INTRODUCTION
I AM
There are 16 signs recorded in John’s gospel, 8 are things which Jesus did and 8 were things which Jesus said. John is basically saying that the ‘I AM’ claims of Jesus are signs, selected from many other signs.
And he says these signs are selected with a purpose in mind and that purpose is that you believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, John 20:30-31.
Here we find the seventh of the eight Jesus’ I AM’ claims, John 6:35 / John 8:12 / John 8:58 / John 10:9 / John 10:11 / John 11:25 / John 14:6 / John 15:1.
Each of His ‘I AM’ claims are claims that He is God, EGO EIMI, is the Greek equivalent of YHWH, Exodus 3:13-14 / John 5:18. He is Eternal, Psalm 135:13, and self-existent, Psalm 88:6-7.
When we come to the ‘I AM’ claims of Jesus, we need to remember that Jesus was not giving Himself a Name or a title, but was asserting His Deity. In other words every ‘I AM’ reveals some aspect of His nature and purpose.
I AM THE LIFE
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6
There is a very logical and natural progression in the text, for, commencing with Jesus as the Way, we find that it is the way truth which leads us to life. Jesus is the ‘Life’ ‘Zoe’, John 14:6, the source, no life apart from him, the sustainer, all life depends on Him for instruction.
Before we consider Jesus as the life, we ought to ask the question, what is Life? How should we define that word? I ask this because finding an adequate definition is not as easy as you might have imagined.
1. Don’t go to the poets, because they are no help!
John Dryden wrote, ‘When I consider life, ‘tis all a CHEAT.’ Robert burns wrote, ‘O life, thou art A GALLING LOAD, along a rough and weary road, to wretches such as I’.
2. And don’t turn to the philosophers, otherwise, you will meet up with people like Kierkegaard, who wrote, ‘MY life is absolutely meaningless’.
And Frederic Nietzsche, Adolph Hitler’s favourite Philosopher, whose theories he followed in pursuit of a ‘Master-race’, with such devastating consequences for millions of men, women and children; actually said: ‘If you look into Life you look into suffering.’
And you may be interested to know that 12 years before he died, Nietzsche, Hitler’s favourite philosopher was certified insane!
3. Don’t go to the playwrights either.
The most famous of them all. William Shakespeare wrote those oft-quoted words, which pessimistically declared, that life is, ‘a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’
4. And if you turn to your dictionary, looking for a less emotional, more rational definition, you will still be disappointed.
What do you make of this? The oxford dictionary says that life is, ‘the State of functional activity peculiar to organized matter, especially to the portion of it constituting an animal or plant, before death’.
The simple fact is that Poets, Philosophers, the Playwrights, and you could add Scientists to the list, are all at a loss to tell us much about life. Therefore, the definition for which we are looking must come from the realm of the spiritual.
In other words, the mystery of life is a puzzle for religions to solve. And for that reason, when Jesus says ‘I AM…the life’, John 14:6, we should be ready to listen to what He has to say and to look at what He has to offer.
1. The scriptures reveal that Jesus, was always concerned with ‘life’ and willing to talk about it. All through the Gospel accounts to John, I say, more than twenty times, Jesus had something to say about life.
And, indeed, if the number of times a subject is referred to in a book says anything about its importance, I can tell you that if you care to search John’s Gospel, you will find the word ‘life’ used at least 37 times! And 37 times in 21 chapters is very impressive, by any standard.
When the Lord used that word, He was not speaking about mere physical existence, or about meeting ordinary physical needs, but about real life, life in its fullness.
He was concerned about the quality of life, concerned that we should experience the life which God intends us to enjoy. That is why he said, ‘I have come that they might have life abundant life!’ John 10:10.
The word which is here translated as ‘abundantly’ is a word which means ‘vehemently, passionately, ardently, life to the full’, ‘perissos’. And this is what the church, with its good news, is seeking to help people to understand that, to know Jesus Christ is to really live, to experience life at its richest and finest.
1. What gives Him the right to say ‘I AM …the life’?
Because, as we have already seen, and as John tells us in the very first chapter, ‘In Him was life and the life was the light of men’, John 1:4.
