Though I don’t put a whole lot of confidence in those who spout Greek all the time – they mostly do it to show off their education or their intelligence – sometimes we can profit spiritually from Greek word studies. Such is the case with this small passage in the Gospel of John. We find other passages in John that mirror the same sentiment that Christ uses here.The words “It is I” are actually two small Greek words ego eimi, which mean simply I Am. Actually ego means I, and eimi means I am. So technically, ego eimi means I I am. The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament but is not always accurate or reliable, can sometimes be used faithfully in word studies. In the Septuagint, the name of God that He gave to Moses on Mount Sinai I AM that I AM, or Yahweh, usually translated Jehovah, is translated using those two small Greek words ego eimi. So we can draw from that that whenever Christ uses the term ego eimi, He is saying I Am I Am or I Am Jehovah. Whenever Christ uses ego eimi, He is asserting His deity. Let’s look at some of those passages using ego eimi:
John 6:20 – To the disciples while walking on the sea, “It is I; be not afraid.” I Am Jehovah; be not afraid. That thought should drive all fear from the fearful heart.
John 4:26 – To the woman at the well, “I that speak unto thee am He.” I that speak unto thee Am Jehovah.
John 6:35 – To the crowd following Him, “I am the bread of life.” I Am Jehovah the bread of life.”
John 8:12 – To the Pharisees who had brought Him the woman taken in adultery, “I am the light of the world.” I Am Jehovah the light of the world.
John 8:24 – To the Jews, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” If ye believe not that I Am Jehovah, ye shall die in your sins.
John 8:28 – To the same Jews, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he.” Then ye shall know that I Am Jehovah.
John 8:58 – Again to the same Jews, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Before Abraham was, I Am Jehovah. The Jews knew what He was claiming – they took up stones to stone Him.
John 10:9 – To the Pharisees, “I am the door.” I Am Jehovah the door.
John 10:11 – To the same Pharisees, “I am the good shepherd.” I Am Jehovah the good shepherd.
John 11:25 – To Martha, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” I Am Jehovah the resurrection, and the life.
John 14:6 – To the disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I Am Jehovah the way, the truth, and the life.
John 15:1 – To the disciples, “I am the true vine.” I Am Jehovah the true vine.
John 18:6 – To the mob in the Garden of Gethsemane, “I am he.” I Am Jehovah. The force of that statement made them fall backwards to the ground.
So, from these passages, we can see that throughout the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit is asserting the deity of Christ. He is telling us that in all aspects of Christ’s earthly life, He was also God in the flesh. And we can be assured that every trial He faced, or still faces for us, He uses the wisdom of the eternal godhead to sort it out. How comforting and reassuring.
Quote – “When Christ in past years did gird himself
with mortal clay, the essence of his divinity was not changed; flesh did not
become God, nor did God become flesh by a real actual change of nature; the two
were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was still the same.” – Charles Spurgeon
"Lord, Thank you for being who you are - the great I AM of the Scriptures. For it is that truth that gives us confidence that you can do all things that you have promised. You are the omnipotent Yahweh - Jehovah - I AM. Amen."
"Lord, Thank you for being who you are - the great I AM of the Scriptures. For it is that truth that gives us confidence that you can do all things that you have promised. You are the omnipotent Yahweh - Jehovah - I AM. Amen."
