John 8:58 – “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I
say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

This
statement of Jesus’ was said at the end of a passage that starts with the woman
caught in adultery.  Jesus also states
that “I Am the light of the world” here. The Pharisees heard him and started
getting angry as they heard his words. He says “I AM…” many times, equating himself
with the Father (Exodus 3:14), using the Greek form of the Hebrew words found
in Exodus. In Hebrew, “hayah” and in Greek “ego eimi” are the words used by God
in Exodus 3:14. The Greek form, “ego eimi” is used in John. The Pharisees were
well aware of this.

In
this particular verse (vs.58), Jesus is telling the Pharisees that he existed
before Abraham and goes on to tell them that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. “The
claim to be in existence before Abraham is either delusion or a statement that
the speaker was sovereign over time.” (Morris 1989)
The Pharisees could not understand what Jesus was saying there. They took it to
mean someone who was delusional because, due to their spiritual blindness, they
could not understand that Jesus was the Messiah.

This
verse (John 8:58) is often used as the proof text of Jesus’ deity. The other “I
AM” statements are more metaphor or simile. For example, “I AM the bread of
life”. Jesus is not saying that he is a loaf of bread, but that He is the
source of life. That statement was not a blatant claim of deity, unlike the
claim Jesus makes in verse 58.

John 8:48-59 in context:

Jesus’
Claims About Himself

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you
are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor
my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself;
but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I
tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are
demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever
obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our
father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means
nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵
Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar
like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father
Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and
you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham
was born, I am (emphasis added)!” ⁵⁹
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping
away from the temple grounds.  (NIV)

The Pharisees were questioning
Jesus regarding His statement that Abraham was glad to see His day (vs. 56). Jesus
did not explain to them exactly when Abraham saw his day, so according to
Towns, there are seven possible explanations for this. One is that the Jews
believed that Abraham was living in paradise at the time and could see events
on earth. Another is the theophany that Abraham experienced when Jehovah
appeared to him and warned him of the destruction of Sodom. “Since Christ has
all judgment (John 5:30) and this was a physical appearance of Jehovah (He
ate), then it must have been Christ whom Abraham saw”. (Towns 2002)

The Pharisees went to stone Jesus (vs. 59)
because they understood what Jesus was claiming, and since they were blind to
this, they equated his statement to blasphemy. The punishment for blasphemy was
death by stoning. Jesus was making an explicit claim to deity here and the
Pharisees could not or would not tolerate this. It is the statement that sets
the stage for the rest of Jesus’ persecution by the Pharisees.

Jesus makes quite clear his claim
to deity here. The wording is exactly the same as in the Old Testament. In
Exodus 3:14, God tells Moses that he is the pre-existent deity who has been
around before time. He is the creator of the universe and life. In John 1, the
same claims are made for Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was
with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1).  The Pharisees could not see that prophesy had
been fulfilled in Jesus. They were under the mistaken impression he was a
Galilean and immediately discarded the prophesy that the Messiah would be born
in Bethlehem, the City of David (Micah 5:2). They were supposed to be the
“scholars”, like the Talmudic scholars of today, yet they were blinded to the
truth.

In the time that Jesus lived, one
who came in the “name” of another or someone acting as the agent of their
master was considered to be the same as their master. Jesus did this. He
claimed that “I and the Father are one”. This is also a statement that Jesus
was acting as the Father’s agent on earth, able to do the same things, entitled
to the same rights. So, when Jesus claimed that before Abraham was “I AM”, he
was implicitly stating, in line with his other claims that he had come in the
stead of the Father, that they were one in purpose and ability. Jesus had all
the abilities of the father at his disposal to use or not use as he saw fit.

Today there are many religions
that also do not see the truth of this statement. Some of them have altered
their “bibles” to cloud this. For example, The New World Translation used by
the Jehovah’s Witnesses translates this verse as “Jesus said to them: “Most
truly I say to you; Before Abraham came into existence, I have been.” (Society 1984) This is an
intentional slight to cover the reference back to Exodus 3:14, to suit their
particular beliefs as to who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus’ claim to deity is the
cornerstone of faith in Him, even beyond the resurrection. Jesus is the
fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies. He is the eternal Word, He is
the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 21:12). Jesus statement that “I AM” in John
8:58 lays out his deity, his mission and his power. He is the same as the
Father, the eternal Word, the only begotten son, the agent of creation. As the
Nicene Creed states “one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were
made”. Jesus’ claims to deity are undeniable. The question then becomes what
mankind is going to do about that statement.