Jesus is able to say. ‘I AM the life’ because He possesses independent and self-sustained life. And by that, I mean that Jesus has life in Himself because that is what means when He says, ‘in him was life’, John 1:4.
In Acts 17, When Paul spoke to the distinguished members of the Areopagus, the council of wise men of Athens, he spoke to them about the One true God, Acts 17:26-28.
The point which Paul was making, in view of all the pagan altars and Temples he had seen as he walked through the Agora, the Market-placer, was that the One True God, unlike the gods which they worshipped, did not need to be maintained and looked after and kept in good repair.
Paul says He, the True God ‘is not served by men’s hands,’ Acts 17:25. And why not? ‘Because He made the world and everything in it,’ Acts 17:24.
This means that whilst God is dependent on no one, our life, yours and mine, are entirely dependent on Him. But, in contrast, Jesus was able to state, ‘As the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in Himself,’ John 6:26.
What do you make of that claim? Is it not staggering? The only thing you can reasonably make of it is that the Lord Jesus claimed to share the nature of Deity, and, consequently, He possessed the attributes of Deity. And it is this fact, that throws light on that statement in John 1:4.
2. Further Jesus was able to ‘I AM…the life’, because His is an indestructible life, everlasting life.
We are not indestructible! I hardly need to remind you that there are many agencies or forces at work, which are capable of bringing our physical life to an end. We could meet with violence in an increasingly violent society.
We could contract some ailment or disease which brings us to a premature death. And, even if we do not meet a premature end, and are allowed to enjoy a relatively untroubled life and live our allotted span, it comes to virtually the same thing, we shall still die.
As Shakespeare quaintly expressed it, ‘Golden lads and girls all must, like chimney-sweepers, come to dust!’ But nothing could touch the life of the Lord Jesus! Violence?
When the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate said, ‘Don’t you know that I have the power to release you or the power to condemn you?’ And Jesus said, ‘You could have no power over me at all unless it were given you from above’, John 19:10-11.
DEATH ITSELF!
Death is the consequence of sin, it is the legacy which sin has left the whole human race, Romans 5:12. But Jesus was sinless. He could throw out the challenge, which of you convicts me of sin? John 8:46.
This means that death had no claim on Him. He was not subject to death, as we are and He did not have to die! John 10:18. And in all of human history, no one has ever dared to make such a claim!
Even when the leader of some out-outlandish cult has claimed immortality for himself, and persuaded his deluded, brainwashed followers that he could not die. Time has rolled on and proved him to be a fraud. But not Jesus!
In other words, He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life, John 1:1-3 / Colossians 2:15 / Hebrews 1:2. And that is why He can say, ‘I AM……the life.’
3. He is the life, because, as the Word who existed in the beginning with God, He has independent and self-sustained life, John 5:26-29.
He is the life because His life is everlasting and indestructible. After surrendering, sacrificing, His life in order to ‘pay the price of sin’, He took it up again, because it was not possible for death to hold him, and He ever lives in the power of His resurrection, Revelation 1:17.
He is the life because as the author of life, He is able to give life to those who follow Him. In John 6:21 He makes yet another astounding claim. ‘As the Father raises the dead and gives them rife, so also the Son gives life to whom He will’.
This, then, is the Saviour whom we celebrate and serve today. The one who comes to our restless world, and says to men and women who find that their lives are unfulfilled and unsatisfying, John 4:14.
So, what is this life which is to be found in Jesus Christ and which Christians claim to experience? Do you want to know if it is possible? Does it exist? You may be sure of this, People certainly want it to exist! Because one thing is certain, we all long for life. And that is a fact!
The famous Poet John Keats, expressed this very powerfully when he wrote to his beloved Fanny Brawne. ‘I long to believe in immortality. If I am destined only to be happy with you here, how short is the longest life! I wish to believe in immortality. I wish to live with you for ever.’
Keats could not believe that we can form friendships and love people, only to have those affections ended at death. Hence, his longing for immortality.
