I Am

I recently watched a YouTube video by a young man interested in how homeless people are treated. He said that they always tell him that people treat them different, not like human beings. So he decided to do an experiment. He dressed up like a homeless man and he tried to eat at a nice restaurant. So he comes up to the door and he is turned away at the door. Interestingly, they didn't cite a policy or address code. You can hear on the video, they just say, nope, I'm sorry, you can't eat here. And then another guy comes over and says, you don't have the money to eat here. And he's pleading with him, he's saying, no, no, I insist, I have the money. And they simply ignore him. So then he leaves and he returns about an hour later having changed clothes and driving a nice car. And this time he's immediately welcomed, there's the valet service, he's offered a menu, and it's at this point that he reveals himself and says, Why are you welcoming me this time? I was just here an hour ago. And after a little bit of confusion, the staff recognized, this is the very man that they just turned away an hour ago. And at this point, they begin apologizing profusely. But of course, it's too late. And I mention that story because it certainly illustrates one of the dangers of misidentification. As well as the way that the judgments we make about others often expose the true state of our own heart. And there are certainly some limited sense in which this applies as we begin a new sermon series on the identity of Jesus. Surely scripture shows us that there were many who misidentified Jesus to their own destruction. And in the process of that misidentification exposed the true evil of their hearts. Now there are significant differences as well. For one, Jesus did not come to deceive us into thinking he was anyone other than who he really is. He came to save us from our sins in direct fulfillment of his own promises in his word. And second, whereas as soon as the people realized the true identity of the wealthy man, they were quick to treat him well, albeit, as you can tell, only for the sake of his money. But in the case of Jesus, the more apparent his true identity becomes, we see the more intense becomes the world's hatred for him. And so with that in mind, we turn now to John chapter 8. And Patsy read the surrounding context, but we're gonna focus particularly on verse 58 today. But the first thing I'd like to do in this sermon is to provide the setting. And if you wanna put a quote for what this is all about, the setting is escalating tensions. As you read through John's gospel, you almost immediately see Jesus come onto the scene and make remarkable claims about his identity, about who he is, and about his exclusive authority to grant life. And although you see some respond to these claims and these signs with faith, We see others respond with rejection. Others respond with offense. And we certainly see that intensifying as we come approaching this section in John chapter 8. In fact, back in chapter 5, we read about one of the claims Jesus made, which was particularly striking, where he said, I am the bread of life. And he was challenged about that, and he winds up just intensifying it all the more. And he says, if you don't eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. And John says, at that point, many of his disciples turned back and followed him no more. And then there's another place where he is challenged because of healing a man on the Sabbath. In fact, this was an earlier time when he's right here in Jerusalem. And because this is done on the Sabbath, he is challenged by the Pharisees. And Jesus responds saying, my father has been working until now, and I have been working. And John tells us that to this, he says, this is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. And so when we come to this section in John 8, this is the culmination of a series of conversations that begin at the time of the Feast of Booths. So this is the third time the Jews would gather in Jerusalem every year. They would go up, and this would be September or October, something like that. Jesus is gonna be crucified about six months later. So that's just where we are chronologically. And we read back in, when he first goes up in chapter seven, that at first, Jesus does not go up to the feast because he's avoiding Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. But then, midway through the feast, Jesus does go up. And he suddenly appears in the temple, and he begins teaching. And this stirs quite a controversy. There's a division. People have all different sorts of thoughts. Everybody is curious. Everybody is wondering, who is this? Some are thinking, well, maybe it's a prophet. Some are saying, well, could this be the Christ? Others are saying, well, no, it can't be the Christ because the Christ is supposed to be born in Bethlehem and be descendant of David, but this guy's from Galilee. Of course, they don't know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And then you have the religious leaders who are the foremost in antagonism against Christ, convinced that he is a false teacher, wanting to put him to death. And so we look for a minute at what is it that Jesus teaches? Well, it says in chapter seven, verse 37, on the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Or then later in chapter eight, verse 12, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Or then in chapter eight, verses 23 and 24. You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. And so, I mean, you see, obviously, Jesus making remarkable, audacious claims about his identity. And it's at this point that people say, who are you? Who are you making yourself out to be? And there's some offense at who does this man think he is? Then in chapter eight, verse 51, Jesus says, truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. And at this point, you know, the people just throw up their arms, and they say, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died, who do you make yourself out to be? And then Jesus responds, your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. And they say, you are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? What are you