I AM WHO I AM
Context
God appeared to Moses in the burning bush
and told him to go to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery.
In response, Moses said to God,
Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them,
The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me,
What is his name? Then what shall I tell them? Exodus 3:13 .
God said to Moses,
I AM WHO I AM.
This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
I AM has sent me to you Exodus 3:14 .
Jesus, in response to the Pharisees question
Who do you think you are? said,
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad. You are not yet fifty years old, the Jews said to him, and you have seen Abraham! I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I AM!
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds John 8:5659 .
The violent response of the Jews to Jesus I AM statement indicates they clearly understood what He was declaringthat He was the eternal God incarnate.
Jesus was equating Himself with the "I AM" title God gave Himself in Exodus 3:14.
Jesus used the same phrase I AM
in Seven Declarations about Himself.
In all seven, He combines I AM with tremendous metaphors which express His saving relationship toward the world. All appear in the book of John.
They are I AM
They are I AM the Bread of Life John 6:35, 41, 48, 51 ;
I AM the Light of the World John 8:12 ;
I AM the Door of the Sheep John 10:7, 9 ;
I AM the Good Shepherd John 10:11,14 ;
I AM the Resurrection and the Life John 11:25 ;
I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life John 14:6 ; and
I AM the True Vine John 15:1, 5 .