And do you remember the Rich Young Ruler’s question? It is not surprising, therefore, that whenever Jesus spoke about life, people listened! There was an instant response because they wanted to hear about life.
Are we any different today? You know we are not! We are always ready to listen to anyone who is able to tell us something that will improve the quality of our lives. This is what makes millions for the advertisers on your T.V. and in your newspapers and magazines.
Do you think our fellow men ever feel tired of life the way it is? Do they feel the constant anxiety, worry and strain of modern living? Do they ever grow weary of the incessant demands that are made upon them? In fact, let’s make that personal!
Do you ever wonder, when you are feeling low, what it all means and what purpose there is to it, and if it is really worthwhile? Well, that is the problem which Jesus offers to solve!
The burden He is prepared to ease! So, let’s ask the question, when Jesus says, ‘I AM the Life’, and promises that ‘He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life’.
Just what is it that He offers? How can we best describe the kind of life that you, if at this moment, you are not a follower of Jesus, may begin to experience if you let Him into your heart?
Well, the New Testament describes life under several different metaphors. For instance, in John 8:12, Jesus promises that if we follow him, we ‘shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’
1. In John 8:12, life if likened to light, the light of life.
And, for that reason, followers of Jesus are described as ‘the children of light,’ 1 Peter 2:10. Notice the mention of darkness and light. And the contrast. Jesus offers light.
2. Liberty.
He also offers the liberty of Life, Isaiah 61:1-2. Notice the statement ‘To proclaim liberty to the captives’, because when we come over to the New Testament, we discover that, in Luke 4:16, Jesus takes this prophecy and applies it to His own ministry.
Read Luke 4 and you see that he had just emerged from the wilderness of Judea and had gone to the river Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptizer. Then he had launched out on his own ministry.
Back home, in Nazareth, away to the north, the people had heard about this and all kinds of stories were finding their way back to them, about the things which Jesus was doing and saying.
It is not surprising therefore that, when He eventually returned to his home village, his arrival created something of a sensation. So much so that, when the Sabbath day came around, since they knew that he regularly attended the synagogue on that day, the synagogue in Nazareth was filled with curious and excited people.
The villagers of Nazareth were wondering why he was doing what he was doing, why he had not come home to carry on his normal life, like other young men who had gone out to John at the river There is no doubt that they expected him to explain himself, and perhaps see him do some wonderful thing.
So, when He stood up, indicating his willingness to read the scriptural appointed for the day, their excitement knew no bounds. The official in charge of the sacred scrolls handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and when Jesus had found the place he began to read this very scripture. This is how He explained his conduct.
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… He has sent me…..to proclaim liberty to the captives.’ ‘He has sent me to set people free.’’ And in John 8:36 he makes this claim, ‘If the Son makes you free, you are truly free’. And so, Jesus, the way, brings us to light and to liberty.
3. Light, liberty and then life, the strongest metaphor of all, John 11:25.
I want you to think, very briefly about these three metaphors, these descriptions of the Christian life.
1. Think about coming to Christ as coming to the light of Life, Isaiah 61:1.
Have you ever experienced real darkness? Oh! I am not talking about being out at night when the moon and the stars are obscured by clouds. I mean real darkness, the kind of darkness that you can almost feel!
The coal miner knows what I am talking about! I too have been down a coal mine, over 1000 yards deep, I know what it is like to have the lights turned out! I give you my solemn word that it is an eerie and unpleasant sensation.
Or, let me ask you to use your imagination. Imagine that it is night-time, in some tropical country, and you are alone in the heart of the jungle. You are in fact, lost. There is no moon, and no stars because no light is able to penetrate the dense canopy of the forest.
The dense tropical growth and the massive trees tower above you, blotting out the sky. And so you stumble along, and the undergrowth trips you up.
The branches of the bushes whip across your face and the thorns tear at your clothing and bite into your flesh as you stagger on through the darkness. Panic fills your mind. You experience an overwhelming sense of being closed in by the darkness.
And then, as dawn breaks and the first glimmer of light filters through the trees, you find a tree which you manage to climb, in order to try to get your bearings. Out there, to your right, you catch sight of a distant mountain range. And to your left, the morning light is glinting on the ocean.
