"I Am"

by John V. Cordaro

"Before Abraham Was, I Am."

These words, spoken by our Savior in Jn.8:58, have led to much controversy
and confusion. Some use this verse to prove the Messiah's pre-existence.
Others use it to prove the trinity doctrine. And then there are those who use it
to prove Yahshua is the great "I AM" of Ex.3:14.

The phrase "I am" is "ego eimi" in Greek. Since the Greek New Testament
records Yahshua using "ego eimi" many times, Christian theologians term these
sayings, "The I Am's of Jesus." It is believed that each of these occurrences
implies Yahshua's identity as the "I AM" of Ex.3:14. Can this be true? Can our
Savior, the Son of Yahweh, actually be the "I AM"?

Ex.3:14-15 reads, "And Elohim said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He
said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you. And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, Yahweh, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the
Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my
name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." Therefore, the "I
AM" is identified as "Yahweh."

And what does Yahweh say in Ps.2:7? "I will declare the decree: Yahweh hath
said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." Yahweh is the
Father of Yahshua. Yahshua is the Son of Yahweh. Yahshua is not Yahweh
and the Son is not the Father. Therefore, Yahshua (the Son of Yahweh) cannot
be the I AM (Yahweh). That alone should be sufficient to discredit the belief
that Yahshua was claiming to be the "I AM." But let's look into the matter a little
farther.

It is believed that Jn.8:59 further supports the position that Yahshua is the "I
AM." Why else would the Jews try to stone him? He obviously blasphemed in
the eyes of the Jews, a stoneable offense. Or did he? Is the mere utterance of
"ego eimi" a blasphemy? Does the use of "ego eimi" automatically identify the
speaker as Yahweh, the I AM?

Several individuals aside from Yahshua used "ego eimi" as well. In Lu.1:19, the
angel Gabriel said, "Ego eimi Gabriel." In Jn.9:9, the blind man whose sight
was restored by Yahshua said, "Ego eimi." In Acts 10:21, Peter said, "Behold,
ego eimi (I am) he whom ye seek." Obviously, the mere use of "ego eimi" does
not equate one to the "I Am" of Ex.3:14. But perhaps the Savior's use of it was
somehow different. After all, he came down from heaven.

If, in fact, Yahshua spoke Greek to the Jews (which I doubt), he used the
phrase "ego eimi" at least twenty times and yet, in only one instance did the
Jews seek to stone him (Jn.8:58). Yahshua said, "I am the bread of life" to a
large crowd in Jn.6:35 & 48, yet no one opposed him. In verse 41, the Jews
murmured because he said, "I am (ego eimi) the bread which came down from
heaven." But in verse 42, the Jews questioned only the phrase, "I came down
from heaven" and ignored "ego eimi." The same is true of verses 51 & 52.

In Jn.8:12, 18, 24, & 28, Yahshua used "ego eimi" with Pharisees present
(vs.13) and yet, no stoning. He, again, used it four times in Jn.10:7, 9, 11, & 14
with no stoning. Yahshua said to his disciples, "...that...ye may believe that I
am (ego eimi)" in Jn.13:19 without them batting an eye.

An interesting account occurs in Jn.18 when the Jews came to arrest Yahshua
in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the chief priests and Pharisees said they
were seeking Yahshua of Nazareth, Yahshua said to them, "Ego eimi." At that
they fell backward to the ground. It is not made clear why they fell to the
ground, but what followed will make it clear that Yahshua was not claiming to
be the "I AM."

After Yahshua's arrest, the Jews took him to Annas first (vs.13). Then they
took him to Caiaphas (vs.24) and eventually to Pilate (vss.28,29). A parallel
account is found in Mt.26:57-68. Notice, in particular, verse 59. The same men
that had fallen backward to the ground were in attendance when the council
sought false witnesses against Yahshua to put him to death. Verse 60 says
they couldn't find any. Eventually two came forward. Interestingly, they didn't
bear false witness about what Yahshua said in Jn.8:58, but about his reference
to destroying the temple and building it again in three days. Where were all
those witnesses from Jn.8:58?

