I AM He!

On three different occasions, Jesus utters these words.  And just like His statement about being light, this too is a proclamation of His deity.  To the Samaritan woman who was aware that Messiah was coming, He says, "I who speak to you am He."  To those who wondered who He was, He says, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He,"  And to those who came seeking Him in the garden He asks, "Whom do you seek?" When they say, "Jesus the Nazarene", He responds, "I am He."

It is quite interesting to look at the differing responses of those who hear these words.  The Samaritan woman demonstrates a portion of belief.  But she still is unsure.  She goes back to the city and tells the men what she has experienced and invites them to come and see Him.  She asks them, "this is not the Christ, is it?"  We see that the result is many from Sychar believed first based on the woman's words, but eventually because of Jesus' words, and they became convinced that Jesus is "indeed the Savior of the world."

The second account is in John 8.  This proclamation is part of an interesting conversation. It starts with the statement we looked in the last posting.  As a result of Jesus saying He was the light of the world, the religious leaders accused Him of falsely representing Himself.  This lead to a discussion about bearing witness and then Jesus proclaims that He comes from above, and tells them unless they "believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."  Their response?  "Who are You?"  He again refers to being sent from above, and then talks about His coming death being evidence to who He is.  The result was that many believed.

In the garden, those who came seeking Jesus drew back and fell to the ground at His words, "I am He."  Obviously, they understood the import of those words.  Jesus then instructed them to let His disciples, who were with Him, go.  Normally the one being taken prisoner receives instruction rather than giving it.  But Jesus does not fit into "normal." 

In each of these settings, people believed as a result of three words.  "I am He."  Jesus still makes this proclamation today.  I wonder, what does my response indicate about my faith?  Do I, like the Samaritans, allow who Jesus is to change who I am?  Or am I more like the religious leaders of the day, looking for an argument, promoting who I am?  I believe there are times when those words ought to drive me to my knees in wonder and awe like those who came seeking Him in the garden.  What about you?  Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the one sent from above to be the perfect sacrifice, bearing our sin on the cross, satisfying God's wrath, offering us hope for eternal life?  How will these three words change the course of our lives?