Jesus is the light of the world? Aren’t you grateful that even
though you were once blind, now you can see?
3. I
Am The Door Of The Sheep
Time and
again in the Old Testament, God calls himself the shepherd and his people
sheep. God is the good, faithful shepherd, and he keeps vigilant, zealous watch
over his sheep.
When
Jesus says that he’s the door of the sheep, he’s making a startling claim about
himself. He’s saying that the only way to
be part of God’s people is through him.
There are
not many paths or many doors to God. There is a single door to God, and that
door is Jesus himself.
The
glorious good news is that when we embrace Jesus as our joy and treasure, we
enter through him into God’s people.
And when
we become part of God’s people, God himself becomes our shepherd.
Read that
last sentence again. God. Is. Your. Shepherd. Isn’t that precious, sweet news?
He is guiding you, keeping watch over you, caring for you, providing for you.
You have
entered into God’s people through the door of Jesus, and now you have the
living God as your Shepherd.
You can say along with David, “The Lord is my shepherd, I
shall not want.”
4. I
Am The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
This is
such a glorious, affection-stirring truth. Jesus is the door, and by entering
through him, I become one of God’s treasured “sheep.”
Jesus is
also the good shepherd who cares for his sheep.
I
desperately need a good shepherd to lead me, guide me, protect me, and keep me
from wandering into sin. I need a shepherd to vigilantly
watch over me as I walk through the Valley of Death.
And more
than anything else, I need a shepherd who will sacrifice his life to save me
from sins. A shepherd who will lay down his life for me in order to purchase me
for his own.
Jesus is
all of those things, and so much more.
Aren’t
you grateful that Jesus is your shepherd?
He cares about every detail of your life, no matter how mundane. Everything you
experience must first pass through the loving hands of your shepherd.
John Piper says, “I might indeed have to lack many
things in following the shepherd, but I will never lack anything that the
shepherd thinks is good for me.”
Or as Psalm 84:11 puts it, “No good thing does
he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Because
Jesus is your good shepherd, you can be absolutely sure that he won’t withhold
a single good thing from you. What sweet news that is.
5. I
Am The Resurrection and The Life
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes
in me, though he die, yet shall he live… ” (John 11:25)
This is
staggering.
Jesus’, “I
am,” statement here goes far beyond simply promising eternal life to
all who believe in him, though that’s certainly included.
When
Jesus says that he is the resurrection and the life, he’s saying that
explosive, resurrection power is found in him.
That he
has mastery over death itself.
That all
who believe in him will someday experience a bodily resurrection.
Our eternal destiny is not as souls without bodies.
When
Christ returns, we will receive new, glorious, imperishable resurrection
bodies. Only Jesus Christ, the king of kings, has the power to make this
happen.
It is
Jesus who will make bring these words to pass:
“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this
mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written:
“‘Death
is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
“The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:53-57).
Aren’t
you overwhelmingly grateful that Jesus will give you a new, imperishable,
immortal resurrection body? He truly is the resurrection and the life.
6. I
Am The Way, The Truth, and The Life
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Jesus is
gloriously inclusive and wonderfully exclusive.
Jesus
invites everyone to come to the Father so that they might
receive eternal life, experience the power of the resurrection, know God as
their shepherd, and walk in the brilliant light that Jesus provides.
But Jesus
also offers himself as the only way to
experience these incredible realities. There are not many paths to God, not
many roads up the divine mountain.
Jesus,
and only Jesus, is the way, truth, and life.
Salvation
runs exclusively through him, and he offers it freely to all. This makes Jesus
infinitely worth of praise.
He is
God’s ONLY solution for our sin problem, and for that reason deserves all
praise and honor and glory.
7. I
Am The Vine
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me
and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can
do nothing” (John 15:5).
Has there
ever been a clearer statement about the life-giving power of Jesus and our
absolute dependence on him? Just as a branch can’t survive if it’s not
connected to the vine, so we can’t survive if we’re not connected
to Christ.
Spiritual
life courses through Jesus, and as long as we’re connected to Christ, his
spiritual life also flows through us. Isn’t that an absolutely mind-boggling
thought?
Because
we are in Christ, the life of Christ himself flows to us and through us. We
truly do have access to the divine, world-changing power of Christ.
The
opposite reality is also true, in that apart from Christ, we can do absolutely
nothing of true spiritual value. It’s only in and through Jesus Christ that we
can honor God.
The
implication is that we absolutely must stay close to Christ. We must regularly
draw near to him through prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other
believers, and the other spiritual disciplines he has given us.
Jesus is
the true vine, and when we abide in him, we bear much fruit. If we neglect to
abide in him, we’ll shrivel up spiritually.
Savor
The “I Am” Statements of Jesus
Jesus’ “I
am” statements are not intended to be received as mere intellectual
knowledge. Rather, they should motivate us to worship Jesus for who he is. They
reveal his glorious character to us.
He is the
bread that satisfies our deepest longings.
He is the
light that shines on the path of righteousness.
He is the
door into the people of God.
He is the
good Shepherd who cares for the people of God.
He is our
hope of a resurrection.
He is the
only way to God.
He is the
vine through which we experience the power of God.
Stephen Altrogge
I'm a husband, dad, writer. I created The
Blazing Center and have written some books which people seem to like. You can
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