talking about? Abraham rejoiced to see your day, that he saw it and was glad. How would you know such a thing? And then, verse 58, Jesus says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. And at this point, they pick up stones to throw at him. Now they're in the temple, and you may be thinking, well, where do the stones come from? Well, evidently the temple, it's under construction. They've been building this thing for like 46 years. And so there's debris lying around. And that's probably what they pick up. They are so outraged. There's not gonna be a trial. There's not an arrest. It's let stone him to death in the temple itself. And so what I wanna do is kind of zoom in and ask the question, what exactly is Jesus saying here? Why is it, after all the things he said, that when he says before Abraham was, I am, that that is the moment that the Jews pick up stones. That that is the tipping point, that is when they have just had enough. You know, why is that? What is it that Jesus is really claiming here? Now to do that, what I want to do next, so we've seen the setting, these escalating tensions. What I want to do next is look at the background. And the quote for this section is, God is the I am. So, think with me for a minute. If you could go back and ask Jesus' contemporaries, or even a Jew today, who is God? What would they say? Well, the most sacred thing to a pious Jew is the covenant name of God. Now, you can ask him what that name is, but he wouldn't tell you. Because a Jew will not even say the name out loud. They are that careful to guard against the possibility of taking the name of the Lord in vain. So, in fact, when the Old Testament was written, the name was written as an abbreviation. And that abbreviation is known as the Tetragrammaton, which is just a fancy word for the four letters. And so even now, there's this debate about how do you pronounce it? And probably the best way to pronounce it is Yahweh. But in fact, when a Jew reads the Old Testament and they come to the Tetragrammaton, they will say Adonai, which means Lord, because they do not say the name. And in fact, this convention has carried over into English Bibles as well. So if you read the Old Testament, you will come across lots of places where you see LORD in all caps. That's the Tetragrammaton. And it should probably be pronounced Yahweh. But we have just carried over this Jewish And once you start looking for LORD in all caps in the Old Testament, you will see it everywhere. It occurs more than 5,000 times. And it is the foundation for almost everything. Just one example, when you go to the Ten Commandments, they begin with this, I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. So the sacred covenant name of God is Yahweh. But where does that name come from? Well, turn with me back to Exodus chapter three. And especially verses 13 and 14. So in Exodus 3, this is the passage where God is appearing to Moses in the burning bush, and God is sending Moses to go to Egypt to lead the people out from slavery to Pharaoh. And of course, Moses has lots of questions, lots of excuses. And one of those excuses is, picks up in verse 13 of chapter 3, then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? If they ask, well, what's the name of God? How do we know that you really know this God? Do you even know his name? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, say this to the people of Israel. The Lord, and notice that is in all caps, that is Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. And so we see, you know, Moses says, what's your name? God's name is I am who I am. I am the I am. But then he, that's more of a title. And then God gives this personal name, which is directly connected to it. The name Yahweh. In fact, the word Yahweh is grammatically related to the Hebrew word to be. So, Yahweh is the I Am. I mean, if you're going to ask a Jew, who is your God, they think Yahweh, and you say, well, who's Yahweh? He is the I Am. That's who he is. Now, what does it mean that God is the I Am? Now, we could spend hours contemplating the significance of that. I think it's been well said that this name conceals as much as it reveals. But there are two key things just to think about for a moment. The first is this, God being the I am emphasizes that there is only one God and he is utterly unique. You think for a moment, how does God define himself? He defines himself in terms of himself. I am who I am. He doesn't define himself the way that we would. If a Martian came down and said, well, who are you? I could say, well, I'm a human. I'm a male. I'm a Caucasian. And I can point to other examples of people who fit in my class or category. But God can't do that. God is the one and only one in his class or category. And he is there all by himself. And so the only way to define God is God. He is one and he is unique. He alone is independent, having life and being in and of himself. He is the I am. He alone is eternal and immutable, right? He's never become, he's not becoming, he simply is. He is the one who is and who was and who is to come, the one who from everlasting to everlasting is God. The one who even when the sky wears out and the earth passes away, he will be the same because he is the I am. So there's one God and he is utterly unique. But secondly, this name Yahweh, this fact that God is the I am, this name which sort of conceals as much as it reveals, well, It's directly tied to God's revelation of himself here through the Exodus. In fact, God will say in chapter six of Exodus, God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, that is El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh, I did not make myself known to them. And the point is not, well, now you have this special word, this special name, and it's just the word, that's not the point. The point is, now you have this revelation of my character in the redemption that I am working through the Exodus. So the whole history of Israel, I mean, it centers on this redemptive work of God at the Exodus and this revelation of who this I Am is through delivering his people out of slavery and bringing them into the promised land. He is the faithful God, the God who made promises to Abraham