Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. (John 8:58)

Was Jesus claiming to be God when He said, “Before Abraham was born, I am”? Literally, this should be rendered, “Before Abraham was (or came into being), I am.” The connection to Exodus 3:14, “I AM that I AM,” is often made today, but the Jews of Jesus’ day would have heard reflections of Isaiah 45:18 and 47:10, where the exact phrase is used in the same way. Through the whole section of Isaiah 40-49 the phrase “I am …” is frequently used, as in, “I am the LORD.” Some scholars suggest that Isaiah was being read in the synagogues during the Feast of Booths at that time (John 7:2, 37), so the connection would be unmistakable. The theme of Isaiah 40-49 asserts the absolute uniqueness of Yahweh. For example, “I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD… (Is 43:10–11). See also Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 45:5-7, 18, 46:9, etc.

Jesus was therefore identifying Himself very much with Yahweh of Isaiah’s writings in a way that made His listeners uncomfortable. Jesus had already said, a few verses earlier, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Although the English word “He” (italicized) shows in most translations, literally it reads, “Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” And again, Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He …” (John 8:28). Again, the “He” is not present in the original. Translators are attempting to fill in the sense of it, but we believe that the close proximity to John 8:58 requires us to note the formal absence of the predicate. We see “I am” (vs. 24), “I am” (vs. 28), and then finally “I am” (vs. 58). By this time, His listeners had had enough. Up until this point, there was sufficient ambiguity in the phrase, but when Jesus finally said, “Before Abraham was, I am,” the full impact of what He was saying sunk in. They wanted to execute Him, clearly on the charge of blasphemy.

If Jesus had not intended His listeners to connect His use of “I am” with the “I am” of the OT (Yahweh), the strict monotheism of the Jewish faith would have required Him to clarify that point. But His lack of defending Himself speaks of His deity, as Yahweh of the OT. This is one of the most powerful testimonies of the deity of Jesus Christ. The Jews of His day understood this perfectly, and desired to kill Him for it. Yet He is the God who will be there for His people, even for those who wanted to kill Him.

LORD, I thank You for seeking me even when I was rejecting You.