Exploring the Gospels 2: Jesus Christ’s True Identity

It's always a very, very special occasion and a joyous occasion, too.

Okay, we've got a little bit of everything going on today.

You know, Aaron Creech doesn't know how much he almost...how close he came to getting to give an impromptu sermon today because a little after eight o'clock this morning, Barry Courtice, who was scheduled, sent an email to several of us and said he woke up just feeling awful at 3am this morning and was only feeling worse. So he begged off the sermonette and I said, you slacker, get on up here anyway.

But he said he just couldn't do it. No, not really. But he wasn't able to come. So, so, Charles and I were kind of having a race to see who could put together a sermon the fastest here. And most of you probably don't realize this because Charles only looks like he's in his 30s, but he's actually older than me. So I actually finished my sermon first. So I get to give that today. And what we'll be doing...actually, both of us had sermons we'd already been working on in preparation for next week, but this kind of moved up the schedule a bit.

So today I'm going to pick up where I left off with the sermon last week in Denver and in Colorado Springs. And a number of our members from Loveland were down in Denver last Sabbath and heard that. So that sermon was on the first few verses of the Gospel of John. And I'll pick it up and just give a quick recap for those of you who did not hear that last week.

We started off there with John 1-1, in the beginning was to word and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. So we covered how this being who was called the word was both with God and was God.

And everything that was created was created by and through him. And we also talked how in the beginning, that is mentioned twice here, is a rim as a hint or a clue from John to look back at Genesis 1-1, which tells us in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And then we covered several other passages confirming that Jesus was the one who did the creative work there in John 1 and Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 as well.

We also talked about how the word Elohim, translated God there in the first few chapters of Genesis, is a plural form of the word. And that's confirmed by several places like Genesis 1 and verse 26, where Elohim says, let us make man an hour image.

These are plural pronouns, referring to the plural God, Elohim. And that's a description of the creation of man. And then also covered the incident at the Tower of Babel, where mankind was advancing far faster than he should have. And God determined something must be done in that situation. So in Genesis 11 and verse 7, God says, come, let us go down. And they're confused. Their language that they may not understand one another's speech.

So we talked also about how these two beings, they're in Genesis 1 and described in John 1 as well, were not originally in a father-son relationship. That that relationship did not begin in the relationship of father and son until Mary conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit. And then Jesus Christ was born as a physical human being. And that's when the father-son relationship began. And we covered in Daniel 7 how the father and son are referred to there as the ancient of days and the son of man, confirming they were not in the father-son relationship.

Daniel saw that vision about 550 BC, but they did not come into the father-son relationship until Jesus was born about 550 years later. We also talked about how these two beings were uncreated, that they lived for eternity in the past, outside of the physical limitations of time and space. We talked about John 17 in verse 5, how Jesus prayed on the night before he was crucified for his father to restore him to the glory that they had shared together before the world existed, before the universe and the planet earth were created there, in other words.

And then we covered aspects of Philippians 2, showing that the one who became Jesus Christ willingly and voluntarily emptied himself of the glory and splendor and power that he had as God, and they did not consider the equality that he had with God as something to be tightly held on to. But he instead surrendered all of that and came to earth to die as a sacrifice for our sins. And then we also talked about Revelation 13 in verse 8, which speaks of the land slain from the foundation of the world.

So this plan that they had developed for one to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind was actually developed before the creation of the world, before the universe was made there. So we covered many other scriptures as well, but those were some of the key points here. And then we concluded there in John 1 with verses 4 and 5. In him, referring to Jesus Christ, was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

And we discussed how the darkness that John refers to here was actually an active force opposing Jesus Christ throughout his life. And the darkness tried to murder him when he was just an infant, when Herod murdered the baby boys there from two years old and under in Bethlehem. And then the power of darkness was behind the other attempts to kill him during his ministry. And finally, that power of darkness, Satan the devil, possessed Judah Siskariot and led to Jesus Christ being crucified. But that dark side, as we concluded, cannot conquer the light that Jesus Christ was and brought and reveals to the world. So with that brief background, we'll pick up the story here and continue it today in verse 6 of John 1 and continue the story, which introduces another character here, John the Baptist or John the Baptizer. And John the Apostle writes, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. And this was the purpose for the ministry of John the Baptist, that he would bear witness of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. We might remember some of the things that he said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, which he said at Jesus Christ's baptism. And then he was also the voice, crying out in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, as foretold in Isaiah 40. John, we know, was a young man when he was executed by Herod Antipas, beheaded at around age 31, 32, something like that, died in his prime, you might say. But he did fulfill the purpose for which he had been miraculously brought into the world and foretold in Bible prophecy. And continuing, verse 8, John was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light, the light being Jesus Christ. And verse 9, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

