“When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he” (John 8:28). As can be noted from the italic type in the KJV, the “he” is not in the Greek text. The Greek is ego eimi, which is an emphatic way of saying, “I am.”
This seems like an incomplete statement. We would expect it to read, “I am the bread of life” or “lam the resurrection” (John 6:35; 11:25) or “I am the Messiah.” What did Jesus mean, “know that I am”? Was he referring to some purpose of God already set out in the prophets that the Jews would have been aware of?
Some in his audience recognized the significance of his words for “many believed on him” (John 8:30).
Context of redemption
The statement that follows is significant because it is part of a pattern that we will see repeated in connection with the phrase “I am.” Jesus said to those Jews which believed on him, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (vs. 31,32). The freedom he had in mind was freedom from bondage to sin (vs. 34-36). They would also be freed from the Law of Moses which convicted them of sin. We remember that the Law was given through Moses under God’s memorial name, Yahweh — “He will be“
In Isaiah 52, the context is also redemption. “Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, 0 captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money” (vs. 2-3). They could be assured of God’s willingness to redeem them from captivity because He had saved them from Egypt and from the Assyrian invader (v.4).
They were involved, however, with a form of captivity from which they could not be saved by the overthrow of a nation. They were captives to sin for they had given themselves over to sin, “my name continually every day is blasphemed” (v. 5). The remedy follows, “Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I” (v.6). The RV margin has an interesting point on the phrase, “behold, it is!” noting that it is literally, “behold, here I am.”
The rest of Isaiah 52 and all of Isaiah 53 sets out the redemptive work of our Lord. This was a work in which God revealed His method of salvation for all to see. “The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations” (Isa. 52:10). We thus have this same connection of salvation with the title, “I am.”
“I am” in John
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of the “here I am” of Isaiah 52.
When speaking to the woman of Samaria, Jesus revealed his identity as, “I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:26). In Young’s Literal Translation this reads, “I am, who am speaking to thee.” The Greek for “I am” is again ego eimi. After walking on the Sea of Galilee, thereby demonstrating he was from God and had overcome the world (the dark and stormy sea), he said, “It is I be not afraid” (John 6:20). In the Greek, the phrase, “It is I” is ego eimi -”I am.” What he said to them was, “Be not afraid, I am.” This is more than merely identifying himself; Jesus was revealing himself as God manifest– not as “He who shall be” but as “I am.”
Moving again to John 8 we read, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am” (John 8:28). The redemptive purpose of God climaxed in the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. When that happened, they would know that his claims were firmly based on Bible prophecy as in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. He would then be seen to be the “I am.”
The issue was so vital that Jesus raised it again in the upper room: “Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am” (John 13:19). As the manifestation of God, he could speak of fellowship with himself in the highest of terms: “he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me” (v. 20).
This manner of speech led directly to Philip’s demand to “shew us the Father and it sufficeth us” (14:8). Inasmuch as Jesus was “in” God and God was “in” (i.e. in perfect harmony) him, the Master replied, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (v. 9).
Jesus was the full revelation of God’s name. He was the “Here I am” of Isaiah 52. In coming to know him, the disciples came to know God: as God said through Isaiah, “my people shall know my name” (Isa. 52:6). Jesus was stating quite plainly that while there were two individuals, there was a display of only one set of character attributes. The revelation of that character could be expressed in one phrase, “I am.”
If Jesus had used the phrase, “I will be,” it would send the message that Jesus was not the full manifestation of God. It would indicate that Immanuel - “God with us” — was still future and would be someone else. In such a case, Jesus’ statement, “he that hath see me hath seen the Father” would be less than true. But, of course, it was true. The point was confirmed by God Himself when He answered the appeal of Jesus, “Father, glorify thy name,” with “a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). God’s name had been glorified in the life of Jesus and would be again in his crucifixion and resurrection.
Recognizing the significance of the phrase, we have little difficulty understanding why those who came to arrest him collapsed in the dirt when Jesus identified himself as “I am” (John 18:6).
Why no Yahweh in the N.T.
Surely this is why Jesus and his apostles never used the Yahweh name even when quoting from the Old Testament (cp. Rom. 9:19; James 5:4). The “He who will be” was now revealed in Jesus as the “I am.”
When we use the Yahweh name in our reading and prayers, have we become more knowledgeable than our first century teachers? Perhaps more to the point, in turning away from first century practice and precedent, are we clouding an essential element of biblical teaching?
“Ye are from beneath; I am (ego eimi) from above: ye are of this world; I am (ego eimi) not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am (ego eimi), ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:23-24).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One