Before Abraham Was, I Am
August 24, 2025
John Mochel
“Before Abraham Was, I Am” John 8:48-59 8/24/2025
Who is the greatest person of all time?
I like to ask people this question, particularly people who are not followers of Jesus Christ. I get all kinds of answers:
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mohammad
Ghandi
Babe Ruth
One person told me, “Yoda.”
Some people will say, “Jesus Christ,” even if they do not know much about Him.
And then I like to ask for the criteria that people use to evaluate greatness.
Most people don’t really know.
But of all these people, Jesus is really in a category all to Himself.
Only Jesus has died for you.
Only Jesus demands your unconditional obedience.
Only Jesus has claimed to be God.
Obey Jesus because He is with God and is God.
In John 8, Jesus is continuing His teaching that began in chapter 7 in the Temple at the Feast of Booths.
Jesus has been declaring that his teaching comes from His Father in Heaven.
Jesus has told them that He has come from heaven and is returning to heaven.
He calls Himself “the light of the world,” and claims to be rescuing people from darkness.
He is warning them that if they do not believe in Him, they will die in their sin. Jesus has just explained that He is the one who shows people the truth. John 8:31-32 It is because these Jewish leaders reject His words that they cannot see the truth.
I. Jesus honors His Father, therefore you must keep His Word. John 8:48-51 And if you keep the word of Jesus “you will never see death.” (vs. 51)
The Jewish leaders are already upset about what Jesus has been teaching…
Their critique of Jesus has failed thus far and so they, as people do, turn to personal attack.
They come up with about the worst insult that they can muster. (vs. 48)
A Samaritan is a Jewish-gentile half breed, thought of by Jews as sub-human and disgusting.
A demonized person… well, one doesn’t need any explanation why that is insulting for Jesus.
Jesus then explains simply, “I do not have a demon.” (vs. 49) That is a fact.
It is a fact that is obvious to anyone who listens to Jesus or sees what He does.
Then Jesus describes very simply the problem that the Jewish leaders have.
Jesus honors His Father, who is God the Father, and they dishonor Jesus. (vs. 49) By implication Jesus is demonstrating that they are dishonoring God the Father.
Is there anything worse in God’s universe than to dishonor God?
It is important for every person who lives to think about this question in all the decisions we make.
Not only this, but Jesus does not seek His own glory, but rather His Father will glorify Him. (vs. 50) Thus, of all the persons who have ever lived, God wants you to honor and glorify Jesus. There are people who say, “I want to know God. I seek God. But I do not believe Jesus.” I have met some of these people, in India, in Russia, in Bulgaria, in Turkey, in America.
I think we specialize in such people in America.
They will say things like, “I mean some of what Jesus says in great, but other stuff I don’t like.”
Really? God is lord of all the universe and Jesus is His chosen Messiah, His representative, His Son.
If you don’t like Jesus, you offend God.
If you think you have a better plan of salvation than Jesus, you are an arrogant fool, and you are doomed. These Jewish leaders, just like any person who has this attitude, are doomed to death and hell… Unless they repent and trust in Jesus as the one God sent to save them.
Jesus then explains that, because of His relationship with His Father,
“anyone [who keeps His word] will never see death.”
This is because Jesus is God’s Son, sent to save His people from their sins.
Jesus will actually pay the sin price for every person who will trust in Him as Savior and Lord.
Jesus now has paid that sin price for us on the Cross.
We deserved to die for our sins. Jesus has died in our place.
If you trust in Him and His payment for your sin, you will be saved from sin, death, and hell.
Someday soon you will be raised immortal to live forever with the Lord in the new heavens and new earth.
II. Jesus keeps the Father’s Word and is glorified by the Father. John 8:52-56
The Jewish leaders are now thoroughly perturbed. They are irritated. They are upset. They are angry. They do not like what Jesus seems to be saying.
I like to imagine the looks on their faces…
It would be like the look on your face after a dill pickle milkshake. Do you know that they make those?
They say, “Now we know that you have a demon!”
Can you imagine accusing God of being demonized? That is what they are doing.
They have their reasons. Abraham and all the prophets died. These are the greatest men of all time.
In this they are correct. They have the right heroes.
They just do not understand their heroes… or they understand them according to their own agenda.
Abraham, Moses, David, and all the prophets spoke about Jesus and looked forward to His coming.
These guys all died, and now Jesus is saying, “If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste death.”
