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Daily Devotions

The Ever Existing One

By October 31, 2014No Comments

Read John 7 – 8

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.  John 8:56-58 KJV

There are many who contend that Jesus never claimed to be God. This is one of His strongest statements demonstrating otherwise, and the reaction of the religious leaders confirms it. Jesus claimed to know what Abraham was thinking. Jesus said by faith Abraham rejoiced to see His arrival as the Messiah. Jesus also claimed to exist before Abraham. With these two statements Jesus was claiming foreknowledge and pre-existence; both strong claims and both making Him more than mere man. But when Jesus said “I Am”, He made the boldest claim possible. He claimed to always be in existence, or to be the ever-existing one. This is the claim of God alone, the self-identification of God which was made to Moses in Exodus 3:14. His listeners understood what Jesus was claiming and picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy, making Himself to be God.

Lord, I acknowledge You to be God, the One who always was and ever shall be. As You knew Abraham’s thoughts You also know my thoughts. My desire is that my thoughts would be pleasing to You, and the words of my mouth would always acknowledge You.

A question to ponder: With the bold claims of Jesus in John 8, if He was not God then what was He and would He still deserve our faith and worship?