In our journey through God’s plan we have begun to get a good picture of the purpose and person of the Messiah. Some of the clearest insights into Jesus and His purpose come to us through His “I AM” statements. This week we have three of the ”I am’s”. In the opening reading, Jesus tells us “I am the Light of the world.” and in the Saturday reading He tells us that He is the “good shepherd.” In each of these passages He gives us a glimpse into His mission and identity. However, the most important of the three verses is the one we will read on Tuesday. In this reading Jesus leaves behind the usual formula and just says, “I AM.”

Now if you and I were to say, “I AM” people would get pretty confused. “I am” doesn’t make sense. It needs more. But Jesus, in the context of questions about His identity, refers to Himself by the same name which the Triune God used when He called Moses from the burning bush. You may remember, “I am” was His reply when Moses asked, “Who shall I tell them has sent me?” In this one verse, John 8:58, Jesus dispels any thought that He isn’t God. In this one verse He says that He is the God who made Abraham a father of nations and brought Israel out of Egypt. In other words, Jesus is saying, “I am the creator of all things, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”