Jesus Says, "I Am"

Then Jesus declared, "I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 6:35

 

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, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. . . . I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved."

John 10:7&9

 

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me."

John 10:11&14

 

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live; even though they die."

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

 

"I am the vine, and my Father is the gardener. . . . I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 1:1&5

 

 

I'm doing a Bible study on the life of John, the disciple of Christ, and in last week's homework, we started looking at some of the things He's written in Scripture. These seven "I Am" statements are recorded in the Gospel John wrote.

 

Spoken by Jesus, they contain some incredible truths about who Jesus is and what He came to do for us. I think when we really begin to understand what Jesus was saying when He said these things, it can change the way we live our lives.

 

Jesus is the Bread of Life. He satisfies our hunger and thirst. Jesus isn't talking about physical needs for food and water. He is talking about His ability to satisfy our spiritual needs. We can take all of our needs to Him.

 

Jesus is the Light of the world. He gives light to the path that we are to walk, so that our next step is clear as we walk, following Him.

 

Jesus if the gate for the sheep. A gate is how you enter something and it can be closed behind you for protection. Jesus is the way we get salvation. And as the gate, He provides the safety that keeps us once we're saved.

 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Sheep follow the shepherd's voice because they know it. We learn to follow Jesus' voice as we learn just how much He loves us.

 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He makes life exactly what we need it to be. Without Him, we are dead in our lives. But with Jesus, He makes us alive, even though we have died.

 

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He provides the way we get to the Father. He is the way we get to be with God.

 

Jesus is the vine we are attached to as His followers. We receive our life from Him alone. Without Him we won't produce any fruit.

 

Seven simple statements that can be life-changing if we embrace the truth they contain.

Follow Me

I've been working through a study on John - the disciple of Christ. The other day when I sat down to write I was thinking about what it must have been like for John as he experienced what it was like to walk with Jesus during His ministry on earth. The Gospel of John records the divinely inspired words that John was given to write to record the life and ministry of Jesus. But I got started thinking about what it would have felt like for John - what thought might have been going through his head as he lived this.

The following is my thoughts on what may have been going through John's minds as he experienced what is recorded in Scripture. My thoughts. My reflections on what someone in those situations must have been feeling. I share them to maybe get you to think and reflect on these events in a way you haven't before.



"Follow me," He said.

For some reason I chose to do so, even though I had no idea where we were going. Or even who He was for sure.

I've heard some things about Him. He was a Rabbi. But, why was He calling me?

My friends and my older brother were following Him. I left everything I knew behind to follow Him. Fishing was my life, but now I left the nets to follow Him.

I had no idea where we were going, or what to expect. If I'd known the details of all that was to come, I'm not sure I would have left it all to follow Him. Life was simpler then, as a fisherman. Little did I know how challenging things were about to come as I followed Him where He led.

The next three years of life with Him were filled with many things.

Miracles.
          People healed.
          Sight restored.
          People brought back from the dead.
          Thousands of people fed from just a few loaves and fishes.
          Peter walked on water.

Hard teaching.
          To be great you must be the servant of all.
          Love your enemies.
          You must give it all up to follow me.

Is He really the Messiah like He claims to be?

Why all this talk about Him being betrayed and crucified?

That's not what I was taught as a boy about the promised Messiah.

Sometimes this life following Him is hard. But, there's also something amazing about what I get to be a part of.

There is one night I don't think I'll ever forget.

We ate the Passover meal together. It was then that He told us Judas was going to betray Him - was going to turn Him over the the chief priest and Pharisees to be killed.

But that wasn't the worst of it. He also said that Peter would deny Him three times. I couldn't believe that. I didn't want to believe that. Not Peter! But that's what happened that night.

He was praying when they came fro Him. We were with Him. He didn't fight. He went with them, like He knew He couldn't choose to do anything different.

That was a long night. He stood before the High Priest and then before Pilate. He was sentenced to be crucified at the insistence of the crowds. Like a common criminal, when He had done nothing wrong.

I wanted to leave, but something kept me from doing that. I stood at the cross and watched Him die. With His mother.

I had left everything to follow Him. I was so confused. What would I do now?

As He requested from the cross, I took His mother into my home and cared for her like she was my own. It was the least I could do.

Wait! What's this news I'm hearing?

Mary Magdalene says He isn't in the tomb we placed Him in anymore. How could this be? What happened?

Peter and I raced to the tomb and discovered it really was empty. But, His burial clothes were still there, so no one had just moved His body. I don't understand.

We had become good friends. Those of us who followed Him. We were together when He appeared to us. He really did rise from the dead!

He really is the Messiah!

All that He said is making sense now. He knew it had to be this way. I'm overwhelmed with it all. Why did He choose me to be a part of this? What made me one to be a disciple?

I don't know it all, but this I know:
          He is the Messiah!
          He is the One we were waiting for!
          I'll live the rest of my life proclaiming that truth!

God's Power to Overcome

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

What reassurance! As God's children we have a power within us that can defeat anything the enemy sends our way. That means we have within us, the ability to stand against anything Satan sends to try to trip us up.

So, why does it seem like we always fall for things?

I wonder if sometimes this happens because of how we try to handle these situations. We set ourselves up to fall to the schemes of the evil one.

When Satan tries to trip us up, we try to avoid falling by what we can do ourselves.

We decide.

We try to use willpower.

We try to white-knuckle it through to the other side.

And that usually fails.

We try to do this ourselves, when that isn't how we were meant to make it through.

There's a reason why we were given the Holy Spirit when we chose to surrender everything to Christ. There's a reason why God has left us with His Word so we can know Him. There's a reason why God wants to have a relationship with us.

It's because that is what gives us the ability to stand against Satan's schemes. The Holy Spirit in us gives us the power to defeat Him.

We're not supposed to stand in our own strength. We're supposed to stand in God's strength. That's the only way we'll have victory.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)