I AM Statements of Jesus; Part 2

Introduction

Hopefully you enjoyed the first half of this study guide. We continue the guide now, starting in John 11.

Interestingly this “I AM” statement, in John 11, is the first one spoken only to friends and followers. The first four “I AM” statements are spoken to the Pharisees and the crowds. The final three, starting here, are spoken to friends and followers. As such the context and purpose is different. Where the previous statements spoke truth and challenge the final three speak love and invitation.

Personal Question

• Thank Jesus for revealing Himself to us in scripture.

• Ask Jesus to show you more of who He is as you read these passages.

I AM the resurrection and the life

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and he who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?””

John 11: 25-26

This statement speaks across the situation that Martha is in, it speaks a promise, and an invitation to believe the promise and the promise giver.

“But Jesus was speaking to a woman whose brother was dead, and whose heart was sore and lonely. And what he said leaped out across the barriers of death giving us a tremendous promise for the future life.”

(The Interpreter’s Bible Volume 8, 1978, p644)

Paul picks up on this truth in his letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 2 we see Paul work out this resurrection truth into a practical statement that takes the truth of Jesus, “I am the resurrection”, and applies it to those who believe.

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.”

Ephesians 2: 4-5

This is the practical outworking of the truth; that we can know life, we can know freedom from transgressions and sinful nature, and can experience God’s grace and mercy. All of this because Jesus is the resurrection.

In saying “I am the resurrection” Jesus is saying I am the author of life after death. Paul is then telling us we don’t wait until we die physically. Rather, before we knew Jesus we were already dead spiritually. When we come to Jesus we get to know and experience the resurrection at that point. We can know life in the fullness of that truth. What does it mean to live in the resurrection now?

“... it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 2: 5-6

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do”

Ephesians 2: 10

The word resurrection carries with it a sense of restoration. When we come into the resurrection we are restored to God’s original plan. Where we were dead and heading for eternity away from God, we are now alive and living with the promise of eternity with God. This has always been the plan; that we would be those that bear His image and those who bring worship before Him. When we come to Jesus we enter this freedom again. It is a freedom to be with Jesus each day, working with Him and following the plan God has set out for us.

Personal Question

• Ask Jesus to draw you into His truth once more.

• What would it mean for you to live in the power of the resurrection every day?

I AM the way and the truth and the life

The second “I AM” statement spoken directly to friends is in John 14.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

John 14: 6

This is spoken to the disciples as a way of bringing them peace and comfort. In the preceding chapters Jesus has predicted his betrayal, his death, and Peter’s denial. The disciples have thrown their all in with Jesus, the thought of Him leaving, let alone dying, after only three years with them is very troubling. It is into this context that Jesus speaks these words.

Taken as a whole this is a powerful statement of the trinity. Jesus is the way to the Father. God the Father is the only source of truth, and the Holy Spirit is the power for our life in God. All three persons present in this statement of truth. All three in Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

With this in mind let’s look at each part in turn.

The way

The Greek word here is 'hodos', and at its simplest means road or path. It is a general term for a thoroughfare, a way from place to place.

In Acts we see this word used to mean a lifestyle of following Jesus, Acts 9:2. Here, in John 14, it is speaking of a means of access.

Jesus is the means of access to the Father. For us, when we come to Jesus we also come to the Father. Hebrews 9 is where we can read a fuller explanation of this; Jesus has made a way, is in fact the way, to God. This way is open to all who believe and access is permanently granted; it is no longer only one priest with access once a year to the presence of God.

Jesus also tells us that in His going He is sending the Holy Spirit.

“But the counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

John 14: 26

Jesus is the way to receive the Holy Spirit.

All of this is contained in this “I AM” statement. As we read scripture we see this further unpacked for us, not only in Hebrews 9 but also in Romans 5.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”

Romans 5: 1-2

Jesus has given us access. All we need to do is believe in Him, and obey His commands, then we will know the love of the Father, and the power of the trinity at work in our lives (John 14: 21-23).

Personal Question

• Thank Jesus for making the way to Father.

• Spend time now with God the Father, you needn’t say anything, just sitting in His presence is good.

The Truth

Jesus is the truth. There is nothing complex here. We live in a time where people ask “what is truth?”, or “can there even be truth?”. The answer is Jesus is the truth.

So, what is “truth” in this context? The Greek word, 'alētheia', means corresponding to reality. Here we see Jesus declare He is “the truth”. The determiner is very important. Jesus, in all three parts of this statement says “the”; “I am the truth”. He is declaring truth as an absolute, and that He is that absolute truth.

In practical terms this means there is nothing false in Jesus and we can trust Him completely. We see this at the very start of John’s Gospel.

“The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1: 14

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

John 1: 17

To live in this truth is to live in the light, we have already seen that Jesus is the light of the world. In John 3 Jesus makes it clear that to live in the truth is to live in His light.

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

John 3:21

In a world where people question the very concept of truth we can know, and have a personal relationship with the truth; Jesus is the truth.

Personal Question

• Thank Jesus for being a rock of truth.

• Ask Jesus to help you live out His truth and speak it in love to those around you.

The Life

The final part of this declaration is Jesus stating that we only find life in Him. The word used for life is 'zoë', which means physical or spiritual life, and carries with it a sense of eternal life. When we consider the breadth of Jesus’ teaching, and remember all the miracles He performed while on earth we can see that Jesus is concerned with both our physical and spiritual life. Often we can separate these out, but for Jesus such separation is not viable. The physical and spiritual are entwined together.

Not only are these inseparably linked they are only found in Jesus. This declaration is not the first time Jesus has said this. If we look in John 5 we see the healing of the lame man at the pool called Bethesda. After this physical miracle the Pharisees confront Jesus and Jesus talks about their spiritual health and eternal life.