So a point to consider here is that, yes, Jesus will give the light of God's way of life to every person, but not necessarily in this life only. This is not the only day or age for salvation. We know that even many who saw Jesus Christ, saw the miracles that he performed during his ministry, many of them did not necessarily have their opportunity for salvation because they still lived in a world, as we do today, that was blinded by Satan the devil. And that darkness is not going to be removed until Jesus Christ returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, and Satan is bound and put away.

And that source of blindness and spiritual deception is removed. And then during that period, the millennium, and then later, the time of the white throne judgment, the great white throne judgment, as we recently celebrated at the feast in the eighth day, only then will all of mankind have the opportunity to see and to experience that light and come to know that and have the opportunity for salvation. Continuing verse 10, he, referring to Jesus Christ, was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

Again, we see repeated that the world was made by Jesus Christ and the world did not know him. So, in other words, the world did not recognize who and what he was and his real identity. Verse 11 elaborates on that on a little bit. He came to his own and his own did not receive him. And this is true on multiple levels. Here, it's talking specifically about the Jewish people of his day who did not recognize him as Messiah, did not receive him as Messiah, but in fact actually plotted to kill him.

A number of them did. But it's also true even of his own in the form of his own immediate family. Even his own brothers did not, his own half brothers did not understand who he was until we know that after he died, after he was crucified and resurrected, two of his brothers do become believers.

And we have two of their epistles in our Bibles today, James and Jude, or in Hebrew, Yaakov, Jacob and Judah there who wrote epistles there. They did later believe in Jesus as the Messiah. And then also on a third level, the entire human race has not recognized who and what Jesus Christ is either. So this does apply on multiple levels here, that he came to his own and his own, did not accept him or receive him or believe him.

And this is why God's calling is so important. We do not choose him. God chooses us. And verse 12 says, as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. And let's notice two other verses here. You might write down in connection with this, Romans 8 and verse 29, For whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

And also Hebrews 2 and verse 10, For it was fitting for him, Jesus Christ, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. So we see in these two passages here that Jesus Christ is the one who makes it possible for many people to have the opportunity for salvation and to have the opportunity to become members of the family of God, to become the children of God, to become God's offspring.

So continuing back in John 1 and verse 13, who were born, and this word born is the Greek word ganao, which depending on the context can refer to any part of the birth process from begat or from conception through physical birth. And we believe that we are now begotten by God's spirit to be a part of his family, but we are not yet fully born into that family, which will happen at the resurrection of the dead when we will become the immortal glorified children of God.

Continuing here, born not of blood, not of the physical birth process, in other words, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, so not by human effort does this take place, but of God. It's God who is intimately involved in that process of bringing us into his family. And of course we're familiar with John 6 verse 44 and 65, which tell us the same thing, that no one can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father who sent him draws that person, and I will raise him up at the last day. And verse 65, Jesus said, therefore I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to me, to him, by my Father. So it is God, the Father, who makes the decision in calling us. We are here because God the Father personally chose us for that ultimate future of being a part of his family, of his children. Continuing in verse 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And I might mention here one of the purposes of John's Gospel was to combat Gnosticism, which was a system of belief that was quite influential in that part of the world in the latter part of the first century. And a basic belief of Gnosticism was that anything that is physical is evil, and what is spirit is good. So as a result of that, those who subscribe to Gnostic beliefs believe that God could never become flesh, because flesh, material matter, is evil, and only spirit is good. So John throughout his Gospel combats the idea of Gnosticism there and shows that Jesus was indeed a flesh and blood human being who got tired, who got thirsty, who felt emotions, who cried, who was troubled, who broke down in tears, and so on, showing that he is a real physical human being. And of course he died as well for our sins. So all of these ideas were very much opposed to Gnostic thought, and John combats these ideas throughout his Gospel. And then the latter part of verse 14, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And this is probably a reference to the Transfiguration when he was glorified before John, who is writing this, and before Peter and James as well. And John also writes here, he was full of grace and truth.

