Entrusting Faithful Men

Asked to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses asks, “Who shall I say sent me?” God responds, “I AM WHO I AM. Tell them ‘I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:13-15). God continues, “This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” Thus, God would always refer to Himself as “I AM”.

“I AM” comes from a Hebrew word “hayah” meaning to exist, to be, to happen. The Hebrew letters comprising the word (yod-he-haw-he) would be transliterated into English as YHWH (pronounced Yahweh). In the Hebrew Scriptures, we have several instances of the term Yahweh combined with other words to describe specific aspects of God’s nature and attributes, most often in commemorating God’s specific blessings. Our English rendering of YHWH is Jehovah, combining the Latinized version, JHVH, with the vowels from Adonai, another name for God meaning master or lord.

• Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will provide (Gen. 22:13, 14).
• Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord that healeth (Exod. 15 :26).
• Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord our Banner (Exod. 17:8-15).
• Jehovah-Shalom: The Lord our Peace (Judges 6:24).
• Jehovah-Ra-ah: The Lord my Shepherd (Psa. 23:1).
• Jehovah-Tsidkenu: The Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6).
• Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord is present (Ezek. 48:35).

In his Gospel account, the Apostle John relates seven instances of where Jesus spoke of Himself as “I am _____”. There is also an eighth instance where Jesus simply says “I AM”, though in our English translations it is translated “I am He.”

John clearly states the purpose of his Gospel account in John 20:30-31 – that we “might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” John’s readers would certainly equate Jesus’ use of “I am” with a self-proclamation of His deity. Like the Pharisees who sought to stone Him for declaring Himself to be God, John’s readers would make the connection to Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush. Over the next few weeks we’ll explore each of the “I AM” statements presented in the Gospel of John and the underlying significance with regards to Jesus’ self proclamation of His deity.