God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'." (Exodus 3:14)

In this instance the phrase "I AM" reflects the name of God, describing His awesome majestic power and authority over all He has created. Indeed it describes His sovereignty.

Jesus said, "I am" to demonstrate His character.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mat 11:29)

Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. {26} But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. {27} For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves." (Luke 22:25-27)

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." (John 18:37)

In these passages we see Jesus explaining what sort of 'person' He was. He is 'gentle and humble of heart'; He takes the role of a 'servant', and yet He also identifies Himself as a 'king', born to a royal role. There could be a contradiction in these characteristics, for what the Jews of Jesus' day saw in their kings and rulers was far and away from gentility, humility or service to others.

Jesus demonstrated His gentleness, humility, service and majesty in His sacrificial death on the Cross for our sins, taking our punishment as the atoning "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." His character brings us salvation, for which we must ever be grateful.

Jesus said, "I am" to demonstrate He is a friend.

".... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

In these words, some of the last Jesus spoke to His followers before His ascension; He commissions them to carry on the work that He began. He had previously told His followers that He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to continue encouraging and empowering them, as He had been doing while He was with them. Here He assures them that just as a true human friend encourages, so He too, will be there with them 'in Spirit' alongside them as they do the work to which He had called them.

The old hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus" truly expresses what Jesus' friendship is like. He is there to assure, comfort and console us in our time of need and to cheer and encourage us as we go about doing our ministry and witness in His name.

Jesus said, "I am" to demonstrate His divinity.

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." (Mark 8:27-29)

"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14:10-11)

"On that day you will realise that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." (John 14:20)

"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58)

But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:61-62)

Jesus had to put His disciples to the test early in their training, to have them verbalise the thoughts which were running around in their heads after what they had seen of Jesus' teaching and healing. Peter, the impetuous and bold, takes the lead and speaks the truth which had been given to him by God, "You are the Christ - the Messiah." Jesus does not deny this, nor does he reprimand Peter, but goes on to commend him for what he has said.

However, even as Jesus' last days were upon Him, some disciples were still struggling with the concept of Jesus' divinity. At the Last Supper, Philip was still questioning and looking for signs, so Jesus had to remind him quickly that what he and the others had observed and experienced were, in fact, signs of Jesus' divinity.

The Jews, on the other hand, could not bring themselves to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, so Jesus had to bring them to their senses with statements like John 8:58. This was a telling declaration, as the Jews laid great store by their ancestry from Abraham and revered him and his memory as the father of their nation. What Jesus said here brought His divinity into focus for the Jews.

Obviously, this statement and others like it which Jesus made during His ministry had a telling effect on the Jews and their leaders, as it was one of the main points of contention they had against Jesus at His 'trial.' Despite what they had seen, what they had heard and all that they had been told, they still refused to accept Jesus' claims to be God's Son. Some of the last words Jesus spoke before His crucifixion were to once again witness to the Jews that He is the Son of God.

The fact that Jesus is God's Son makes us all the more humble when we reflect upon His death for our sins. God became man and that man became the sacrifice to atone for our sin, our rebellion and our unbelief. It is no wonder that we should humble ourselves before Him and seek to serve and honour Him with all the powers that he has given us.

Jesus said, "I am" to demonstrate that He is our Saviour

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35)

" I am the bread of life. {49} Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. {50} But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. {51} I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:48-51)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. {8} All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. {9} I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. {10} The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. {11} I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:7-11)

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:14)

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

These are the most well known "I am" statements of Jesus in which he describes Himself variously as 'the bread of life, the light of the world, the gate and the shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way, the truth and the life'. Each one of these descriptions helped His hearers to understand some aspect of His saving ministry, as they were all well-understood word pictures:

• Bread was and still is a basic food item;
• light is necessary for comfortable and safe living conditions,
• a shepherd and his sheepfold were symbols of caring.

Jesus' statements about being both the 'resurrection and the life' as well as 'the way, the truth and the life' were more esoteric. For the Jews, who had been well grounded in the Old Testament Scriptures, they were statements which dramatically pointed out that Jesus was beyond a mortal prophet. He made claims which could only be supported by the fact that He was the Christ, the longed-for Messiah, the Saviour from God.

Even though some of these symbols have lost their impact in our world, the message they and Jesus' other 'Saviour' declarations have are pertinent:
We have nothing which pleases God, nothing which can break down the barrier fixed between us and God - the barrier brought about by the incompatibility between God's holiness, righteousness and justice and our sinful condition.

The only things which are able to break that barrier down are Jesus' 'blood and righteousness.' Only He as the Saviour sent from God to die as the atoning sacrifice for our sins can bring us into God's presence as the shepherd brings back the sheep to his fold.

Jesus made these "I am" statements to help us understand who He is - the Holy Son of God, our friend and Saviour.

Ken Langshaw