And this is not saying that grace and truth did not exist earlier because Jesus Christ as the God of the Old Testament period there, who interacted with mankind clearly and repeatedly did exhibit grace there. Continuing on, verse 15, John bore witness of him, this is referring to John the Baptizer, bore witness of him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And again, this is referring to John's mission here. But notice it says, he was before me. John knew and understood that Jesus did exist before, before John did. So we don't know how he knew this, but he obviously did and refers to it here. Verse 16, And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for griefs.

This is worded kind of awkwardly in English. I like the way the New Living Translation puts it, We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us, one gracious blessing after another. And grace, you all received the grace booklet here shortly before the feast, or at least I hope you did and have had time to read that. But it goes through and explains that grace is basically every good and wonderful blessing that God gives us that we do not deserve. There's nothing that we can do or be that obblicates God to show us grace. He doesn't, but he does show grace because he is a good and loving and merciful and gracious God. It's all his doing, his grace, his blessings and goodness toward us. And then verse 17, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Again, this is not saying that grace and truth did not exist early. What John is telling us here is that the law was given through Moses and that of itself was a great blessing from God.

God's law does show us the way to live so we don't experience the consequences of sin and disobedience. So it is a great blessing, but Jesus Christ came bringing even greater blessings to show mankind a way to eternal life. Grace and truth was far greater than anything that mankind had known before. I should also mention here that this word, but, here does not show up in the original Greek there that was added by translators and simply doesn't belong there. John is not drawing a contrast between law and grace. He's actually showing that God added to his earlier blessings by giving even greater blessings that came through Jesus Christ.

And, of course, Jesus was the original lawgiver who gave the law to and through Moses, so it's absurd to argue that that Jesus came to change or to do away or remove that law that he himself had given to Moses and the Israelites. Continuing here in verse 18, we come to a very pivotal scripture here, and I'm going to elaborate on this during the remainder of the sermon time today. John writes, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. So this statement is quite clear here. No one has seen God at any time. And, obviously, this is not talking about Jesus Christ because just four verses earlier in verse 14, John had just described how Jesus came to earth and we beheld Him, we saw His glory, and so on. So, obviously, the God being talked about here is not the one who became Jesus Christ here, but it has to be talking about God the Father. And, as John tells us here, no one has seen God the Father at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom, and that's, again, rather archaic English, it's basically talking about having a very close and deep personal relationship. And we talked about that some last week in the sermon then, about how the two beings were in a very close and loving and personal relationship going back to eternity in time past. And they have always had that deep and loving and personal relationship and always will have it, going forward into the future for all eternity as well. So, that's what that phrase in the bosom of the Father means. And then John explains, He, Jesus Christ, has declared Him. Declared, again, not the best translation. Several other versions translate this as He has revealed the Father or has made known the Father. And, of course, the Father was not generally known during earlier times, during the period of the Old Testament here. As we see here, no one has seen God at any time. The Father was not generally known and understood before then. And a number of scriptures help explain that fact and confirm this fact. One, 1 John 4, in verse 12, John states the identical thing, no one has seen God at any time. And here John explicitly states that same fact, and no one has seen God, the Father, at any time. And people will try to explain their way around this, but keep in mind when this was written and who was writing it. Who was the writer of this? John, the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, as he's referred to. And when did John do his writing? As best we know and scholars understand, he wrote his epistles and his gospel and the book of Revelation, all probably within about a 10-year period from about 85 to 95 A.D. What was John's status at that time? Well, he's the last of the original 12 apostles. He's the last one still living. The other apostles, most of them, are long dead by several decades by this point in time.

All of the previous books of the Bible have been written by this time. John is the last man standing. He's the last man standing, the last of the original 12 apostles, still alive at this point. He's the last one writing books of the Bible there. So, surely John knows what he's talking about.

And even now, what does he state? No one has seen God at any time. Had that changed any time during the period of all history before that, surely John would have known that. God would have revealed that to him somehow, but he doesn't. He states very clearly, as in both his gospel and in this epistle, no one has seen God at any time. Let's look at several other equally clear statements from Jesus Christ himself, John 5, and verse 37. This is Jesus Christ speaking, and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. Again, people will try to explain around this, but it's quite clear.