Actually, Jesus said “he will never see death.”
They think that Jesus is saying that He is greater than Abraham and the prophets.
They all died. Jesus is saying that He has power to rescue people from death. They ask Him, “Who do you think you are?”
Well, that is a good question. They ought to have been paying attention.
Jesus next makes a series of points that indicate just who He is, which is the central issue in His teaching.
God the Father, who is His (Jesus’) Father, glorifies Jesus, His own Son. (vs. 54)
Jesus knows the Father, and they do not. (vs. 55a)
Jesus knows the Father, and He keeps the word of His Father. (vs. 55b)
Abraham longed to see the day in which Jesus would come. (vs. 56)
Now who could Jesus be, if He speaks of Himself in such ways?
Who could this be who is glorified by God the Father?
…who knows the Father?
…who keeps the Father’s word?
…who the prophets look forward to seeing?
Jesus must be their Messiah. He must be the one anticipated for 4,000 years.
Genesis 3:15 Who is the seed that will crush Satan’s head?
To Abraham in Genesis 22:16-18 How is God going to make all this happen? Who is this seed?
To Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 Who could this prophet like Moses be?
To David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16 How would David’s kingdom endure forever? To Daniel in Daniel 7:13-14 Who would this Son of Man be?
All of these passages are about Jesus, and there are so many more.
These Jews ought to be listening to Jesus, not arguing with Him.
We ought to listen to Jesus.
III. Jesus is God who exists with the Father. John 8:57-59
The Jewish people who are listening to Him, particularly the Jewish leaders, Pharisees, and Scribes… They are astounded at what Jesus seems to be saying.
They now ask Him a question, incredulously. They are prepared to reject His answer.
Actually, they have no idea just how unbelievable His answer is going to be for them to hear.
They are not prepared for it. They will not accept it.
We know this by their response in verse 59. They want to kill Him. Moreover, if we have any doubts about what Jesus is saying, their reaction confirms what I am about to explain.
Jesus delivers His astounding answer in verse 58.
It is one of the epic moments in Jesus’ teaching ministry.
It is important for the reader of the Bible to recognize something that is obvious even in the English.
That is this: The meaning of what Jesus is saying to the Jews rests on the tense of the Greek verb. (vs. 58)
Jesus begins His statement with His signature “Truly, truly, I say to you…” This is an indication that what He is about to say is massively important.
He wants them to pay attention.
He is speaking with unquestionable authority.
What He is saying is absolutely true.
What does He say? “Before Abraham came into being, I Am.” Do you understand the point that Jesus is making?
He refers to Abrham in the past tense. Abraham was. And they all knew that this is true.
Abraham lived and died some 2,000 years before Jesus made this statement.
Jesus is saying that He existed before that. But He is saying far more than that. If that was all Jesus wanted to say, He would have said, “Before Abraham was, I was.” But instead, He uses the present tense. Do you see that?
The present tense in English, and especially in Greek, indicates continual action.
Jesus is telling them that before Abraham was, Jesus is continually existing.
It is a stunning claim! Jesus is proclaiming His pre-existence and eternal existence.
But that is not all that Jesus is saying! There is even more in His meaning.
This is because the statement “I Am” is used memorably by God in Exodus 3 to describe Himself.
Exodus 3:10-15 This is a play on God’s name “Yahweh” which uses the same Hebrew letters as “I Am.” God’s very name points to His absolute, independent, eternal, self-existence.
When Jesus here says, “I Am,” He is indicating that He is that God who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3.
Jesus is the great “I Am.” He is Yahweh, the Lord God of all creation.
Of course, if we have been paying attention in John’s Gospel, we already know this.
Even the first few verses of John’s Gospel tell us this.
Not to mention the I Am” statements of Jesus thus far…
“I Am the Bread of Life”
“I Am the Light of the World.”
The clarity with which He makes His divine claim now astounds the Jewish leaders.
It ought to astound us, astound and amaze.
Jesus is God made man, come into this world to save us.
And so, you and I ought to trust Him absolutely and hang on His every word.
As the Father said about Jesus at the Transfiguration, “This is My Son, the Chosen One, Listen to Him!”
Do you live like Jesus, the one whom you trust and follow, is God Himself?
Do you read His words, listen to them, study them, memorize them, and obey them?
How can you not if you believe Him?
You and I get to follow and serve our Savior, who is God Himself, come into our world.
And we get to live for His glory. Nothing can be better or more glorious than that.