Jesus Christ: “I am” in the Gospel of John

I am a person. I am a man. I am a son. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a brother. I am an uncle. I am a friend. I am a worker. I am a teacher. I am an American. I am a writer. I am an artist. I am a reader. I am a runner.  I am a swimmer. I am a retired nursing tech. I am a cook. I am a minister. I am filled with holy spirit. I am a Bible believer. I am a bondslave to Jesus Christ. I am a member of the body of Christ. And all of this works together, because I am a born-again son of God.

You could probably make quite a list about yourself. Jesus Christ did. In the King James Version of the gospel of John he said, “I am” about fifty times. Let’s see what Jesus Christ said about himself.

Just Like His Dad

God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). All the fullness of God was in Christ (Colossians 2:9).  The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14). Jesus said that “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). For more information see The Father Sent His Son so We Can Have Holy Spirit, Part 2.

Since Jesus Christ was so much like his Father, they share many characteristics (whenever anyone sees our son, they say he looks just like me). Jesus Christ declared many things that God’s Messiah would be. In this blog we will compare what the Father said about Himself, and what His Son, the Messiah, said about himself.

In Part 2, we will see what these truths mean to the Christian church today.  In Part 3, we will see some other things that Jesus Christ said “I am” in the gospel of John.

The following chart shows what Jesus Christ said he was, and how that imitates characteristics of his Father.

What Jesus Christ said “I am”	Scripture reference in John	Old Testament Jehovah (Lord) title and meaning	Scripture reference
The bread of life	6:35,41,48,51	The Lord provides	Genesis 22:14
The light of the world	8:12; 9:5	The Lord that doth sanctify you	Exodus 31:13
The door of the sheep	10:7,9	The Lord gives peace	Judges 6:24
The good shepherd	10:11,14	The Lord is my shepherd	Psalms 23:1
The living resurrection	5:29; 11:25	The Lord that healeth thee	Exodus 15:26
The true and living way	14:6	The Lord our righteousness	Jeremiah 23:6; 33:16
The true vine	15:1,5	The Lord is there	Ezekiel 48:35
The true King	18:37	The Lord protects	Exodus 17:15

The Bread of Life—that the Lord Provides to Meet Our Need

In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to go to a mountain in the land of Moriah and offer his son Isaac there as a “burnt sacrifice.” Some people think God was telling Abraham to kill his son. But that is not the case. A “burnt sacrifice” means a total commitment to serve the Lord, as in the case of Jephtha’s daughter in Judges 11:31,39,40. God has foreknowledge and He was ready to supply Abraham’s need for a physical sacrifice.

Genesis 22:13,14:
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

God is called “Jehovah Jireh” in Hebrew, which means “the Lord sees and provides.” His greatest provision for mankind was giving His only begotten son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). The Living God sent His Son to be the “bread of life.”

John 6 opens with Jesus Christ feeding about 5,000 men plus women and children with five loaves and two fishes. The crowds are astounded. In fact, they want more “free stuff.”

Jesus saw their welfare attitude and told them to seek food that doesn’t perish—spiritual food. He told them that God gave manna as temporary physical food, but even that gracious gift to Israel in the wilderness was not the “true bread from heaven.” He was.

John 6:35:
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Jesus Christ was God’s answer to man’s need for eternal life and spiritual fellowship with the Father.

John 6:47-51:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
I am that bread of life.
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

The Light of the World—that the Lord Sends to Set Us Apart from It                

God told Moses that the children of Israel should separate one day each week to remember God’s promises—including the promise to send the Messiah. As they followed His instructions, God could set them apart from the darkness in the world around them.

Exodus 31:13:
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

God sent His Son as the light of the world to separate us from the darkness in the world around us. He shines in our hearts so that we can spiritually see where we need to go. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet.

One thing Jesus Christ did as the Messiah was preach the “recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18).

There were many blind in his time, physically and spiritually. Like today, he also lived in “dark times.” Jesus Christ was a “great light” for those who sat in darkness (Matthew  4:16). And he told people so.