You learn the general lie of the land and so, as the morning unfolds, you begin to move with greater certainty because you now know the direction you need to take.
Of course, you have not reached the end of your journey, but you are at the end of your wandering. The way ahead of you may still be long but you have the peace of mind which comes from knowing that you are on the right course.
And why is this? Because light has broken, the dawn has come Darkness has given way to light, and you have found the way home.
Now, becoming a Christian is something like that. Getting to Jesus is like that. It means that light has entered and driven out the darkness of your life, the confusion the uncertainty, and you are on your way home, walking in the way.
2. Then, think about that second metaphor, liberty, Isaiah 61:1.
The New Testament teaches that, because Jesus is the life, coming to know Him as your Saviour is like passing from slavery to liberty. ‘He breaks the power of cancelled sin; He sets the prisoner free,’ Isaiah 61:1. The old hymn says, ‘Have you ever been in a prison, No! I am not asking if you have ever been to prison, as an inmate.’
Have you ever visited a prison? You don’t have to be a prisoner to appreciate what a miserable existence prison is, for most of those confined there. I assure you that when I visited a prison for the first time I found it to be probably the most depressing, claustrophobic experience I had ever known.
The oppressiveness of the atmosphere inside a prison is something which, once experienced, is never forgotten, no matter how many times one may visit. The first thing you notice has to be the constant clanging of steel doors and the rattle of keys.
The warder walks by your side. The steel door ahead of you is unlocked, and locked behind you. Somewhere else in the building, another door slams and echoes through the hollow-sounding building.
The door ahead of you is not unlocked until the one behind you has been secured and so you are always enclosed between locked doors, always shut in; and thus, it continues until you eventually reach the cell of the poor soul you are visiting.
Can you imagine what it must be like for a man to be taken to such a place as a prisoner, and to have the cell door locked behind him?
That is how the Bible describes the condition of men and women who are not yet reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus. They are prisoners. Prisoners of sin. Sin is slavery. Sin is bondage, sin is captivity, sin is imprisonment.
But Oh! The Joy when the cell door is thrown open and the prisoner is led to the massive outer gate, and it is unlocked for him, and he finds himself outside! Imagine what it is like for one who has served a long sentence to stand outside the prison knowing that he is a Free Man! Life! Liberty!
3. And then there is what I have described as the strongest metaphor of all, life!
Because Jesus says ‘I AM the life’, John 14:6, we may have new life in Him, and becoming a Christian is a passing from death to life.
Some years ago, a group of archaeologists were at work in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt, where so many marvellous discoveries have been made.
The tragedy is that when many of them were found and opened, they were already empty because they had been plundered by grave robbers, probably centuries earlier, and many of the bodies of the Kings of Egypt had been removed.
But on the occasion about which I am speaking the archaeologists discovered a tomb which had remained untouched for about 3000 years, and inside they discovered a beautiful little coffin, the coffin of a child. Over the coffin, they found an inscription which read, ‘Oh! My life! My love! My little one! Would God that I had died for thee!’
The archaeologists were so moved by this inscription that they removed their hats and stood bareheaded. And then they softly withdrew from the cool and darkness of the tomb, into the blinding heat and sunlight of the Valley of the Kings and they sealed up the tomb again and quietly went away.
What they felt, we may feel, when we read John 11, which records the story of the death and burial of Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, and dear friend of Jesus. Jesus comes to the tomb, the entrance to which has been sealed by a huge stone. And He weeps! But, then, he commands them to roll away the stone, and he calls out the name of the dead man, ‘Lazarus! Come forth!’
Or, as he would really say it in the Aramaic of that time, ‘Lazarus! Here! Out’. And Lazarus rose from the dead and came out of the Tomb.
What must it have been like to have been there that day, when Jesus commanded death to yield to life, and to have seen the joy that lit up the faces of Martha and Mary and the looks of startled amazement on the faces of those who stood by!
There is something even more marvellous even than that and it is the glorious fact, that, when we come to know Jesus as Saviour it is nothing less than a passing from death to life.
