"The Great I Am"
Jesus Christ is referred to as "The Great I Am" because He connects Himself directly to the name God used to reveal Himself to Moses in the Old Testament. Why is this significant? This is significant because:
- Exodus 3:14: When Moses asked God for His name, God replied, "I AM WHO I AM" and told Moses to tell the Israelites that "I Am has sent Me to you." This name, often translated as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah," signifies God's self-existence, eternality, and constant presence with His people.
- Jesus' Claims: Jesus uses "I Am" statements about Himself in ways that His Jewish audience understood as claims of divinity. For example, in John 8:58, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, it is said that before Abraham was, I Am." This statement provoked the Jews to try to stone Him for blasphemy because they understood He was claiming to be God.
- Connecting to Yahweh: By using the phrase "I Am," Jesus was asserting that He was the same Divine Being who had revealed himself to Moses as Yahweh. This implied not just that Jesus Christ existed before Abraham, but that He possessed the divine nature and eternal existence associated with God's name.
- Other "I Am" Statements: Beyond this direct link to Exodus 3:14, Jesus also used "I Am" with other descriptive phrases to reveal His nature and role, such as "I Am the bread of life" or "I Am the light of the world", further emphasizing His divine identity and power.
- In essence, Jesus' use of "I Am," particularly in contexts where He claims to pre-exist Abraham, is interpreted as a direct assertion of His divine nature and His identification with the God of the Old Testament, Yahweh. It is a claim to be the same self-existent, eternal God who revealed himself to Moses. This is why He is called "The GREAT I Am".
"Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of His covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared ..."
How Great Thou Art
(SONG & lyric video)
by Garett & Kate