Overview
Who is Jesus?
Everyone has their own ideas about who Jesus is. Even other religions have their own idea about who Jesus was. They make him out to be just another god, a prophet, a good moral teacher, or even God’s first creation.
Christians believe that Jesus was not just another god, but the one and only God himself. He was not simply a prophet with good moral teachings, but God’s Son with the very words of life. He wasn’t God’s first creation, but was the Creator himself. However, even Christians differ in their understanding about who Jesus is.
What did Jesus say?
Everyone has their own idea about who Jesus is. But what did Jesus say about who he was?
The apostle John was one of Jesus’ closest disciples. He wrote the Gospel of John to record the eye witness testimony of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. He tells us exactly why he wrote his gospel in John 20:31, "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
"I am..."
John recorded seven emphatic statements of Jesus declaring exactly who he was:
- “I am the bread of life” | John 6:35
- “I am the light of the world” | John 8:12
- “I am the door of the sheep” | John 10:9
- “I am the good shepherd” | John 10:11
- “I am the resurrection and the life” | John 11:25
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life” | John 14:6
- “I am the true vine” | John 15:1, 5
Together, these statements create a beautiful mosaic of who Jesus is, not from our own ideas, but from His own words.
It’s not our place to define Jesus in our own terms. We must trust that He is who He says He is. Each of these “I AM” statements have significant meaning to our lives as they show us more clearly who Jesus is and what he has done for us. They help us to gain, not simply a head knowledge about who Jesus is, but a heart knowledge to help us believe and live in light of who He says he is. When we truly believe Jesus is God and the Savior of those who believe, it changes us. Every aspect of our life is transformed by Him – nothing is left untouched.
Resources
Sermon Series
Click here to listen to our "I am" sermon series in the Gospel of John.
Bible Reading Plan
In this "I am" Bible reading plan, we will take time to read through the gospel of John twice: first, quickly, to focus on the overarching storyline and second, slowly, to focus on the individual stories of Jesus’. Corresponding to these two readings, we will be reading Exodus, where Moses encounters the God of his forefathers, the “I AM” who comes to deliver His people. In addition, we will focus on Jeremiah, the prophet called by God to deliver God’s Word and call his people back to worship the one true God, the “I AM.”