SUBJECT:  Jesus

QUESTION:  Did Jesus ever state He was God in the flesh?  Did he ever speak to Moses?  What are the "I am" statements made by God and Jesus? How is "I am" related to Moses and the arrest of Jesus by the Romans?

ANSWER:

Any statements by God recorded in the Bible are from God, the Son, Who became Jesus in human form on this earth, who died for our sins, was resurrected and now sits "at the right hand" of God, the Father, as He did before the creation of the earth.

The Hebrew word translated as "I AM" is hayah and means "to exist" or "to have being". Used in the context of Exodus 3:14, it signifies eternal, timeless existence.

" And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. " (Exodus 3:14)

As it is used in Genesis 1:3,5,6,8, et al, it signifies "to come into existence", when spoken by God. God spoke and this world came to be.

Jesus spoke of His eternal existence: one can tell by the context that the scholars among the Jews at that time knew exactly what Jesus meant.

" Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. " (John 8:56-59) 

The Greek words translated as "I AM" are ego, first person in Greek, just as we use "I", and eimi , which is a very emphatic statement of existence. In the context of this verse, it is virtually identical to the Hebrew hayah. Since Jesus was speaking either Hebrew or Aramaic, hayah is the word the actually spoke rather than the Greek in which the New Testament was written.

There may one other instance where Jesus used the term. It’s rather enigmatic but it does explain an otherwise puzzling phenomenon described by John.

" Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

"As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. " (John 18:3-6)

If you have a good King James translation, you will notice that the "he", when Jesus said "I am he", is in italics. This indicates that the word was ADDED by the translators in an attempt to clarify the meaning of the passage. But if Jesus said, " I AM", it explains what happened in verse 6. "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground." If we leave out the word "he", added by the translators, was it the power of God saying "I AM" that knocked the soldiers backward to fall on the ground?