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that speak about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

John 5: 39-40

Jesus is clearly declaring He is the source of life. A theme we saw in John 10 (especially verse 10) as Jesus declared He is the good shepherd. Paul picks up on this in his letter to the believers in Rome.

“...so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5: 21

Jesus is the source of eternal life.

Jesus is the way to live, and the way to the Father; He is the source of our salvation.

Jesus is the truth; in a world where absolutes are shunned and uncertainty prevails we can know firm, solid, foundational truth.

Jesus is the life; He cares for our physical and spiritual life. In coming to Him we receive eternal life.

Personal Question

• Thank Jesus for the gift of eternal life in Him.

• Ask the Holy Spirit for fresh life, and fresh passion for Jesus.

I AM the vine

The vine

We come now to the final “I AM” statement. Jesus and His disciples have left the upper room where they shared the last supper. Jesus has already said He is going away, and explained that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

John 15: 1-4

The imagery of this short passage is repeated throughout chapter 15. It is worth taking the time to read the full chapter.

At first glance the meaning of the image seems obvious. Vines have branches, branches only grow if they remain connected to the vine. Jesus in the vine, if we want to grow we must remain connected to Him.

We will come back to the idea of remaining in a moment. First let’s look under the surface of this imagery. After all, Jesus could have used any tree or bush; figs and olives were also common and would work just as well for the surface level point. He chose vine, and not just because it was a prevalent plant.

To understand why the image is that of the vine we need to go back to the exodus. In Psalm 80, as the psalmist cries out to God for help he recalls what God has done in the past for Israel.

“You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.

You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.”

Psalm 80: 8 -9

The psalmist is remembering the escape from Egypt. In Exodus 15, after the Egyptians are washed away we read the song of Moses and Miriam.

“You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance - the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hand established.”

Exodus 15: 17

The vine has been a powerful image throughout Israel’s history; according to Josephus a great golden vine hung over the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. Israel has been God’s vine. It has been important, commanded even, throughout their history that the people of Israel remain as just that; Deuteronomy 7: 3 for example.

So what is Jesus saying when He says “I am the true vine”? He is declaring that He is the messiah, and that God’s people are now those who come to Him. His use of the word “alēthinos”, translated as “true”, means that Jesus is saying He is the real, authentic, and genuine vine. It indicates that He is the true vine that bears the fruit that the nation of Israel failed to produce. (See Kruse, Colin G, Tynedale New Testament Commentaries John Revised Edition, 2017, p366)

No longer is it just Israel. In Jesus the vine has grown much larger and all who believe in Him, who love Him, are part of God’s people.

Personal Question

• Thank Jesus that you belong to Him, the true vine.

• Spend time meditating on what it means for you, day to day, to be connected to the true vine.

The gardener

Next we see that with Jesus as the vine God the Father is the gardener. It is God who is at work in the lives of those who believe, it is God who tends and prunes, dresses and arranges the vine for fruitfulness. Much like is done with grapevines to ensure a good harvest.

The act of pruning the vines is an act of care, love, and protection. In viticulture this is done in the spring and the autumn. Slightly different practises but for the same purpose; to ensure the vine is healthy and fruitful. Jesus is saying that the Father cares for, loves, and protects the vine, that He tends it to bring out a good harvest.

What Jesus says to the disciples next is really interesting.

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”

John 15: 3

The word used for clean here, “katharos”, has the same origin as the word for prune in verse 2, “kathairõ”. This is clever word play that shows Jesus is saying to His disciples they are clean, by His words they are pruned, they have been dressed by the gardener. It is hearing Jesus’ words that have done this. According to Kruse (ibid. p365) this alludes to the springtime pruning that happens during the flowering stage to ensure a fruitful harvest.

This teaches us of the importance of Jesus’ words for us today. Fortunately for us we have them recorded in the Bible. As we read the Bible we are being cleaned, and pruned by the gardener, the words of scripture work in us to bring about fruitfulness. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians tells us what this fruit will be.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

Galatians 5: 22

As we, the branches, remain in the vine, and allow the words of Jesus to clean and prune us this is the fruit we will bear.

Personal Question

• Thank God for His pruning in your life.

• Thank God for the Bible.

• Spend time thinking about these verses and ask God to continue His work in your life.

The branches

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15: 5

We have seen already that Jesus is the vine, and the Father is the gardener. Now we see that we are the branches. Branches need to be connected to the vine. Through Jesus we are drawn into a “living union” with Him (Galloway I, Called to be friends, 2021, p238). It is not a stale religion full of do’s and don'ts. Jesus, just before His death and resurrection, is making it clear to His disciples that following Him is a living union, an adventure that they have together. As we read these words we are receiving the same invitation; an invitation to join with and remain in Jesus.

So what does it mean to remain? Jesus makes this point four times in John 15: 1-17 using the word “remain” ten times. The word for remain is “menõ”, but what does this mean? The Greek word means to abide, to continue in, and to endure; there is a sense of permanence and carrying on. This leaves the question: what are we carrying on in, or with? Jesus calls us to remain in Him and He will remain in us. It is a call to continue in a relationship.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15: 9

We can remain by following Jesus through His words and teaching (John 15: 3). Also by loving Him and one another we will remain connected to the vine.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind’. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’””

Matthew 22: 36-39

As we do this we follow Jesus’ teaching and in that we remain in Him.

Branches need the vine to endure, and in the same way we need Jesus. His promise is to love us as the Father loves Him. Our instruction is to love each other (John 15: 17)

Personal Question

• Are you connected to Jesus?

• Ask him to draw you into a closer relationship with Him.

• Tell Jesus you love Him and ask Him to be with you.