'I Am' Sayings

'I Am' Sayings

1. Jewish Background

   • burning bush when the divine name is revealed to Moses; 'I Am that which I Am' i.e the definition of God himself
   • In Deuteronomy an evident connection is illustrated between Yahweh and what Jesus says in the fourth gospel; 'see now that i am and there is no God besides me; it is I who put to death and give life
     • Jesus then repeats 'I Am' which is therefore a divine revelation of him being God himself
   • In Deuteronomy 22:39 it is said that 'when the word of the Lord shall reveal himself to redeem his people he will say: I am he who is, and was and will be'
     • Jesus then fulfils hebrew scripture when within the I am sayings he repeats 'I am' in the present; 'unless you believe that I am', past; 'before Abraham existed, 'I am' and future; 'when you lift up the son of man, then you will know that I am'
   • each of the i am sayings of Jesus echo a typology of Israel; for example the Torah is associated with bread

2. The bread of life

   • Jewish background
     • the evangelist presents Jesus as the heavenly bread this may have parallels with the food of the angels, the heavenly manna in Psalm
     • John continually alludes to the manna of the wilderness that Moses brought
     • The scholar Borgen argues that v31-58 of the discourse represent an extended commentary on the text of Exodus 'behold i will rain bread from heaven for you
     • eating and drinking is a powerful image of salvation in the OT e.g in Isaiah 55 'eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food. Incline your ear and listen so that you may live. I will make you an everlasting covenant'
     • Jewish leaders frequently spoke of he law as bread which are found in Rabbinical literature an din Deuteronomy 8.3 'man does not live on bread alone but on every word God utters'
       • The Lord's word could suggest law and therefore this establishes a relationship between the manna and the Torah
         • However Jesus asserts that he, not the Torah gives life in John and he has shown to restore the manna and bring a new understanding to Israel
           • Bultmann states that the Jews are challenged to accept God's present offer and eat the bread Jesus as he is the gift itself
   • meaning and significance
     • it is through Jesus that eternal life is made available by believing in him and feeding on his bread
     • his purpose is to use this manna in contrast with 'bread Jesus' in order to show superiority over other spiritual or nourishing food
     • Moses didn't bring the manna God did and the Jews are to focus on Jesus himself who is the true bread that God is 'now' giving to his people therefore implying present eschatology and how life can be achieved 'now' if you believe
       • if the people are willing to partake of Jesus' spiritual nourishment they will 'never die'
       • John wishes to redirect their attention away from both Moses and the past
     • Jesus presented as the heavenly bread; he is the one from above giving food to his believers
     • Eucharistic; passage also includes allusions to 'drinking of his blood' however Bultmann believes this to be a redaction added later
     • theme of belief.
   • Greek background
     • the desire for food and the feeling of hunger is described as something unpleasant in the writings of Greek Philosophies e.g. in Plato's Philebus "hunger is a dissolution and a pain"
       • when Jesus brings bread it doesn't ply save people from physical hunger but also spiritually through bringing salvation
     • concept of eternal life has platonic overtones of life that is timeless rather than merely long lasting
       • "a life that is lived in God's eternal to-day"
     • Dodd argues that the Johannine concept of life rest sup on the assumptions of greek philosophy and thinks of the platonic idea of a life lived in terms of the values of 'above' focussing on spiritual worth rather than material values
       • this coincides with the idea that bread itself can only bring about physical healing but Jesus who was sent from 'above' can give spiritual healing through people believing in him as the true bread

3. Light of the World

   • Jewish background
     • belief that blindness might be a consequence of sin but Jesus tries to remove their concerns from sin to 'the works of God'
     • OT passages such as Psalm 27: 1 'the Lord is my light and salvation'
     • God's creation of light in Genesis ch 1 the first thing he made
     • for the rabbis the law was a light or lamp which gave illumination if properly understood in Psalm
       • the Light Jesus supersedes the Law and hence cannot be condemned for giving the man his light on the Sabbath day.
     • Monks of the Jewish sect at Qumran were 'sons of light' awaiting the final battle between the forces of light an darkness (dualism)
     • In OT prophets, the Messiah is portrayed as light, bringing spiritual enlightenment to mankind e.g "i will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of earth" (Isaiah 49:6)
     • In Wisdom 7:26 it says wisdom is the 'reflection of everlasting light' and is also used to describe the Torah
   • Greek background
     • in Greek mysticism light was identified with God; e.g Philo talks of 'Lord is my light' and 'first God is light'
   • meaning and significance
     • Jesus' identification as 'light' could be seen as messianic as he fulfils Isaiah 'the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light' - links to the blind man physically and spiritually as he can now see and he believes
     • where there is the light of the world there is judgement for those who falsely claim to be enlightened
       • The Law light followed by the Pharisees has blinded and prevented them seeing the true light and in consequence they are confirmed as being in the darkness
         • Jesus emphasises that he not the law has brought about judgement of the world
           • judgement has a positive side for those who believe as they have life from the light of the world
     • establishes Jesus' authority and his relationship with the Father
       • Jesus 'belongs' to the world above where the father dwells but has come 'forth from God' sent by the father who seeks his glory
     • Witness
       • Jesus' testimony to himself is true because he is assured of his origins and his destiny whereas the Pharisees do not
       • God is also Jesus' witness
       • the man born blind is his witness
         • however the Pharisees deliberately refuse to be enlightened
     • while Jesus encourages the disciples to to focus on sin but the glorious works of God the Pharisees are preoccupied with renouncing jesus as a sinner
       • They are seen as using the Torah as their guiding criterion as the Law represented light however jesus supersedes this through his miracle and hence cannot be condemned for giving the man his light on the Sabbath
       • the Law light has blinded the Pharisees and prevented them from seeing what is the true light and in consequence they are confirmed as being in the darkness
     • discourse is about the integration of light, witness and judgement
     • Evangelist establishes that Jesus is truly greater than their patriarch i.e. Abraham
       • Jesus states that Abraham "rejoiced to see my day"and that "before Abraham was, I am"
         • indicating that Jesus is pre-existent and seemingly has the support of Abraham and his Father
           • however the Jewish prosecutors see this as blasphemous