Jesus then repeats the same thing in the next chapter, John 6 and verse 46. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. So Jesus plainly states here that there is only one person who has ever seen the Father, and then he explains who that is, the one sent from God, referring to himself. Jesus Christ alone has seen the Father. So we have these two explicit statements from Jesus Christ himself, stating that no one has seen the Father also, just as John had stated or would write later on. Do any other Bible writers tell us this? Well, yes. The apostle Paul, who was personally taught by Jesus Christ himself, writes this to Timothy, 1 Timothy 6, verses 13 through 16. I urge you in the sight of God, and then skipping down a bit because Paul gets into one of his long, long phrases that run through a couple of paragraphs, the blessed and only potentate the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling an unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be glory, to whom be honor and everlasting power.

So Paul says the same thing that Jesus Christ said, that John the apostle said, that no one, not only has no one seen the Father, no one can see the Father. I'll put it here. So Jesus Christ, the apostle John, the apostle Paul all tell us the same thing, that no one has ever seen the Father. And yet in the Bible, there are a number of passages that tell us that people did see the Father. Individuals and sometimes groups of people. Let's notice a few of these.

We find one in Exodus 33 and verses 21 through 23. And this is where Moses asked God if he can see him. And God says basically, no, because that experience would kill you. So God agrees to hide Moses in a crack in the rock, in a boulder, and then he'll pass by and shield Moses. So that experience doesn't kill Moses. So here's what God says. Here is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the clef, or the crack, of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. And then in the next chapter, we're told that, yes, Moses did see God's back as he passed by. So he saw only his back, but Moses did clearly see God, as is explained here. In another quite remarkable case, after the giving of the Ten Commandments and the law at Mount Sinai, it was typical at that time when you agree on a covenant, as happened there, the giving of the law was a covenant, agreement between God and between Israel, that they would often ratify a covenant with a shared meal. And we find that this happened, as recorded in Exodus 24. Exodus 20 remembers the giving of the Ten Commandments. Then there's several other chapters of additional detail, but then in Exodus 24 verses 9 through 11, we read what happens after that. Then Moses went up, up going up Mount Sinai, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. Incidentally, this is the origin of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. This is why they chose and had seventy members of the Sanhedrin when we get into the period of the Gospel. It's based on this passage here. Notice verse 10, and they saw the God of Israel. They saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel, he did not lay his hand. I'm not exactly sure what that means. I take it that that's a reference to the other passage we just read where God shields them with his hand there. I don't know about that for sure, but that's the way I take it. And then it's repeated. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. They have a meal there with God there on Mount Sinai. So it's very clearly stated here twice that they saw God. And there are other accounts. We don't have time to go through all of this, but some of the other individuals who were recorded as having seen God were Abraham, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. So what are we to make of these individuals whom Scripture tells us saw God? Well, the only way we can make sense of that is if they saw the being who became Jesus Christ, that he was the God who interacted with these individuals and others during the period of the Old Testament. Jesus himself said, no one has seen God except the one sent from God, referring to himself. So this is obviously the only conclusion we can reach there, that the being that all of these individuals saw the times when they saw God, the God that they saw had to be the one who became Jesus Christ.

Do we find other confirmation of this? Let's take a look at a famous passage, well-known passage from Paul, writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10 and verses 1 through 4. Paul tells us, Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud all past through the sea. He is obviously referring back here to the Exodus, Israel's Exodus from Egypt. All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. So the crossing of the Red Sea was a type of baptism for the nation. All ate the same spiritual food, the manner that they subsisted on for 40 years, and all drank the same spiritual rock. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. So Paul here clearly tells us that the God who interacted with Israel during the Exodus period was the being who became Jesus Christ. Very clearly stated. But let's dig into this a little bit deeper there because there's more beneath the surface. I should first mention that this word followed here. The Greek word here means literally to be together on a path or on a road.

It's the same word where Christ invites someone to follow Him, follow me, and be my disciple. What He's inviting them to do is to follow Him on the road as Jesus and His disciples walk around the dusty roads there of Galilee and Judea, and so on. That's what the word means. It means to follow, to accompany somebody as you travel on the same road. It most often does mean follow, as in the disciples following Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ wasn't following Him, they were following Him. But in a broader meaning, it just means to walk together on the road. If you think back to the experiences in the Exodus, God was not following the Israelites, He was accompanying them on their journey. That's the meaning of the word here. That's what is being conveyed here with this word followed here. Followed is not an accurate translation, but it's not the best translation because it means more than just literally following them there. It means to accompany them. But notice here that Paul refers twice to that spiritual rock that followed them or accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

Why would Paul use this particular word rock? Why would he use that? Because the Exodus story, yeah, there's a rock mentioned when Moses strikes the rock and water comes out, but is there anything about a rock moving with him, traveling with him? No, there's a pillar of fire at night and the pillar of cloud by day, but there's not a rock that's following him. So why does Paul mention a rock here that accompanied the Israelites? Have you ever wondered about that? I wondered about it for quite a while, and I finally found the answer a couple of months ago here, that this is a clear reference to Deuteronomy chapter 32. Deuteronomy chapter 32.

