Jesus used seven metaphorical ‘I am’ statements in revealing whom he was in the gospel of John, which corresponded to details regarding the circumstances of his birth and miracles. The book of John describes the seven of thirty five miracles, which are recorded in four counts. John considered the seven miracles in making people believe that Jesus was the son of God and the Christ. In believing that Jesus was the son of God, people would develop faith in him, which would bring life into them. During his ministry, Jesus performed numerous miracles, which illustrated that he was the true Messiah (Santos para 1). John used the seven miracles in illustrating and proving that the power of Jesus was stemmed from God.
The first time Jesus used the metaphorical ‘I am’ was after the miracle in Galilee where he multiplied five loaves of bread and two small fishes to feed a multitude. After the miracle, Jesus together with his disciples crossed the sea to Capernaum and people followed him because he had performed a miracle where they ate bread. Jesus challenged them not to seek for the physical food but everlasting life through the son of God. This is also reflected in the book of Isaiah 55:2, where Isaiah challenged people to seek more of spiritual nourishment rather than physical. The people said to Jesus that their forefathers had eaten manna in the times of Moses, when Jesus challenged them that manna was not bread from heaven (Williamson 335). When they asked Jesus to give them the bread from heaven, he told them that he was the bread from heaven using ‘I am’. He told them that although their forefathers ate manna, they died, but whoever will have him would have life everlasting.
At the second time, Jesus used the metaphorical ‘I am’ in mount Olive where the Pharisees and scribes had brought a woman who had committed adultery to try him. However, Jesus knew that the Pharisees were trying him, and he dared them to stone her if they had not sinned. However, guided by their own conscience, they all left and the woman was left alone. That is when Jesus said to her that he was the light of the world and whoever followed him would not walk in darkness, but would have the light of life. This can be justified in the book of Deuteronomy 19:15, where it is stated that a witness should not turn against another man for a sin, which he has committed (Kaine 24). This also reveals the divinity of Jesus as the light of the world.
In John 10:9, Jesus also stated that he was the door and whoever entered through him would be saved and would go in and out and find pasture. Jesus said these words as a parable when he was teaching people in Jerusalem, where he was rejected. These words are also reflected in the book of Ezekiel 34:12, which states that a good shepherd is able to seek a flock of his sheep, which are scattered in a dark and cloudy day. In John 10:11, Jesus also states “I am the good shepherd” he stated that a good shepherd would lay his own life for the sake of his sheep. The words were used as a parable when Jesus was teaching people in Jerusalem. In this parable, Jesus was portraying his death when he died for the sake of the sinners (Nelson). This also reflects the deity of Christ as a son of God who died for the sake of the sinners in the world.
Jesus told Martha the sister to Lazarus ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ Jesus also stated that whoever believed in him would live. This was when Jesus heard of the death of Lazarus and was going to raise him from death. Martha on hearing that Jesus was heading there went out to meet him. Jesus also affirmed to her that whoever lives and believes in him would not die but have life everlasting (Nelson). Martha believed him by saying he believed that he was Christ the son of God. This also provides an illustration of the divinity of Jesus Christ.
On the Passover night, prior to his day of crucifixion Jesus was with the disciples when Jesus was comforting them telling them that he was going to prepare a place for them. Thomas told him that they did not know where he was going, and they did not know the way when Jesus answered him saying “I am the way the truth and the life” no man was to access the kingdom of God unless they go through him. This shows the deity of Jesus as the son of God and as the only way through which people would talk to God.
Jesus also told his disciples that he was the true and his father the vine-grower in John 15:1, when he was addressing his disciples after Passover. This was a night prior to his crucifixion offering the last teaching and preparing the disciples for his crucifixion. He told them that he was the vine, and they were the branches, and branches that did not bear fruit would be taken. This was an illustration that they had to spread the gospel to the world and work productively in the works of God (Kaine 23). The verse also reflects the divinity of Jesus as a son of the son of God.
Works Cited
Kaine, Kristina. The Seven I AM sayings in the Gospel of St John. New York: Kristina Kaine,
2012.
Nelson, Thomas. Holy Bible, New King James Version (NKJV). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc,
2009.
Santos, David Q. "The Deity of Jesus in the Gospel of John In Contrast to Mormon Theology." 1
September 2009. Biblical Connections . 15 August 2013 <http://biblicalconnections.blogspot.com/2009/09/deity-of-jesus-in-gospel-of-john-in.html>.
Williamson, Lamar. Preaching the Gospel of John: Proclaiming the Living Word. Virginia:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
