I Am God, worship me. – Jesus
God, came to earth, in the form of a man – known as the eternal Word. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…”- John 1:1, 14 He is the creator of ALL things and He revealed himself in Exodus 3:14-15 Written in Hebrew it says – “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’…”This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.”” Over 3400 years ago God told the people of Israel his name and it was “I AM.”.
1400 years later, Jesus stood before a much later generation of the people of Israel, and said, most likely in Hebrew or possibly Aramaic, NOT ENGLISH, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sin.” – John 8:23-24 Jesus also told the Jews, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” – John 8:58 The Jews immediately pick up stones to kill Jesus.
Jesus also told the Jews, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” – John 10:25-30 The Jews again picked up stones to kill Jesus and he asked them “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of these works do you stone me?” The Jews responded by saying, “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because YOU, BEING A MAN, MAKE YOURSELF GOD.” – John 10:33
The Jews heard Jesus, in their mother tongue say, that He is the “I AM” and they went to kill him. They heard Jesus say, “I and my father are one” and they went to kill him. These are Jews, who know the Old Testament – the T’nach (Jewish Hebrew Bible) and they said verbatim, “YOU, BEING A MAN, MAKE YOURSELF GOD.”
Jesus said He is God.
They understood Him to say he was God.
And they went to kill him.
Jesus was in Gesthemane where Judas (Jesus’ betrayer) had led the Roman troops, officers of the chief priests, Pharisees and temple guards to meet Jesus and to take him into custody for the “blasphemies” that Jesus had spoken.
In the book of John it says…
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I Am” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, “I Am ,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I have told you that I Am. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” – John 18:4-9
Don’t read over this text too quickly or you’ll miss it. Jesus when responding to who they were looking for says, “I Am.” If you or I respond to someone saying “I am so and so” – no one would think anything of it. But Jesus was very specific as to what He said. And then the follow up in the text says,
Now when He said to them, “I Am,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
What?!? What just happened? Not an earthquake. No gust of wind mentioned. How can we understand what’s happening here? Let scripture interpret scripture…
– Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. – Job 1:20
– And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” – Joshua 5:14
Both Job and Joshua fell down in reverence and worship. Not the worship you would give to someone that you just respect – whether a father or a king, but only to God. In the instance with Jesus, they drew back and fell to the ground. Jews knew to fall to the ground in worship of God. But what excuse do the Roman guards have? A lot of people have speculated – but let’s just read the text of what a Roman officer and centurion have said themselves:
– So there was a division among the people because of Him. (Jesus) Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” – John 7:43-46
– So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” – Mark 15:39
Son of God is one of many names that Jesus assigned to himself – but this one in particular was when Jesus was claiming to have the same nature of God. You be the judge on the centurion said this. But going back to why these men drew back and then fell to the ground in the first place. The Jews were doing it in worship, they have no other excuse, but why would the other men fall to the ground – other than to worship Jesus?
Now, to the last part of what Jesus said during that encounter.
-Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”
Jesus was handing himself over to the authorities and ensuring scripture would be fulfilled, by his disciples being left alone for the time being.
– “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” – John 10:17-18
Jesus was not captured. He fulfilled his statement from before. He already knew he would be betrayed. He handed himself to the guards. He gave his life for you and me on the cross. And after 3 days, Jesus raised himself from the dead in His perfected and resurrected body.
Jesus is God and he accepted worship. Just by declaring His name, “I AM” – he was declaring, “I am God, worship Me.”
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