And to fully grasp what the significance of this, what is the book of Deuteronomy?

Deuteronomy literally means Deutero Second, no made from from no most law. It's the second giving of the law. When was Deuteronomy written? It's written by Moses just before the Israelites cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. It's at the end of their 40-year journey there in the wilderness. And Moses in that book is kind of recapping, going through and recounting their journey, recounting the lessons that they learned or should have learned during that period of the few times when they're faithful to God and the many times when they're not faithful to God, when they're unbelieving and so on.

So it's kind of recapping the story the book of Deuteronomy is here. And Deuteronomy 32 is very near the end of the book there. And what this chapter is, and you can read it yourself later on, we won't go through the whole thing, but it is an extended praise to God who had delivered them from Egypt, who had led Israel, who had protected them from their enemies, who had divinely provided for them in the desert.

When there's no way that they could have survived on their own. And even when they were unfaithful to him and repeatedly disobeyed him, God still protected them. He was there with them. That's the theme of this chapter 32. And it is, in other words, it's a direct tie-in with the Exodus story. When Paul is writing 1 Corinthians 10 here, what's he referring back to? He's obviously referring back to the Exodus story here.

Paul knows the story. Paul is trained to be a rabbi. He's probably memorized the book there of Deuteronomy in this story. And here, so what is significant here in Deuteronomy 32? I want to draw our attention to several verses because five times in this chapter, Moses refers to God as Israel's rock, as Israel's rock. So when Paul is writing to the Corinthians 1500 years later, approximately, it's no wonder he would pick up on this word rock.

Paul just doesn't come out of pull this idea of God being a rock out of thin air. No, he's obviously referring back to this chapter that is recounting and this book that is recounting the Exodus story. So notice what Moses writes here. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. How glorious is our God! He is the rock. His deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong.

How just and upright is he? Skipping down to verse 15, but Israel soon became fat and unruly. Now he starts talking about their rebellion against God, their unfaithfulness. The people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed. Then they abandoned the God who had made them. They made light of the rock of their salvation. Skipping down a few more verses to verse 18, and now he's addressing Israel directly, you neglected the rock who had fathered you.

You forgot the God who had given you birth. Skipping down to verse 30, how could one person chase a thousand of them and two people put ten thousand to flight unless their rock had sold them unless the Lord had given them up? What he's talking about here is a few times where God did allow other nations to punish them for their disobedience.

Their rock sold them. Let them suffer the consequences so they would learn the lesson. Verse 31, but the rock of our enemies, referring to their gods, the gods and goddesses of those nations, is not like our rock, as even they recognize. So what we see here is that in this chapter Moses refers to Yahweh, to God five times as Israel's rock. And obviously Paul, when he tells the Corinthians that the rock that accompanied Israel during this journey was Jesus Christ.

This is obviously what Paul has in mind here. Paul was not the only one. Other Old Testament writers also repeatedly refer to their God or Israel's God as their rock. There are at least 24 other verses that refer to God as their rock. Most of these are in the Psalms here. I'll just read through them very quickly. Second Samuel 22 to the Lord, the Eternal, Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.

Verse 32, same chapter, for who is God except the Lord, Yahweh? And who is a rock except our God?

Verse 47, same chapter, the Lord, Yahweh, lives. Blessed be my rock. Let God be exalted, the rock of my salvation. Second Samuel 23 verse 3, the God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spoke to me.

And then we start coming into the Psalms where David and other writers will repeatedly refer to God as the rock. Psalm 18 verse 2, the Lord Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.

Verse 31, same chapter, for who is God except the Lord, Yahweh? And who is a rock except our God?

Verse 46, same chapter, the Lord, Yahweh, lives. Blessed be my rock.

Psalm 28, 1, to you I will cry, O Lord, Yahweh, my rock. Psalm 31 verse 2, be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me.

Next verse, for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 42 verse 9, I will say to God my rock.

Psalm 61, 2, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Next verse, He only, God only, is my rock and my salvation.

