Who are you (Jesus)?
John 8:25 And so they were saying to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?”
The question came from the teaching. Jesus has said He is from above and where He is going they cannot come. They knew who Jesus was. He was the son of the carpenter and Mary; but what they knew did not fit what He said. His answer, “I am Him who I have said I am.”
So our question is, Who had Jesus said He was?
(1) Jesus had said that He was the Messias to the woman at the well (John 4:25) and Andrew has told Simon Peter, “We have found the Messias (John 1:41). Messias is “christos;” it means anointed one”. Jesus accepted the title when men called Him the messiah. This is the center of our Faith: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
(2) Jesus had said that He was the one “come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43)). He emphasizes the authority of God and that He is God in the flesh. He came to earth by the will of the Father and He came to do His will (John 4:34; 7:28). Because of this He was not of this world.
(3) I am the One who came from heaven. I am eternal, I am deity. John 8:23; “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” This is what prompted their question. Jesus taught that He was eternal in existence (John 8:58) and that because He came from heaven, He is above all (John 3:31). All of these statements are claims to His deity.
(4) Jesus said that He was the bread of life (John 6:35, 48, 51) which came down from heaven. This is a metaphor for His role as the provider of all spiritual and eternal sustenance. We have no need that He does not provide.
(5) Jesus said that He was the light of life, the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5). Into the world of sin, sorrow and darkness, where we all stumble and fall, it is Jesus who is the light of the world which brings spiritual life to men John 1:4, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
(6) Jesus said in John 8:16 “I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me” and “the Father that sent me beareth witness of me(v 18) and “if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also (v 19).” In these statements, Jesus claims His own full fellowship with Jehovah God, the God of heaven and earth.
(7) John 10:7, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” Again in verse 9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” Here the metaphor describes His relationship to His sheep. Jesus is the door, the way by which men will enter into the fold of spiritual safety or salvation. If anyone finds safety from his own sins, it will be because Jesus is the door.
What are the consequences of these truths?
#1. I am the Messiah, the Christ. In John 13:13-17, the immediate consequence is our own doing of His will.
#2. I am the one come in my Father’s name... by his authority. Jesus establishes the same respect for God’s authority -the same doing of God’s will as the basis of fellowship with God (Matt 12:50). The servant is not greater that the master. Jesus set us the example of perfect obedience.
#3. I am the One who came from heaven. I am eternal, I am deity. As Jesus has come from heaven, so He ascended (Acts 1:9-11), and He had promised that He would go before us to prepare the place (John 14:1-1; 2 Cor 8:9). The consequence of His coming from heaven, is the possibility of us, one day, going to heaven!
#4. I am the bread of life, the provider of all spiritual needs. Life is the consequence of our relationship. Without Jesus, we die in our sins (John 8:24). Life for us is why Jesus came (John 10:10) John 11:25, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” Since Jesus is the bread of Life, we have hope of eternal life.
#5. I am the light of the world. He is the one who makes men see in a world of otherwise spiritual darkness (John 12:46). He that does truth comes to the light (John 3:20-21). John 8:12, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” If Jesus was not the light, the world would all still be in the darkness of sin.
#6. I am one in full unity with God my Father. His crucifixion proved it (John 8:28). It is this unity which produces our faith (John 10:36).
#7. I am the door of the sheep. Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. (John 10:9-13). You can be in the fold of safety.
Come to Jesus today in faith, repentance and baptism!