What did Jesus mean when He said, "I AM"?
Here's the answer:
When Jesus said, "I AM," He was telling people that He is God.
Jesus said this about Himself when He was talking to some religious leaders called Pharisees. Jesus told the Pharisees that He had seen Abraham hundreds of years before, and they wondered how this could be possible. "'What I’m about to tell you is true,' Jesus answered. 'Before Abraham was born, I am!'" (John 8:58). God had told His people, the Israelites, long ago that He is I AM (see Exodus 3:14), so when Jesus said this too, He was telling the Pharisees who He is.
The Pharisees understood what Jesus was saying, but they were very angry because they didn’t believe that Jesus is God. They thought He was being disrespectful to God. Jesus wasn’t being disrespectful, though, because He really is God! The Bible tells us that Jesus was there at the very beginning of our world: "In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). In this verse, "the Word" means Jesus. So when Jesus said, "I AM," He was telling the truth that He is God.
Bible Truth
"[Jesus said,] 'I and the Father are one'" (John 10:30).
"The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