John 8:12:
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 9:5,6:
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

The Door of the Sheep—that the Lord Opens to Give Us Peace

Gideon lived in a time when God’s people were being ravaged and stolen from by the Midianites. God wanted them to have protection and peace, so He sent Gideon to defeat their enemies.

Judges 6:22-24:
And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom [the Lord is Peace]: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon was concerned that he had seen God’s messenger face to face. He did not have the “door” that we have today. Jesus Christ gives us direct access to the Father (Ephesians 3:12). And with that access, we have peace. God told Gideon that He is “Jehovah Shalom,” the Lord Who is Peace. Today, Jesus Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).

Sheep are naturally timid and aimless animals. They need the safety of a pen, or fold, for protection. This pen must have a door in and out. Some shepherds in Jesus’s time would lay with their own bodies across the mouth of the sheepfold. They were “the door” of the sheep.

John 10:7-10:
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The Devil is “the thief” who only kills, steals, and destroys. Jesus Christ came so that we can have a more abundant life with “peaceful pastures.”

The Good Shepherd—that the Lord Sent to Shepherd Us

Jesus Christ was the son of David, a shepherd who wrote Psalm 23 showing God caring for the sheep.

Psalm 23:1:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Notice that the word “is” is italicized, meaning it was added. The original Hebrew says Jehovah Ra’ah, the Lord My Shepherd. Shepherds feed, guide, protect, water, heal, comfort, and find the sheep. Jesus Christ, in so many ways, is a shepherd like David his father, and God his Father.

The Messiah would be the redeemer of mankind, to make restitution for Adam’s transgression.  He would lay down his own life so that others might live. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd who did that for us.

John 10:11,14,15:
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

The Living Resurrection—that Brings God’s Healing Power

God showed Moses how to heal water that could have been harmful. God said he would protect them from the diseases among those around them.

Exodus 15:26:
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God…I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Today we have healing and hope through our savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus had a deep affection for a family from Bethany. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha dearly loved Jesus Christ—and he loved them. Lazarus became sick and died. Jesus Christ healed many people, but raising Lazarus from the dead was the ultimate in healing. As God’s Messiah, having the gift of His Father’s spirit without measure, he could do this.

John 11:25-27:
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

The phrase “resurrection, and the life” can be translated “the living resurrection.” As our risen lord, Christ brings healing to all who will to receive.

The True and Living Way—that Gives God’s Righteousness to Us

Jeremiah 23:5,6:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

We come to the Father by Jesus Christ, and our risen lord, the true and living way, is made righteousness unto us (I Corinthians 1:30). Jesus Christ was true in all he did. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Because he went to the Father, we have the righteousness of God in him.

John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The phrase “the way, the truth, and the life” can be translated “the true and living way.” Like His Father, Jesus Christ is righteous. He is the Messiah who fulfilled all of God’s requirements to redeem mankind.

The True Vine—that Connects us to the Father

God showed Ezekiel a vision of a future temple on earth. It was in a city.

Ezekiel 48:35:
…the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there.

The Hebrew in this verse reads Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is present. God was in Christ, and we have “Christ in” us. We are complete in Christ. God’s spirit dwells in us, and we are His temple today (Ephesians 2:21,22).

John 15:1,5:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Without Jesus Christ, we can do nothing of any value. He is our connection to the Father. Our life is hid in Christ.

The True King—that Proclaims God’s Dominion and Victory

After defeating an enemy king, God had Moses build an altar to call on the Lord. It was to proclaim God’s dominion and victory over the enemy.

Exodus 17:13,15:
And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi.

Jehovah Nissi is Hebrew for “the Lord Our Banner.” Jesus Christ is our banner. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We call on the Father through him. In Christ, we have victory.

Jesus Christ came into the world to bear witness to the truth. He is the true King.

John 18:37:
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, [Yes,] Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

The Father and His Son

We have seen many qualities that Jesus Christ shares with his Father. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, carried out God’s great plan for our salvation in all ways. He is still our daily bread of life and our light in this world, our door and the good shepherd, our living resurrection that shows us the true and living way, and the true vine and King. We are complete in Christ.