So, there we have just three metaphors, light, liberty and life. This is what it means to find that Jesus is the life. I do not think that I overstate the situation when I say that out there is a world of darkness, of lost men and women.
Wherever you care to look today, at home or abroad, you see a world which has lost its way and if Jesus were present right now, I am sure that he would describe our world in the very terms used so long ago, ‘helpless and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd,’ Matthew 9:36.
Speaking of shepherds, is there one world leader who makes you feel absolutely confident that he knows where he is going? The day I prepared these notes, the ‘Daily Telegraph’ published the result of a nationwide survey; i.e., conducted throughout the British Isles, seeking the public’s view of Mr Major our prime minister.
Of those interviewed, 77% said that he is not effective. 84% said that he is unable to unite the nation. 85% said that he is not really in charge.
And I suggest that he is not the only national leader of whom such things might be said. None of them is able to lead the way to the right.
Take that word ‘prison’. I am not thinking about the places in which our law-breakers are confined. There is another kind of imprisonment, and they are chains that cannot be seen.
There are vast numbers of our fellow men who are the prisoners of life and soul-destroying habits. Addicted to drugs, alcohol, and gambling and who are held in the grip of all kinds of fear. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it but the Bible says that we are all the slaves of sin until we are set free by Jesus Christ.
Take the word ‘death’. I know that there are people who cringe at the very mention of that word. They don’t care to talk about it and if there is anyone who feels that way, I am sorry, because I have to speak about it. And if it disturbs you, perhaps some good will come from it, if it causes you to face up to something which is vitally important.
I believe in life after death. But you need to know that when Jesus promised eternal life to those who follow him, He was thinking of more than that a life in heaven when you die.
I’ve heard people say, ‘they don’t want pie in the sky when they die, they want pie now’. The inference is that Christianity offers them pie in the sky and people can get it for them now!
But that is as far from the truth as one can get! The poor souls who are deceived by atheistic, political philosophy don’t get pie in the sky when they die, and they don’t even get it now!
It is the Christian who has the blessings of both worlds, because when Jesus said ‘I have come that they might have life,’ John 10:10. He was talking about this life and the life to come! On the other hand, there are men and women walking our streets at this moment who are already dead.
That is how Paul described them. ‘Without God and without hope in the world’, Ephesians 2:12, and he spoke of certain people who, looking for pleasure and fulfilment in all sorts of ways, are ‘dead whilst they still live’, 1 Timothy 5:6.
The life which Jesus offers us is not just life after death and that is comforting enough, to be sure. It is life now! You do not have to wait until this life draws to a close before you begin to experience eternal life, the life of the ages, Jesus wants us to live today. Now! This very moment!
Now you may think that am overdramatizing it when I say that outside of Christ, the world is dead. And I know that there are many who are not Christians who seem to be nice people. Jesus Himself tells about one such person in the story of the Prodigal Son, in Luke 15.
You all know the story, and, I have to tell you, that in my opinion, and I admit I may be wrong about this of the two sons, the younger one was the more likeable fellow! A much more attractive person than his selfish, stay-at-home elder brother!
That young fellow was probably the sort who would not do anyone a bad turn, and if you had been able to get to know him, you may well have found yourself liking him, for all his obvious faults.
But wait a minute! That is not the whole story! Even if he was an appealing rascal, Jesus, who is telling the story, says that he was dead! He was lost! Luke 15:24.
Those are the very words which the Lord puts into the mouth of the boy’s father. Now, when the young man left home, he did it because he thought he was going to live!
For the first time, out from under the shadow of his father. He was going to enjoy freedom, liberty! And you know what happened to him in the far country, you know the depths to which he sank and the privation to which he was reduced, Luke 15:14-16.
And you know also, that he eventually came to himself, Luke 15:17, which literally means that he regained his sanity, and he made up his mind to come home, hungry, ragged and dirty, and very much ashamed of himself. To say nothing of feeling sorry for himself.
But when he reached home, do you recall all what the father said? ‘This my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, ‘ Luke 15:32.
