Before Abraham was, I AM

[tonychanyt]

In John 5, Jesus had a run-in with some Jews when they accused Jesus of making himself equal to God.

It happened again, 3 chapters later in John 8:

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”

What? Are you God?

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

That's it. This is blasphemy. Let's kill him.

59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews were seriously deadly. Why?

Because Jesus connected himself with the great I AM in Ex 3:14, Wiki:

Septuagint Exodus 3:14 "And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am (ego eimi) THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you."[2]

Some early church fathers agreed:

Ambrose (ca. 340-400) took "I am" not as merely related to Abraham, but a statement including from before Adam. In his Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book III wrote: "In its extent, the preposition “before” reaches back into the past without end or limit, and so “Before Abraham was, [ἐγώ εἰμι]” clearly need not mean “after Adam,” just as “before the Morning Star” need not mean “after the angels.” But when He said “before [πριν],” He intended, not that He was included in any one's existence, but that all things are included in His, for thus it is the custom of Holy Writ to show the eternity of God.[5]

John Chrysostom (ca. 349-407) attached more theological significance to ego eimi, In his 55th Homily on John: "But wherefore said He not, Before Abraham was, "I was" (ἐγώ ἦν), instead of "I Am" (ἐγώ εἰμι)? As the Father uses this expression, I Am (ἐγώ εἰμι), so also does Christ; for it signifies continuous Being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to them to be blasphemous."[6]

This was not an isolated incident. By saying "Before Abraham was, I AM", Jesus connected himself with the great I AM of YHWH. At least some of the Jews thought so, so much that they wanted to kill him. Two chapters later, Jesus spelled it out for them, John 10:

30 "I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

 

[Maria Billingsley]

In John 5, Jesus had a run-in with some Jews when they accused Jesus of making himself equal to God.

It happened again, 3 chapters later in John 8:

What? Are you God?


That's it. This is blasphemy. Let's kill him.

The Jews were seriously deadly. Why?

Because Jesus connected himself with the great I AM in Ex 3:14, Wiki:


Some early church fathers agreed:


This was not an isolated incident. By saying "Before Abraham was, I AM", Jesus connected himself with the great I AM of YHWH. At least some of the Jews thought so, so much that they wanted to kill him. Two chapters later, Jesus spelled it out for them, John 10:

I believe more than a connection, God Himself in the flesh. . I Am and YHWH are the same name. Blessings