John 8:58

John 8:58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. The third occurrence of the solemn formula ‘Verily, verily,' marks the highest point reached by the words of Jesus at this time. The substance of the words is in completest harmony with the form. In the clearest possible manner Jesus declares, not only His existence before Abraham, but also the essential distinction between His being and that of any man. Man is born, man passes through successive periods of time: of Himself, in regard alike to past, present, and future, Jesus says ‘I am.' He claims for Himself that absolute, unchanging existence which is the attribute of God alone. If any argument be needed to enforce that which the words themselves supply, it is furnished in the conduct of the Jews (John 8:59), who clearly understood them to be a distinct (and in their mind a blasphemous) claim of that which belonged to God alone. The thought is distinctly present in the Old Testament: see Psalms 102:27, but especially Psalms 90:2. The English reader naturally recurs in thought to Exodus 3:14 , but there are two considerations which make it very difficult to assert positively that that verse is necessarily referred to here:

(1) The doubt which rests on the translation. ‘I will be' is at least as natural as a translation as ‘I am.'

(2) The Greek translation of the Divine Name there used differs materially from the words of this verse, and agrees rather with the original of Revelation 1:4. If our version does really express the meaning of Exodus 3:14, it is impossible not to associate that verse with the one before us.