What Does Jesus Want From Me? “I Am”

What Does Jesus Want From Me?

“I Am”

In Revelation 1:17, Jesus revealed His name to us. While the actual name is very important - and we’ll look at that tomorrow - it’s also very important to notice how He said that name.

Revelation 1:17

“Do not be afraid, “I Am The First And The Last”.

Don’t miss the significance of those first two words. In the Greek language, “I am” is easy to say. It’s a very common word: “eimi”. Or, you could just say “ego”. That’s a pronoun which means roughly the same thing. But that’s not what Jesus said, according to John. He said, “ego eimi.” He emphasized it by saying “I am” twice, in two different ways. Why would He do that?

It’s not the only time in the Bible that that happens. The first time we see it is in the book of Exodus. Exodus was written in Hebrew but when the Greeks decided to create a Greek version of the Old Testament - the Septuagint - they didn’t know how to translate Exodus 3:14. That’s where God revealed His holy name to Moses from the burning bush.

The Hebrew word is difficult to translate because it was forbidden to be spoken by the Jews. Over time, its precise meaning had been lost. Most scholars believe that it meant something like, “I Am That I Am” or “I Am Who I Am”.

So, how did the Greeks decide to represent that name in their translation of the Bible? They chose the phrase “ego eimi”.

Now do you see what’s going on? John was clearly aware of this. In John 8:58, He used the same phrase to tell us what Jesus called Himself when the Jews tried to kill Him for blasphemy. In fact, John used the same phrase in all of the “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John.

I Am the Bread of Life

I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life

I Am the Good Shepherd

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

I Am the True Vine

I Am the Door

I Am the Light of the World

John is telling us something. Jesus is The Great I Am. He is God.

How are you going to respond to that? Maybe tomorrow’s name will help.