and now has kept them. And so I emphasize this, so if you're a Jew, you know there is one God. That God is Yahweh. That God is the I Am. There is no one like Him. And He is the God who made promises to Abraham and now has fulfilled them through the Exodus. That's your most central understanding of who God is. Now with that background, let's come back to John chapter 8, as we have been considering these claims of Christ, these remarkable things. He says, I'm the light of the world, I'm the bread of life, and so on. But we come to the latter part of John 8. And after the Jews say, who do you think you are? Are you greater than our father Abraham? Jesus replies, Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He sought and was glad, and they say, you're not even 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? I mean, he died 2,000 years ago. And Jesus replies, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. And notice that, he doesn't say merely, before Abraham was, I was. I mean, that would be a rather audacious and remarkable thing to say, to claim pre-existence of Abraham, who was existent 2,000 years ago. But Jesus goes far beyond that. Jesus says, before Abraham was, I am. He's saying, I am the I am. I am Yahweh. I am the one and only God. He's saying, I share the attribute of eternity which the one and only self-existent God possesses. He's saying, before Abraham even existed, I am. Because I am the God who chose Abraham in the first place and made promises to Abraham. I am the God in whom Abraham placed his faith and his hope. And he said, and it is because of me that Abraham is now rejoicing to see my day. Because he knows that I am the one. who has come to save him and to save my people. He's saying, I am the God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and revealed myself as Yahweh. I am the God who brought Israel out of Egypt by my mighty right arm and commanded them the law from Sinai. And he's saying, I am now that same God who has come to redeem the world from sin. In fact, just earlier in this chapter, in verses 34 through 36, Jesus says, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. But if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Right, he is claiming to be the I Am, the God who delivers from slavery and grants redemption. So, we have seen the setting, the escalating tensions, we've seen the background, that God is the I am, and now we have seen the claim that Jesus is God. Let's consider next the choice. Worship or stoning? So, the Jews clearly understand Jesus' claim. There are many, many places in scripture where Jesus is misunderstood and misinterpreted, and they don't understand what he's saying, but this is not one of them. They know exactly what he is saying, and because of that, it leaves them with only two choices. Either they can fall down and worship him as God, or they must prosecute him as a blasphemer. Either he is the God he claims to be, or he is blaspheming the name of the one true God. And according to Leviticus 24 verse 16, it says, anyone who blasphemes the name of Yahweh is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether foreigner or native born, when they blaspheme the name, they are to be put to death. And so as verse 59 makes clear, They picked up stones to throw at him. They choose stoning. I do not think it has really even crossed their minds to think that Jesus might actually be God. I think they are so blinded and prejudiced, they're not really considering the claim. What they know is that in their world, they love God, but they hate Jesus. They have already been looking for an opportunity to kill him, and now they're actually probably kind of happy because Jesus has finally given them the excuse. He's finally given them the license. Now they finally have such clear, convincing evidence of blasphemy that they feel justified killing him. And they feel justified doing this without a trial, without an arrest, stoning him to death right here in the temple. And the main thing I want us to reflect on as we think about this is the fact that Jesus' claims force this kind of polarized response. He forces this kind of choice of either bowing to worship him or utterly rejecting him. You see, Jesus has no interest in winning a following. He does not want a fan club. He insists upon either our absolute allegiance or else threatens our condemnation. Now, it's interesting that if you just go back a little earlier, right where Patsy started reading in this section, You know, you come to the end and you think, well, these must be the people who have hated Jesus all along. Well, actually, if you go back to verse 30, where this conversation seems to pick up, you know, Jesus has previously been speaking and it says in verse 30, as he was saying these things, many believed in him. And then verse 31, so Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. And then they respond, they say, what are you talking about? And Jesus goes on to say, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Verse 37, I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. So in other words, this conversation starts where at least a number of the people who are there, in some sense, it says they believed in Jesus. They liked him. They thought a lot of things Jesus was saying was really good, and yet, when Jesus continues talking, he begins pressing. If you're truly my disciples, you will abide in my word. because I have the exclusive authority to grant life. And as he continues to press, you start to see them turning away. You start to see them questioning. You start to see them taking offense. And ultimately, you see them utterly rejecting him and picking up rocks to stone him. And I bring this up because if you're here this morning and you are not a Christian, what you need to see is that ultimately, There can be no neutrality between you and Jesus Christ. Jesus claims to be God, your maker, and sustainer, and owner. And if that is true, then you owe him loyalty, worship, and obedience in all of life. And anything less than that is rebellion. Anything less is rebellion. And that's why Jesus warns, unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. And at the same time, he