I have given you a list of key verses to memorize, and outlined some key concepts, such as forgiveness of sin. To be considered a disciple of Christ, or if you are considering following Christ, you should consider very carefully whom you are choosing to follow. Who did He claim to be? It makes a big difference how you regard Him, and how you respond to Him, don't you think? So, let's take a look at what Jesus said about Himself.
Let's take a look at John, chapter 8.
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He [i]has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
The Jews were confused about Jesus' sayings, so He clarified things with two contrasting statements about identity. The Jews were from "below." He said He was from "above." The Jews were "of this world." Jesus said He was "not of this world. What does that mean? Was He claiming to be some kind of space alien, and extra-terrestrial? Perhaps He was alien to this world, in a way. But, all these statements offer is that something about Jesus' nature was not "of this world" and His home or origin was somewhere "above." Who comes from "above"? That's a good question to ask.
The Jews asked "Who are You?" Jesus did not answer directly, but said, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?" Even from the beginning of His ministry, He had presented Himself as the Messiah. But, more than that, through His words and His works, He had been showing them that He was much more than a prophet or just a man sent from God, like John the Baptist.
I find it fascinating that Jesus said, "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." John 5:22 says "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,..." The Jews were facing the one who knew them, who had much He could say about them, and He would judge them someday, but while on this Earth, He came not to judge. That was not His mission. His mission was to save mankind, not to judge it. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). But, after accomplishing His mission, He would one day fulfill another mission, to judge all things: creation, believers, non-believers, both humans and spirits...all.
I want you to take note of some interesting statements that Jesus made about Himself. For example, in verse 24 it says, "unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. The translator inserted the pronoun, "He," but the Greek text says, "Unless you believe that I am (ego eimi). The Jews missed it this first time, and thought Jesus had forgotten to fill in the blank...who? "Who are you?" they asked. Well, the Jews still didn't get it, so Jesus said in verse 28, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me." Note that curious phrase again, "then you will know that I am....without the object. I am whom? But, the Greek just says, "ego eimi," "I am." Some heard, and understood the words, and believed Him.
But, still some of the Jews did not comprehend the impact of His words. So, Jesus continued.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do."
Note well here that Jesus does refer to Himself as a man. This great passage highlights the deity of Christ, but He, Himself, also highlighted His humanity also. But, He was a sinless man. Note that in verse 46 He challenged them to convict Him of sin, and He was met by their silence. He spoke the truth, but gave the reason why they did not believe Him, because they were being influenced by the "father of lies," the devil, that fallen archangel, Lucifer, who tried to usurp the throne that belonged to the Son. The unbelieving listeners had chosen sides against the Son, and by doing so, had become "not of God," and their spiritual insight was darkened, so they could not see to Whom they were speaking, nor believe in Him.
41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Although, Jesus has used the phrase "ego eimi," "I am," twice before, the context might have been unclear to the Jews what He was saying, that He was claiming to be divine, identified with the "I AM" of the Pentateuch. But, in the context of talking about Abraham, He could not have made it any clearer. "Before Abraham was born, I am." The grammar is a bit odd here, as "I am" is present tense, but to be consistent with the first phrase, Jesus could have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was born," but, it doesn't say that. This time He clearly implied that before Abraham was born, He already existed. The Jews understood His grammatical play on words, and took up stones to try to kill Him, because in their minds He had committed blasphemy, making Himself equal with the great "I AM," whose name they would not even speak.
As a side note, Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to "see His day." It is likely that this refers to the appearance of the appearance of the "Angel of the Lord," the pre-incarnate Christ. The word "angel" means messenger. Some of the "messengers" sent by God in Genesis 18 "appeared" to be men. But, to one of the three, Abraham referred to Him as "Lord." In Gen. 18:22 it says that Abraham stood before "the Lord."
So, what have we learned? Jesus, Himself, referred to Himself as a man. But, He also identified Himself as "I AM." Jesus Christ has two natures, a human nature, but also divine. His human nature was fixed in time, beginning at conception. But, His divine nature had no beginning, an eternal "present tense" of being as the Son, distinct from the Father, yet having the same divine nature as the Father. Believing that Jesus is God, the "I AM," is essential to being born again unto eternal life. And those who continue believing, who allow His word to permeate their being, will be freed from the power and the penalty of sin, becoming "free indeed."
We have skipped a few stones off this very deep pond. I hope you will continue your study. We will continue the study of Jesus' claims about Himself with a study of Matthew 28:20, regarding His claim of living eternally into the future.
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