Verse 6, He only is my rock and my salvation. Verse 7, in God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength. Psalm 71 verse 3, you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 78, 35, then they remembered that God was their rock and the Most High God their Redeemer. Psalm 89, 26, you are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Psalm 92, 15, the Lord is upright. He is my rock. Psalm 94, 22, the Lord has been my defense, and my God, the rock of my refuge. And getting close to the end, Psalm 95, 1, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 144, 1, blessed be the Lord, my rock.

Isaiah, now we shift to Isaiah using the same terminology, Isaiah 44, 8, is there a rock besides me? Excuse me, is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is no other rock. I know not one.

And finally, Habakkuk 1, verse 12, are you not from everlasting, from eternity past, in other words? Oh, Lord, my God, my Holy One, O rock, you have marked them for correction. So clearly, when Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the rock that accompanied Israel, there he wasn't pulling the word rock out of thin air. Paul, again, trained as a rabbi, he would have known, been very intimately familiar with these many verses and known that Moses, that David, that Isaiah, that Habakkuk, all refer to God or Yahweh as Israel's rock there. It's so very obvious here. And Paul clearly tells us who this rock was. That rock was Christ. It was not God the Father. It was Jesus Christ, as Paul so clearly tells us. So, shifting gears a little bit and covering this part of John, we've seen a lot of what John and some of the other apostles say about Jesus Christ's identity. But what does Jesus Christ himself say about who he was in his identity? In our remaining time, we'll look at some of these statements and see what he is saying there. The first one, John 8, verses 56 through 59, here Jesus is arguing with some of the Jews of his day who are hostile to him. And notice what he says and the reaction that this draws from them. Verse 56, Jesus said, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.

Actually, if you get into the wording there, what he's saying is you claim Abraham as your father, but Abraham saw me. That's really what he's saying here. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, to see him, Jesus, face to face. And he saw it and was glad. Verse 57, then the Jews said to him, you aren't even 50 years old, and you claim to have seen Abraham. So they understand what he's saying, that Abraham saw him and vice versa. And they say you're not even 50 years. Have you seen Abraham? Now the time frame of this, Abraham lived about 2,000 years before. So that's why they say you're not even 50 years old, and you say you've seen Abraham? Are you crazy? And Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. And notice the reaction this gets. Then they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of him, and so passed by. So let's notice three key takeaways from this passage. Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham, who lived 2,000 years before.

Jesus used the words, I am, applying them to himself. And third point, this prompts the Jews to try to stone him to death. It says they took up stones to throw at him. That's euphemism. They're picking up stones to stone him to death, is what we're being told here. But Jesus somehow miraculously escapes being stoned to death at that time. Now, translated into English, what Jesus says here sounds confusing because it's not good English. But in Aramaic or Hebrew, which he is speaking, and then being translated into Greek, he's saying something that immediately makes them want to stone him to death for blasphemy. So what's going on? What is he telling them? Well, he's actually revealing himself to be the one whom the Jews knew as the god of the Old Testament, the one who interacted with the Israelites, with Moses, with the others, with Jacob, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others. So he's saying not only that he existed before Abraham, but that he was the same being as the god whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped here. So to understand this background, we need to go back to the incident at the burning bush there in Exodus chapter 3. And here God is revealing himself to Moses to tell Moses, who's just a shepherd out tending a sheep in the desert then, that he's going to get a very much bigger job as shepherd. And that is to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land. So picking up the story then, Exodus 3 and verse 13, then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, the god of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you. So Moses asks this being what his name is, and God responds, I am who I am. And he tells Moses to tell the Israelites, I am has sent me to you.

I am. Here is God gives this in answer to the direct question. What is his name? What shall I tell the Israelites? And he says, Tell them I am has sent me to you. And this in Hebrew, you're probably familiar with this, it's YHWH, the Hebrew letters, YHWH, YHWH. It's been mistranslated as Jehovah in a lot of Bibles for a number of years. The nearest we know to the pronunciation would have been something like YHWH or something very, very close to that.

We don't know the pronunciation that has been lost for centuries there. What does it mean?

