In today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims his divinity by speaking like God. In the book of Exodus God reveals himself to Moses with the following words:
“I am who I am…This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14).
In today’s Gospel Jesus uses the same expression to describe himself:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”
Jesus, the Son of God, preexisted in heaven before he came to earth and is eternal. The Evangelist announces this theme already in the Prologue to the Gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-2).
The Gospel of John teaches the simple but profound and central truth of our faith: Jesus is the revelation of the one true God. What does God look like? How does God act? What is his “temperament”? Is God a god of wrath or a god or mercy? All we must do is look to Jesus, to listen to his words and watch his actions. Jesus repeats this core teaching in his dialogue with Philip at the Last Supper:
Jesus: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip: “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:6-9).
As we continue our Lenten journey and continue to walk with God, we are invited to a deeper understanding of God by listening to Jesus and following in his ways. As we following the way of Jesus we are walking with God because Jesus is “I Am,” the Son of God when we see him, we see God the Father.
Image: “Resurrection in Christ” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.