promises, truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. So consider, how will you respond to the claims of Christ? So we have seen the setting, the escalating tensions. We've seen the background that God is the I am. We've seen the claim that Jesus is God. And we've seen the choice, worship or stoning. Now let's consider the challenge. And the challenge is this, do we really love God? Do we really love God? I think that's really a question that stares us in the face as we come to this passage. Because everybody here, all of the Jews, if you ask them, what do you think of God? They were convinced that they love God. Every single person here, without exception, would have sworn up and down that they loved the Lord. They were sure they loved the Lord. They thought they were the only people that loved the Lord. In fact, they thought that they hated Jesus because they loved God. And yet, the whole point of John's gospel is to show how tragically deceived they were. To show us that no, Jesus really is who he says he is. He really is the Lord. He really is the son of God, and whoever believes in him will have everlasting life. And yet these very same people who claim to love God meet God. And it brings out of them such hatred that they want to stone him to death. You know, it's no accident that John 9 follows this passage, which is about Jesus healing a man who was born blind. And at the end of that passage, Jesus says, for judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. So what about us? How do we know that we are not blind like the Pharisees? How do we know that we actually love God? Well, I'd like to finish by looking at three tests. I think we can pull out of this passage. So three tests of our love for God. And the first test is quite obvious. Test one is, do you love God's Son? Right, I mean, that is the, Clear point here. Jesus is God. And so if you love Christ, you love God. If you hate Christ, you hate God. That's why in 1 John it says, no one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Of course, this is why we as Christians do not recognize groups like Jehovah's Witnesses who deny the deity of Jesus as fellow Christians. Because if you deny the Son, you don't have the Father either. But I think this can creep in in more subtle ways as well. I recently had a conversation with a woman who has apostatized. You know, one time she was a conservative, professing Christian, holding doctrine like us. And apparently, you know, one morning she just decided she no longer believes that Jesus is God. She no longer believes the Bible. She no longer believes in heaven or hell. And yet, she still does believe in God and prays to God. And one of the things that struck me about that is this question, you know, how does a person go from being a Christian to so quickly just saying, no, I don't think Jesus is God, but I still believe in God? That seems to reflect some kind of separation, like there was already a sense in which Jesus was not the very center of who she understood God himself to be. And I think that challenges us to reflect how central is Christ to our Christianity? How much when we think of God do we think of Jesus himself? I mean, remember, God is the I am. And that conceals as much as it reveals. But Jesus is the I am made visible, right? Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. It's in Jesus that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us that we might behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I mean, Jesus himself is the brightness of his Father's glory and the exact imprint of his nature. And in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So brothers and sisters, if we love Jesus, let's be reminded to look to Jesus. Let's be reminded to go back and read the Gospels afresh and just soak in the glory of who our God is and how he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. You know, being reminded of his wisdom, his power, his compassion, his grace, his love, his faithfulness, and know that that is our God. Let's determine, like the Apostle Paul, to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. Like Paul to say, you know, what things were gained to us, these we count loss for Christ. We count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, our Lord, that we may know Him and be found in Him and attain to the resurrection with Him. And let's run the race that's set before us, looking unto Jesus. the author and perfecter of our faith. All right, so friends, be reminded, you know, test one, do I love God? Well, do I love God's son? A second test. The test is this. Do you love God's glory? Do you love God's glory? Now, you know, let's think back for a minute. Why is it that the Jews were so just zealous, so ready to stone Jesus to death on the spot? You know, do we think that it was really because they just had this love for the glory of God that they just couldn't bear to see, you know, this man claim to be God and that's why they did it? Well, later on, you know, when they wanna kill Jesus and the Jews are shouting out, we have no king but Caesar, they don't seem very worried about the glory of God or about the blasphemy of that statement. The reality is the reason they are so offended by Christ is not because they wanna protect God's glory, it's because they want to protect their own. And you go back to the beginning of this, remember I said there's those who seem to believe in Christ. And at what point is it that they suddenly turn against him? Well, it's when Jesus says, if you're truly my disciples, you abide in my word, and the truth will set you free. And they object, and they seem offended. And they're saying, we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say we'll be set free? And that is one of the most shocking things for a Jew to say. We have never been slaves of anyone. I mean, your entire history is wrapped up in the God, the I Am, delivering you from slavery in Egypt. And that seems conveniently forgotten. But what's on the forefront of their mind? Oh, we're the children of Abraham. We are the chosen people of God. We have these credentials, unlike those Samaritans, unlike those Gentiles. And there is this evident pride, where they want