Jesus Is God Eternal

The Great I AM YHWH ego eimi

On several occasions Jesus used the term ego eimi of Himself as it can be used only of God. The clearest example is when the Jews said to Jesus: " You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham? ' Jesus said to them 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM (Greek: ego eimi) . Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him' ' (John 8:57-59). The Jews sought to kill Him more as he made the claim to deity. The Old Testament was clear. The prescribed penalty for blasphemy was to be stoned to death (Leviticus 24:16) .

Jesus ascribed this title to Himself in other instances as well. Earlier in the same chapter, Jesus declared: "... unless you believe that I am (ego eimi] He, you shall die in your sins (John 8:24). In Greek the word He does not appear. It simply reads "... unless you believe that I am..." He told the Jews, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am (ego eimi) He" (John 8:28). Again the He is omitted / in the Greek.

Jesus continually affirmed His deity. When Jewish temple guards, along with Roman soldiers, came to arrest Him the night before His crucifixion, Jesus asked them "Whom do you seek? They answered Him 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said to them, 'I am (ego eimi] He.'... When therefore He said to them, 'I am He,' they drew back, and fell to the ground' ' (John 18:4-6). They were unable to stand before the force of His claim and the force of His person.

Perhaps more important than the fact that the disciples gave this designation to Jesus is that His enemies recognized that He was claiming to be God. A hostile witness is always strong evidence in a court of law. For example, as will be elaborated on later, Jesus said,

"I and the Father are one. " The Jews took up stones again to stone Him Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning me?'' The Jews answered him ''For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God' ' (John 10.30-33).

There was no doubt as to who the Jewish leaders thought Jesus was making Himself out to be. Thus, the main accusation of Jesus' enemies centered not on what He did, but rather on who He claimed to be: God. Quote from the book by Josh Mcdowell “ Jesus a Public Defense of his Deity” Chapter 2

Scriptures Quotes of The Great I AM ego eimi

Exodus 3:13-36 (NASB) 13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you ' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

Footnotes: Exodus 3:14 Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered LORD, which is derived from the verb HAYAH, which means To Be

Deuteronomy 32:39 (NASB) See now that I, I Am He, and there is no God besides Me;

Isaiah 43:10 (NASB) "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "and My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me and understand that I Am He Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.

John 8:24 (NASB) 24"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

John 8:52-28 (NASB) 52 The Jews said to Him, 53 "Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56"Your father Abraham )rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 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 born, I am."

John 8:24-58 (NASB) 24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am He, you will die in your sins."

John 13:19 (NASB) "From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I Am He.

John 18 (NASB)Judas Betrays Jesus

1 Jesus went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered.

2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.

3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, Whom do you seek?"

5 They answered Him, "Jesus the Nazarene." He said to them, "I am He." And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

6 So when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Therefore He again asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus the Nazarene."

8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am He;

How many people came to arrest Jesus???

How Many Men are in a Cohort? Cohorts: included 6 centuriae or a total of 480 fighting men, not including officers. In addition the first cohort was double strength but with only 5 centuriae instead of the normal 6. So, a Cohort could be as many as 600 men, maybe more!

Jesus’s words were so powerful when he said I AM, all the cohort of Roman Soldiers, all 600 & the Scribes and Pharisees, fell to the ground!

Interesting!


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