Well, essentially, it means I am who I am, or technically in Hebrew, the way the tense is in Hebrew, I will be who I will be. In Hebrew, there's not a present tense, a present tense. And speaking of yourself as an I am, I exist. Hebrew doesn't have that construction. So the way it would be worded is I will be who I will be. And of course, that sounds crazy in English because if you're there conversing with somebody, you're obviously there. It's not you're going to be there, you are there. So that's why they chose to translate it this particular way here. But it basically means the eternal one. That's why speakers, when we come across Lord, L-O-R-D, in the Old Testament, which is substituted for Yahweh, that's why we'll typically say the eternal. It's just something most of us do that as second nature here because that is the meaning of it. The one who was and is and forever will be. The eternal one is kind of a shorthand for that. So again, what's going on here in John's Gospel when John writes about this incident? Well, when Jesus said what he did, the Jews knew right away exactly what Jesus meant. That he's claiming to be the I am of the Old Testament. And that's why they immediately pick up stones to try to stone him to death because he's claiming to be God. And it's their obligation to stone him to death for blasphemy. That was the punishment for blasphemers there. Let's look at another place where a similar thing happens. This is one I came across fairly recently here. I don't think I've talked about this one before. Mark 14 in verses 60 through 64. And this is at Jesus' trial before the sinhedrin. There, just a few hours before he is sent away to be crucified. And they are questioning Jesus trying to find a crime for which to accuse him. That's really what's going on. They're trying to find a crime. We know he's guilty. Now we just got to figure out what he's guilty of. So they bring him in for questioning. Verse 60, and the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you? Because they brought in false witnesses, and the witnesses don't agree because they're lies. So they can't get two false witnesses whose testimony agrees. So that's why he says, What is it these men testify against you? But Jesus kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, saying to him, Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And notice the immediate reaction this brings. Then the high priest tore his clothes, he rips his robe open, and said, What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?

And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on him and to blindfold him and to beat him and to say to him, prophesy. And the officer struck him with the palms of their hands. In other words, they're slapping him across the feet, the face, and they are beating him. That means they're pummeling him with their fists. They're literally beating him up here in the chambers of the Sanhedrin. So Jesus responds to the high priest's question, and they immediately accuse him of blasphemy and want to kill him.

What did he say that was blasphemous? It wasn't blasphemous to say, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven because they, many of them, believed that. They believed they would see the Messiah. They prayed for the Messiah to come and deliver them from the Romans. So that's not blasphemous. They might think he's crazy for saying that, but it's not blasphemous. Why are they accusing him of blasphemy?

They're accusing him of blasphemy because of what he responds. I am. I am the same name that the Eternal gave to Moses there, at the burning bush that we just talked about there. That's why they want to kill him. And what is the immediate response? The high priest tears his clothes and says, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What was the blasphemy? In claiming to be the I AM. In claiming to be the I AM, the Yahweh who spoke to Moses. And they clearly understand and their reaction is immediate and violent. And they start pummeling him with their fists and spitting on him and insulting him. And they immediately condemn him to death. These are not the only times Jesus claims to be the I AM. There are others as well. The problem is that many times the way the King James translators worded it and others who followed the lead of the King James Version have played with the translation to make it read better. They think in English, but it actually obscures what is going on. Let's notice a few of these. John 8 verse 24. Jesus says, therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. And a few verses later, verse 28, then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself. But as my father taught me, I speak these things. And also John 13 verse 19. Now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass that you may believe that I am he. Now I think we all understand, I assume we all understand when you see italicized words in the Bible, that means the translators added it to try to make it read better or make it more understandable. But actually in these three cases where they added he, on the end, the he is not there in the Greek. In all three cases Jesus says, I am. I am the same holy name of God.

Here, reading those again, now therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. And John 8 28, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself. But as my father taught me, I speak these things. And the third one, John 13 19, now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass that you may believe that I am. So in all of these cases, the translators actually messed it up by adding the he in there. And it obscures that Jesus is saying, I am the holy name of God, dear. Let's look at another one here on the heels of John 13. This is John 18 3 through 6. And this is near the end of his life when he is arrested there at Gethsemane.

And picking up the story, then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, whom are you seeking? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am, and the translators added he incorrectly. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with him. And then John adds the detail. Now, when Jesus said to them, I am, they drew back and fell to the ground.

So here again, what Jesus is saying is, I am. And it draws this response that these temple police fall backwards onto the ground here. Why? What's going on here? John doesn't give us any explanation for why they fall to the ground. But there is something that is clearly going on, because again, these are the Bible, the Gospels refer to them as soldiers. They're actually the temple guard who are directly answerable to the high priest. That's why he sends them to arrest Jesus. The Romans don't get involved till later in the story when he's brought before Pontius Pilate. But we don't know why this reaction happens. But it does show there is a divine power in that name.

