Chapter 3 - Jesus Said "I Am"

The absolute emphatic declaration, "I AM" is the exact quality of the God of Abraham which is described in Exodus 3:14, where the words stand for the eternal person of Yahweh. Jesus declared that He existed even before Abraham was. Jesus is God, the Yahweh of the Old Testament.

1. "I Am" the way, the truth and the life

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

Jesus claimed that He is the only way to heaven and that there is no other way that leads to heaven. No matter how hard anybody may try, if he/she wants to go to heaven he/she will have to go through Jesus. If you want to go to London from New York, you need a specific ticket to go to that particular place. But if you think, "I will go to airport and catch any flight", assuming that every flight is going to London, then you will never reach the place because you need to catch the specific flight which is going to London. In the same way if we want to go to heaven, we should determine our way. And Jesus said that He is the way… and that no one can go to the Father except through Him.

Jesus said, "I am the Truth". No man on this earth can claim to be such that he/she is the truth because, there can be no one in this planet earth who never lied or never did anything wrong. So no man can claim this. But Jesus Himself said, " I am the Truth", because He is God Himself and there is no sin or no lie in Him.

In the above said verse, Jesus said, "I am the Life". What is the meaning of life about which Jesus is talking? Let us see what it is about? Are we dead and do we need life? We read from Bible Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And also in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We all have sinned and so we are lifeless because our soul is dead in sin. Because of our sins we are heading towards death –eternal death. But Jesus came to this world to save us from hell fire. He gave His precious life for us. He shed His precious blood on the cross to purchase pardon for us.

Yes, He gave His life for us but now we have to claim life – eternal life so that we may never die but live forever and forever. Jesus came to give us eternal life – a life that will never fade. He came to give us life abundant and it is available free of cost because Jesus paid the price for it on the cross.

When this verse says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, it means that there is no other way to heaven, no other truth and no other source of life available in this world. This aborts all others and proves ‘the deity of Jesus Christ’ who is the only one way to heaven, who is the only one life source and who is the only one truth.

2. "I Am" the Door

Jesus said with all His authority, "I am the door of the sheep."

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

"All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

(John 10:7-10)

By saying this He made it clear that there is no other door through which a person can enter eternity. And he declared His deity and His divine quality through this.

3. "I Am" the Light of the world

Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Jesus made it clear that He is the light of the world and if we want to walk in light rather than darkness, we have to follow Him. David says in Psalms 18:28, "For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness."

What is meant by darkness of our lives? Bible says that we are corrupted because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Sin, death, darkness, problems, pain, tears, suffering and sickness came in this world because of their sin. But I have a good news for you. We need not to live in darkness anymore, because Jesus – the light of the world has come to enlighten our lives. Jesus said that He is the light of the world and if we do not have Jesus in our lives we are not in light but in darkness. Jesus came to enlighten our lives and He came to pull us out from the utter darkness of this world. By accepting Jesus in our lives we can have the light of life.

4. "I Am" the good shepherd

Jesus said in John 10:11-14,

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

"But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

"The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

"I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."

(John 10:11-14)

Jesus is not only a door of the sheep but He is a good shepherd. He leads us, guides us and provides for us - His sheep. That’s is why David says in his very famous Psalms, that, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalms 23:1)

5. "I Am" the bread of Life

John 6:35, And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Jesus declared that He is the bread of life. He came to give us life - eternal life. God made Adam and Eve for fellowship with Him, but because of their disobedience they were separated from God. But our soul longs for the fellowship of our Creator. There is thirst and there is hunger for God in our souls. That is the reason why we can not live in peace and joy until we find Him.

Only Jesus can satisfy our thirst and hunger for fellowship with God because He is the bread of life – the bread which gives life – eternal life.

6. "I Am" the resurrection and the life

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

"And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

( John 11:25-26)

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. By saying this Jesus declared His power over death. When Jesus was in this world, He demonstrated His mighty power of resurrection and raised many from the dead as He did for Lazarus in John 11^th Chapter. Lazarus was dead and buried for 4 days but Jesus came and, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43)

And the dead man came out from the grave.

We read about another incident in Luke chapter 7 verses 11-14,

Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."

Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

(Luke 7:11-14)

When Jesus saw the dead body of the young man the only son of a widow being carried, He was moved with compassion and He touched the open coffin and made him alive. No man could do this but only God - A God who has power over life and death.

Not only that, He Himself came out victoriously defeating death. He went through death but death could not hold Him in the grave. On the third day He rose up from the dead.

His one word, His one touch can make a difference in your life too. No matter how bad may be the situation through which you are passing, He can bring life in you, in your marriage, in your future, in your business!!

7. "I Am" the True Vine

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser."

"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."

(John 15:1-2)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

(John 15:5)

Jesus again gave emphasis about who He is. He declared that if a person is not abiding in Him then he/she can not bear fruit and without Him they can do nothing. In other words if we are not in Him then we are lifeless – A separated branch from the main tree, that is of no use.

Without Him, life is meaningless. If Jesus is not in your life then you can not have a fruitful life, you can not have any goodness or blessing in your life. But when Jesus becomes the vine of our life, He makes a difference. His life flows through our lives and makes us fruitful and blessed.

8.   "I Am" the Alpha and the Omega

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

(Revelation 1:8)

Jesus said that He is the Alpha and the Omega which means that there was no one before Him and there is no one after Him. He is the Beginning and the End. In the Old Testament God said that He is the First and the Last. Isaiah 41:4, "Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first; And with the last I am He.'"

He is the God who has neither beginning nor end, in fact He is the Beginning and the End. By saying this Jesus proved once again that He was from the beginning and that He is the everlasting God.

9. "I Am" the Almighty God

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

(Revelation 1:8)

Jesus said that He is the Almighty. From the Old Testament we read that He is the Almighty God. In the Old Testament God’s name is given as El Shaddai (Hebrew). God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:1, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."

Yes, He is almighty, omniscient, omnipotent and self-sufficient. Jesus proved that He is the same God of Old Testament and that He is the Almighty God.

Next Page

Back