Now that is what Jesus is able to do. He is able to give life because He Himself is the life. Do you believe that? Do you believe that Jesus is able to give you life? To set you free so that you may enjoy life? To enlighten your way, and show you life at its very best beginning here and now?
Maybe someone will say, ‘well, if you had told me that 30 years ago, it would have been different, but I am too old to change now!’
I heard that not very long ago! Let me remind you of three of the favourite words of Jesus. They are the words least, last and lost. The least shall be the greatest in the Kingdom, of God, Matthew 5:19-20. The last shall be first, Matthew 20:16. The lost may be found, Luke 15.
If these things are not true, the New Testament is a lie and Jesus is a deceiver. If it is not true that men and women can change, and be changed, regardless of their age, and whatever their past history of failure and frustration.
I say if that is not true, then Christianity is a sham, and I, personally have wasted many years of my life on a fantasy. But I know that what I am telling you is no myth, no fantasy, because I have seen the change that Jesus can make in men’s lives.
Throughout the world when prodigals have returned, men and women, they have received the ring, the robe and the shoes of life and liberty and service.
And know that there are many alive today who are able to look back on their lives and see the changes that coming to Christ has made. He changes people! He changes lives.
I know that is true because I know what Jesus has done for me and what He continues to do for me. He has not finished yet, but we are getting there!
And if you will commit your life to Him, you will discover what He can do. In some cases the change is gradual and in others, it comes quickly and in a few it is instantaneous.
But, surely and certainly, once you make a commitment of yourself to Jesus, the way, the truth and the life, you find that He lifts from darkness to light. From the slavery of sin to the liberty of the children of God. From death to Life that is eternal.
And the greatest change is yet to come! Some of us are aware of getting older. Eyes are beginning to fail; Hearing is not as acute as it used to be. Joints are stiffening. We are feeling more aches and pains.
What is it, rheumatism? Arthritis? Faces are beginning to show the lines! But don’t worry! You are going to be changed! Philippians 3:21 / 1 John 3:2-3. In a moment! No! Quicker even than that! In the twinkling of an eye! 1 Corinthians 15:52.
John sets the tone of his entire Gospel for us as early as John 1:4. In His prayer in , Jesus reveals his own definition of life, John 17:3. This theme continues right through the Gospel, we find that there are, no fewer than 15 chapters in the Gospel according to John that, either in word or deed, connect Jesus with life. And then, in the penultimate passage in John 20:30-31, we find that definitive statement.
During His brief ministry, he travelled through Judea and Galilee. Just as when He met that woman by the well in Samaria John 4:1-42.
Jesus saw the unhappiness and tension in the strained and care-worn faces of the crowds who came to listen to him. He was deeply moved, Matthew 9:35-38. The word ‘compassion’ reveals that He was filled with emotion, .
From that point, onwards we hear Him saying. ‘I have come that they have life and have it more abundantly.’ John 10:10, ‘I am the bread of life, feed on me and you will never hunger,’ John 6:35.
‘I am the water of life, drink of me; and you will never thirst,’ John 4:14. ‘I am the resurrection and the life, believe in Me and you will never die!’ John 11:25-26.
‘He that hath the Son hath life he that obeys not the son shall not see life,’ John 3:36. ‘I am the good shepherd; and I give to my sheep who follow Me eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand,’ John 10:27-28 / Isaiah 38:16.
Christ is indeed the manifestation of the life that was with the Father, 1 John 1:1-2. He is just like the Father the source of life, John 5:25-26. When those who are dead in sin hear i.e. heed the voice of Jesus they ‘will love’ i.e. find salvation, eternal life, John 10:28 / John 3:16 / John 1:4.
For the man born blind Jesus was his physical light, John 9:25, but also for us the spiritual life, John 9:33. He eventually comes to recognise the whole truth about Jesus and worships Him,’ John 9:38.
Jesus is the one who has come down from heaven to give life to the world, John 6:33 / John 10:10. The words were spoken by Peter, John 6:68-69, also on behalf of the other disciples and this should include us are indeed appropriate to Jesus.