The point about Mt.26 is, why would false witnesses be sought if they had true
witnesses in attendance? The arresting officers heard Yahshua say "Ego eimi."
They could have stoned him right there in the garden for blasphemy, but they
didn't. They could have reported the supposed blasphemy to the council, but
they didn't. Why not? Because it wasn't blasphemy, nor was it a stoneable
offense. He was merely identifying himself as Yahshua of Nazareth.

This brings us back to Jn.8:58. Why did the Jews seek to stone him on that
occasion? The context of Jn.8 shows that Yahshua;

1) accused the Jews of "judging after the flesh" (vs.15).
2) said they would die in their sins (vss.21,24).
3) implied they were in bondage (vss.32,33).
4) said they were servants of sin (vs.34).
5) said they were out to kill him (vss. 37,40).
6) implied they were spiritually deaf (vs.43,47).
7) said their father was the devil (vs.44).
8) said they were not of Elohim (vs.47).
9) accused them of dishonoring him (vs.49).
10) accused them of not knowing Yahweh (vs.55).
11) accused them of lying (vs.55).

Aside from that, the Jews misunderstood Yahshua's words leading
them to believe;

1) that he accused them of being born of fornication (vs.41).
2) Yahshua had a devil (vs.52).
3) that he was exalting himself above Abraham (vs.53).
4) that he saw Abraham (vs.56).
Yahshua's words in verse 58 were the culmination of an encounter that was so
offensive to the Jews that they couldn't restrain themselves anymore. They
simply couldn't take it anymore so they sought to stone him, not because of
two simple words, "ego eimi," but because he was making himself out to be
greater than their beloved father Abraham. They sought to stone him illegally.

So what does Jn.8:58 really mean? Although I do not believe we can be certain
what Yahshua meant due to a variety of reasons, one being the absence of this
passage as it appeared in John's original writing, I offer the following
explanation.

Let's look at the context of Yahshua's statement. It begins in verse 51 with the
thought of eternal life; "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." The
Jews thought since Abraham and the prophets were dead, Yahshua must have
a devil. The context is eternal life. Then in verse 56 Yahshua says Abraham
"rejoiced to see my day." He did not say he saw Abraham as the Jews
misunderstood. How did Abraham see Yahshua's day? Heb.11:13 says,
"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." He saw Yahshua's day by faith.

Yahshua then resumed the context of his initial conversation by saying, "Before
Abraham was, I am." "Was" is from the Greek "ginomai" meaning, "to come
into being, ... to arise." What Yahshua actually meant was, "Before Abraham
comes into being (at his resurrection unto eternal life), I will." Confirmation of
this understanding comes to us from Figures of Speech Used in the Bible by
E.W. Bullinger, pgs. 521,522. Under the heading "Heterosis (Of Tenses),"
subheading "The Present for the Future," hewrites, "This is put when the design
is to show that some thing will certainly come to pass, and is spoken of as
though it were already present." He then lists some examples such as
Mt.3:10b, "therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is [shall be]
hewn down;" and Mk.9:31a, "For he taught his disciples, and said unto them,
The Son of man is [shall be] delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill
him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day." Included among this
list of examples of Heterosis is Jn.8:58. In other words, although properly
written, "Before Abraham comes to be, I am," with "I am" in the simple present
tense, the meaning points to the future, "Before Abraham comes to be, I will."

Some people believe this verse should be translated, "Before Abraham existed,
I existed." However, neither Greek verb is in the perfect tense (past tense).
"Was" is in the aorist tense and "am" is in the present tense. Let's look a little
closer at "was." Concerning the aorist tense, A Manual Grammar of the Greek
New Testament by Dana and Mantey says, "It has time relations only in the
indicative, where it is past and hence augmented." The verb ginomai (was) is in
the infinitive, not the indicative. Therefore it should not be translated in the past
tense. This same reference says of the infinitive, "The aorist infinitive denotes
that which is eventual or particular, ..." Abraham will eventually resurrect which
is why the Greek uses the aorist infinitive. The meaning is, "Before Abraham
comes to be" not "Before Abraham was (or existed)."

In conclusion, Yahshua was not declaring that he is the great "I AM" of Ex.3:14.
Yahshua was not declaring himself to be Yahweh. And Yahshua was not
declaring his pre-existence. He is the Son of Yahweh and the Son of the great
"I Am."

"I Am"