The Seven “I am” Statements

This Easter season, we have heard different “I am” statements from Jesus in the Gospel according to John. For example, “I am the Good Shepherd” and “I am the true vine,” (John 10:11; 15:1). There are 7 found in John; can you name them? They are listed at the bottom.

The “I am” statements can bring us back to the Old Testament in the book of Exodus when God reveals who he is to Moses. At the burning bush, Moses asks God what he should be called. God answers “I am who am,” (Exodus 3:14).

What does “I am” mean? I think it means that God has always been in existence. He comes from no one else and does not have a beginning. He has always been and will never change. Exodus 3:14 is a great Bible verse to contemplate. 

Jesus is the image of God, too, and manifests God through his incarnation: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” (Colossians 1:15). By saying “I am,” Jesus is making his divinity known. The Jews of his time understood “I am” as the name of God. So, Jesus’s statements, such as “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” are quite bold! (John 14:6).

Another point of reflection relating to “I am” is that life is about being, or existing. It’s not about doing, it’s about being. We, as human beings, have dignity not because of the work we accomplish or who we know, but because God created us, formed us, and loved us into existence. We are each an image of God and reflect some aspect of his infinite love.

The 7 "I am" Statements:

“I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).
 “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5).
 “I am the door” (John 10:7).
 “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).
 “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
 “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
 “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5).

"Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." (Psalm 90:2)