And John doesn't spell it out. I think John witnessed this and didn't know how to explain it himself. John was there. He sees it. But he doesn't know what's going on. He just simply records what happened and doesn't offer any explanation, because he doesn't have an explanation. He just knows what happened. And he wrote it down for us there. I think what is happening is that God, the Father in heaven, is showing that he is allowing this to happen, that he could just have easily have struck these temple police dead, knocked them over dead, as opposed to just knocking them backwards. But he is allowing that. We just don't know for sure, because John doesn't give any explanation there. So there is one another situation here I want to cover here, where Jesus again states that he is the I Am. And this happens at the Sea of Galilee, when the disciples are on a boat rowing at night. They're rowing in a storm against a headwind there. And we pick up the story here, verse 25 of Matthew 14. Now in the fourth watch of the night, this is about 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. It's the last watch of the night, so it's getting toward dawn. The disciples have been rowing all night across the Sea of Galilee. And suddenly Jesus comes to them walking on the water.

So we pick up the story. Jesus went to them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled. They're scared and spitless there, in other words, and saying, it is a ghost. And they cry out for fear. Why do they say it's a ghost? Well, they know the spirit world is real. They're used to seeing demon possession and things like that. And they know that human beings don't walk on water. It doesn't work. You go straight to the bottom. And the Sea of Galilee is several hundred feet deep. So they think it's a spirit. And they cry out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. I should note here that the it is I in Greek is the same exact wording that we've seen in all these other examples where he says, I am. He says, Be of good cheer, I am, do not be afraid. That is really what is going on here. Continuing verse 28, and Peter answered Jesus and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And we know the rest of the story here. Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking toward Jesus.

But there is a storm going on. And Peter sees the wind, and he sees the waves, and so on. And he starts to sink before Jesus reaches out and grabs Peter by the hand and pulls him out of the water. And then verse 32, when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

So what is the reaction of the disciples to these events? Verse 33, Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God.

And we would tend to assume that this is just because of the miracle of walking on the water. But there's more to the story than that. There's actually a double Rimes here. And where Jesus speaks a Rimes, telling them that he is the I AM, but he also acts out a Rimes. And if you haven't heard my sermon on Rimes, go back and listen to it. Rimes means hint or clue to look back at something that happened previously. And this is what is going on here. He also acts out a Rimes to prove his divine identity. And this Rimes is somewhat obscure, but let's look at a few verses. Job 9 and verse 8. He, God, or El, alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. In other words, he walks on water. And also Psalm 77 verse 19, referring to God, your way, your path, in other words, was in the sea, your path in the great waters. What's it telling us? God walks on water. Back at 3 verse 14. You, God, walked through the sea, through the heap of great waters. What's it telling us? God walks on water. So we see that Jesus tells the disciples he is I am, and he acts out a Rimes, referring back to three different passages that tells us that God walks on water. Human beings do not walk on water. God alone walks on water, as we see here. And that's the point of his actions here, because, you know, this sounds like a really odd thing to do, because after all, Jesus can walk around the shore of the Galilee, but he doesn't. He chooses in the middle of the night to come to the disciples walking on water. Why? Why do that at all? To show them the disciples that he is the God who walks on water in these three different places here. So again, this is part of why we see the reaction on their part. And those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. So to wrap this up here, a few takeaways from this. Who and what was Jesus Christ? As we've seen in this sermon and last week's sermon, he was the Word. He was the spokesman who was with God and was God. We've seen that he was the Creator who made all things in heaven and earth visible and invisible. We've seen that he is the head of the body, his church, as spelled out in Colossians 1. We covered, mentioned that last time. He is the firstborn from the dead, as we saw also from Colossians 1. He is the Son of God, the Son of God. And he is, as we saw from John 1, he is the one in whom there is life, self-existent life. Nobody gave him life. He and the Father had life in themselves. As we cover today, he was the light sent from God, the light sent from God, the firstborn among many brethren. As we've seen today, many others are to become a part of God's family through him and his work. He was God in the flesh, born as a physical human being. And he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Israelites, the God with whom they interacted there, as recorded in the Scriptures. And he was the Great I Am, the Eternal, self-existent One. And all of these are only a part of who and what Jesus Christ is and was and what he means through us. He is many other things, as we'll see as we continue going through the Gospels. And this is why the Apostle Thomas, when he sees Jesus Christ after his resurrection from the dead, what does he blurt out? My Lord and my God.