“I AM”

by Larry Lucas (continued from 8/31)

The four accounts mentioned above are named for their
authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Mark’s profession is never mentioned,
but Matthew was a tax collector, Luke was a physician, and John was a
fisherman. Jesus called John to come and follow him at the very beginning of
his ministry. He told John he’d make him a fisher of men. So John, along with
his brother James, left his father Zebedee in the boat and took out after
Jesus. They never turned back.

The most explicit statements Jesus made about himself are
concentrated in the Gospel of John. It’s there that you’ll most often find
Jesus using the defining phrase “I am.” If you want to know what Jesus said
about himself, it doesn’t get any more basic and to-the-point than this. Here,
from the Gospel of John, is Jesus talking about who he is:

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes
to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty’”
(John 6:35).

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone
eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the
gate for the sheep…whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and
go out, and find pasture…I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down
his life for the sheep’” (John 10:7-11).

“Jesus said…‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes
in me will never die’” (John 11:25-26).

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

The problem with listing these verses out like this is that
it invites speed reading, skimming along without hearing what Jesus is saying.
These are astounding claims. And they’re exclusive. According to Jesus, there
is one way to come to the Father (“who art in heaven”) and he’s it. He
repudiates the notion that many paths lead to the Father. He deliberately says
that there are no alternatives.

Who does he imagine he is? Well, he doesn’t imagine. He
speaks with the certainty of knowing. What he says he presents as fact, and
he’s either telling the truth or not. He leaves it up to us whether to believe
him. What he doesn’t leave room for is considering him merely one of the great
moral teachers. That’s someone else’s take on him, not his.

There’s more that Jesus said about himself, about his
followers, about religious people, and people in general. See for yourself by
reading the Gospel of John. When you do, you will see that each of the passages
cited above occurs in a context. In each case, Jesus is speaking to someone,
and these bare-bones statements are part of larger discourses. But you’ll need
to read them for yourself. There isn’t room for all that here.

If you’re bent on giving Jesus a fair hearing, that is if
you’re knocking, asking, seeking (not just pretending to), you’ll probably
chase down a copy of the New Testament and read the full account in John. You
might even read the other three gospels. Reading the Gospel of John should not
become some kind of a spiritual litmus test of your sincerity. God knows if
you’re for real, and that’s enough.

To be continued on Monday.