And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

Reflection:

The Gospel of John begins with an echo of the opening lines of Genesis: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (1:1-2). The Word, of course, is Jesus Christ. John is proclaiming that Jesus is nothing less than the Creator-God of the universe, who was there at the beginning of all things.

In today’s world, a distinction is too often made between Son of God and God, but in the Hebrew world, there was no distinction. To call someone “son” was to say that he identified with and was identical to that person. To the Hebrews, Son of God meant This man is God. Jesus was really the personification of the godhead on earth.

To prove his point, John records the seven great “I am” statements of Jesus, all based on the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush (read Exodus 3:1-14). When Moses turns toward the flaming bush, God speaks to him from the bush and says, “I AM WHO I AM” (v. 14). This is God’s expression of his own self-consistent, self-perpetuating, self-existent nature. He establishes that he is exactly what he is, no more, no less. He is the eternal “I AM.”

The miracles of Jesus establish him as the Messiah, the Promised One, but his “I am” statements (found in John 6-15) establish him as God:

• “I am the bread of life” (6:35). In other words, “I am the sustainer of life, the One who gives life.”
  
  
• “I am the light of the world” (8:12). Jesus is the illuminator of life, the explainer of all things, the One who casts light upon all the mysteries of life and solves them.
  
  
• “I am the door” (10:7). Jesus is the only opening that leads to eternal life. He is the one true way.
  
  
• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11). Jesus is the guide of life, the only one who is able to safely steer us through the perils that may befall us. He is the one whose rod of discipline and staff of guidance can comfort us, give us peace, lead us beside still waters, and restore our souls.
  
  
• “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25). Jesus is the miraculous power of life, the giver and restorer of life. Resurrection power is the only power that saves when all hope is lost, that works in the midst of despair, failure, even death. When nothing else can be done, Jesus is the one who comes and says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
  
  
• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6). Jesus is the ultimate reality. He is the substance behind all things.
  
  
• “I am the vine . . . apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5). Jesus is the producer of all fruitfulness, the reason of all fellowship, the source of all identity and communion.

Seven times Jesus makes “I am” statements, taking the great and revealing name of God from the Old Testament to the New, in simple but profound symbols that enable us to understand God.

In John 1:14, the phrase dwelling among us literally means that Jesus tabernacled, or pitched his tent, among us. All the glory that is God became a human being. We stand in the presence of both the full humanity of Jesus and the full deity of Jesus. He shows us what God is like. He is the One who heals, loves, serves, waits, blesses, dies, and rises again — this is the ultimate human being, and this is God. This is the truth revealed in John.

The Gospel of John does not just present a story about Jesus. It does not simply inform us, or even inspire us. It confronts us. How are we to stand in the presence of this divine mystery, this God-man who made the universe, then died upon a lonely hill that we might live?

Response:

In the remainder and turmoil of this Eastertide, take time to pray about, ponder, and consider the deeper meaning of Jesus's “I am” sayings. How does each statement challenge you?