4. Door of the Sheep

   • meaning and significance
     • 'I am the door of the Sheep' - Jesus is the door through which a person enters to gain salvation
     • Jesus says that thieves and robbers can climb in another way and therefore enter heaven, many find this strange and justify it as the fault of some redactor
     • It has been suggested that the sheepfold may be the church through which believers gain salvation. If the sheepfold is the church and not heaven then the thieves and robbers represent those who enter the church not to benefit the true Christians but to set themselves against them, not to give life but death. Possibly in reference to the persecution in the early church
   • Greek influence
     • Within Greek literature there is a door through which one enters heaven
   • Jewish Influence
     • For Jews there was a gate of heaven, seen by Jacob in his Bethel experience
     • Baruch - the 365 gates of heaven opened by angels
     • Jesus supersedes OT 'physical manna' that God rained through the doors of heaven through now Jesus rains upon the people abundant life of an eternal life both physically and spiritually

5. Good Shepard

   • Greek influence
     • Schnackenburg suggests that in Greece and the Hellenistic world the use of shepard as a designation of a divine or human ruler was widespread
   • Jewish influences
     • There are many references to the OT to God being 'shepard'
       • Pslam 'The Lord is my shepherd'
       • Isaiah 'he will feed his flock like a shepherd'
     • There is a link between this discourse and Ezekiel chapter 34 - where the selfish shepherd rulers have been looking after themselves and have scattered their sheep which have become food for wild beasts, God pronounces woe upon them
       • Similar to the discourse - 'the hired hand who does not own or care about the sheep when a wolf comes he therefore abandones them and they are scattered
         • a good shepherd in contrast does not run away when danger comes as he had intimate knowledge of the sheep (his people) and wild will lay down his life for them
           • Bultmann suggest this links to Jesus' crucifixion as a historical fact and forms the message of the early church
   • meaning and significance
     • Bultmann said that goodness is truly exemplified by Jesus dying for the sheep
     • Links between the hired hands Jesus refers to and the bad rulers at the time of Jesus as they are selfish and do not care about their people
       • and the 'wolf' my link to the earlier mentioned thieves and robbers
     • the good shepherd symbolises Jesus and his self-less love for his people and by giving his life for others he actually gives life to others
     • John emphasises that Jesus' life was not taken but rather he 'lay it down on his own accord'
       • Barrett suggest that this heroic act is important for Christians as it disproves arguments that Jesus was merely guilty and an executed criminal
     • Authority of Jesus is illustrated e.g. "I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again" He is not merely a suffering good shepherd but also the rising glorious lord
     • Jesus refers to other sheep 'not of his fold' this is generally understood as a reference to gentiles so indicating the universal interest of Jesus
     • Jesus' own intimate relationship with the father is stressed
       • 'I and the Father are one' - even though they are both shepherds they are also in reality one
         • Beasley-Murray suggests that this shows that they are one in action not in person

6. Resurrection and Life

7. The True Vine

   • 'I Am the true vine, and my father is the gardener'
   • Jewish background
     • Vine was an important crop in 1st century Palestine
       • Romans had a god of wine called Bacchus
     • Wine features in the Jewish passover, when four cups of wine are drunk to remember the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt and a fifth cup of wine is set aside for the Messiah
     • OT uses the Vine as a symbol for Jewish people as a whole
       • Psalm 80: 8-9 'You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land
   • Meaning and Significance
     • through claiming to be the true vine, Jesus identifies himself as the true god of wine and the real source of the Passover instead of the false Bacchus
     • acts as a warning - God will prune the Vine, cutting off the branches that don't 'bear fruit' - warns not only sinful Jews but the Pharisees who pride themselves on their Jewish ancestry but don't show love or humility in their lives
       • Synoptic Link - the Parable of the Tenants
     • 'fruit' is eternal life received from God and the disciples are the branches that do bear fruit
       • Christians in the early church that faced persecution would look back upon these words and conclude that this was God 'pruning' them so that they could bear more fruit in future
     • Raymond E. Brown - suggests there are two themes 1. Sapiential (Love) 2. Sacramental (Eucharist)
       • 1. Jesus makes clear that the 'fruit' of his teaching is love - agape - which is a decision to love rather than a feeling or emotion -'laying down one's life for one's friends' - self sacrifice - prediction of Jesus' own crucifixion
       • 2. references the wine drunk in the Eucharist - "you remain in me and I in you" - Catholics believe that Jesus' wine becomes Jesus' blood