An Easy Bible Study in John

I have hidden your Word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

Reading the Bible can be a daunting task.  When it comes to reading, picking up a great novel or reading my blog is so much easier.

Where to begin reading the Bible is only slightly less daunting.  Genesis (first book of the Old Testament) and Matthew (first book of the New Testament) are seemingly good places to start.  Randomly opening the Bible and reading where ever the pages lay can be fun and confusing.  Or following a reading plan can be helpful for those of us that need more direction. (I try to follow the LJRP.)

But if reading the Bible can be daunting, then studying the Bible can be intimidating.  Reading is one thing, understanding is something completely different.  Many of us feel ill-equipped to "study" the Bible let alone "understand" it.  So in an effort to be helpful, here is an easy Bible Study in John.

Jesus said, "I am ... " B.S. (Bible Study)

John is the fourth book in the New Testament of the Bible and is one of the Gospels.  Where the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on the humanity of Jesus, the gospel of John focuses more on the divinity of Jesus.

But first ... What is the significance of "I AM"?
In Exodus, the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush, and God said, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14).  The Hebrew word for "AM" is hayah, which has many meanings like "to become", "to be", and "to exist".  It is used in the verb pattern: qal, which is the "simple" or "casual" use of the word (hayah).

Mathew Henry's Commentary offers this good explanation of Exodus 3:14:

This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies, that he is self-existent; he has his being of himself, and has no dependence upon any other and that he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and for ever; he will be what he will be and what he is.

As John is relaying the divinity of Jesus he is linking Jesus' expressions of who He is to the cultural understanding of who God said He is.  In fact, John tells of an encounter between some Jews and Jesus where it doesn't get much clearer (John 8:53-58):

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

The Greek for "I am" is ego eimi used in the present tense meaning "to be", "to exist" or "to happen". Jesus not only claimed that He was greater than their father Abraham, but also used their language* and understanding of God to emphasize His identity.  They were so upset at His audacity to make such claims, they picked up stones to stone him. 

And now second ... Jesus said, "I AM ..." **
With the above in mind, we can understand John's purpose to parallel Jesus' claims about himself with the very nature of God himself.

As you read what Jesus said about himself (below), keep these questions in mind:

• What is Jesus claiming?
• What are the implications?
• Which one is the easiest for you to accept?
• Which one is the hardest for you to accept?

(You can Ctrl-Click on the scripture links to open a new window to read the verse in context)

I am the bread of life ... Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. (John 6:28-59)

I am the light of the world ... Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12-20)

I am the gate ... whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:1-18)

I am the good shepherd ... The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:1-18)

I am the resurrection and the life ... He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:17-32)

I am the way, and the truth, and the life ... No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:4-11)

I am the true vine ... He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-8)


You may remember some or all of these statements made by Jesus.  I think you will find this can make for a quick and easy Bible study in John.  Print this out and read one of the above passages a day for the next week (there are seven).  As you read, you may find you have other questions like:  What does a shepherd have to do with me? Or, what is the resurrection Jesus is talking about?  If you do, you can go to a great resource sight StudyLight.org, or leave me your question in the comments.


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*Note: Aramaic was the common tongue in Israel in Jesus' time.  The earliest transcripts of the New Testament are the Greek conveyance of Jesus' words.

**John relates over 60 statements and conversations where Jesus uses the phrase "I am".  You can click on this search at BlueLetterBible.com to read them.  They include, "I am not alone", "I am from above", "I am not of this world", and "I am going away".  The seven more known ones (included in this article) relate more to Jesus' claim of His identity.