the glory. And when Jesus comes and begins to press them, no, you are slaves of sin, and you depend on the grace of God, they object. And so a second test for us. Do we love God's glory? You know, because if you love God, there is this instinct within that says, it is good and right for God to receive the glory. There's not a jealousy, there's not this sense of, you know, who does God think he is? There's this right affirmation that God is the I am, that God deserves the glory, that my life is to be lived for his glory. And with that comes a willingness to humbly and honestly acknowledge sin. And to say, you know what, the fact is, I have sinned and I have failed and I am weak and I am in need and I need the grace of God. And then to boast and celebrate the grace that God has freely given. Grace that extends to you, grace that extends to all who will believe. And so a mark of a love for God is this rejoicing in his glory. This readiness to speak of God's grace. This willingness to confess your own sin and lack of deservingness. And so friends, if we love his glory, let's just be reminded to seek his glory. Not to try to pretend to be holier than we are, but to strive to bring God the glory, to boast of him and his grace and the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So test one and two, test one, do you love God's son? Test two, do you love his glory? Test three, do you love God's word? And this is something that comes up again and again as you read through John 8. Jesus keeps stressing his word. And he says things like, if God were your father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. Or again in verse 37, you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. And of course the Jews say, well that's because you're not speaking God's word, but we love Moses. But according to Jesus, they don't love Moses and they don't love the Old Testament either. In fact, if we go back to John chapter five, Jesus says, do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me. For he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? So the first way the Jews do not love the word of God, they don't believe it. I mean, the Pharisees seemed to like to argue about theology. They were very sure of their theological orthodoxy, but according to Jesus, they lacked faith. They did not actually believe that God would be faithful to do what God had said. And one of the striking things about it, if you start thinking about the Pharisees, where in all the Gospels do you ever see any indication that they had any real faith or expectation in God's promise of a Messiah? I mean, I thought about that, I was like, Of course they would say, oh yeah, we believe in the Messiah, but do you see any evidence, like did they really treasure the promises of God? Did they really believe that God would do as he had said? Doesn't look like it. In fact, later, you know, if anything, they seem gripped by fear. That what if all the people follow Jesus? Well then the Romans are gonna come and take away our place in our nation. Because they seem really complacent and really content with the way things are. and have no real hope in the promises of God. And then a second way that they don't love God's word according to Jesus, they don't love the law. Earlier in John chapter seven, Jesus says, has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? And what's striking is that in spite of all the Jews scrupulous law keeping, They are lawless at heart. They are quick to set the law aside when it becomes inconvenient to them. For example, when they want to murder Jesus. They would strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. They would tithe mint and dill and cumin, but neglect the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. And why is that? Because they do not love the law. You see, the law to them is the bad medicine required to earn God's favor and prop themselves up over others. The law is not the wise and good counsel of a loving father. And so what is the Jews' real view of God's word? It's untrue, unauthoritative, and burdensome. So what about us? You know, if we love God, do we love His word? I mean, do we believe and treasure the promises of God? Do we view God's commandments not as a burden, not the bad medicine, but rather do we take delight in God's commandments, knowing that we have received grace in Christ and now He has lovingly directed us, this is how to live, to have joy, to bring me glory, to have a good life. And do we treasure God's word because it is the means through which God himself has revealed himself. Because God is the I am, the God of scripture and history. So brethren, let's be reminded, if we love God's word, let's read God's word, let's meditate on God's word, let's memorize God's word, and let's obey God's word. And when we fall short, let's repent. knowing that there is fullness of grace in Jesus Christ. Well, we should conclude. So we've seen the setting, the escalating tension, the background that God is the I am, the claim that Jesus is God, the choice, worship or stoning, and the challenge, do we really love God? And as we conclude, let's remember where we began. We began by considering the dangers of misidentification and the fact that misidentifying others can sometimes expose the true state of our own hearts. Never is this more significant than in what we make of Jesus Christ. He has claimed to be God Almighty and he has validated that claim through signs and wonders and most of all by his resurrection from the dead. The choice this ultimately leaves us is whether we will bow to him in worship or reject him as something less than who he claimed to be. According to Jesus, either you believe that he is he, the I am, or you will die in your sins. But for those who have believed him, who love him, who love his glory, who love his word, Let's be encouraged to know that he loves us. He is the I am, who is both able and willing to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And we rejoice because your word proclaims to us your son, Jesus, the I am. And we rejoice knowing that sinners like us can receive fullness of grace in Christ. God help us to live for you and to give you the glory in Jesus name. Amen.