‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I am has sent me to you.”’

(Exodus 3:14)

In the Septuagint (the translation of the Torah and the other Hebrew scriptures into Greek) ‘I am’ is ὁ ὤν (ho on) which can be read (the one) ‘who is’; but probably would have been better understood in terms arising from Greek philosophy as more like ‘the Being’, the ‘Existing One’.  Translation inevitably risks misperception, especially when reduced to a cypher of concept.  Without the syntax of a sentence, let alone a broader context, it behoves all to not treat this translation entirely literally. 

When Moses asks God to identify himself the first response is translated: ‘I am who I am’ translating ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (ego eimi ho on) literally ‘I am “who is”’.

God’s name then is ‘who is’, conveying the sense of a being independent of all others, pre-existent, transcendent and eternal.

While it of course true that Moses is given a name ‘I AM’, it is important when relating this to all ‘I am’ statements of Jesus being powerful statements of his divinity.  That said, there are three that are good candidates, not least because of the reaction they cause.  

The first occurs during a discussion with the Pharisees in the Temple. Jesus states:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.  (John 8:58)

The second is recorded when Judas guides officers and soldiers to Gethsemane to apprehend Jesus: 

Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 

They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 

Jesus said to them, “I am (he).”

Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am (he)”, they drew back and fell to the ground. 

So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” 

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he.   (John 18:4-8)

These are negative reactions extreme anger provoked by the horror of blasphemy and then again terror at the latent power, power moreover that Jesus deigns not to employ.

But there is a positive reaction also:

The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”  (John 4:24-25)

The woman (a Samaritan) then testified to the village that had previously shunned her and‘many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony’ (Ibid 4:39)

In all the above Jesus speaks with grammatical elision by not completing a sentence.   The ‘I am’ hangs and begs definition.  While in the Gethsemane instance, ‘he’ is not present in the Greek: ego eimi ho laion soi is literally ‘I am who speaks to you’.  And the other examples are similar, Jesus says merely ego eimi and in those cases the missing syntactical element is evident.  

Of course, Jesus was speaking Aramaic, and unlike in Mark’s Gospel where some of Jesus statements are simply transliterated, John’s account concentrates on illustrating the gravity of Jesus’ statements.  These utterances were truly provocative; whether to inspire or abhor, indifference was not an option.  Jesus was declaring himself in terms that all readers of the Torah (Jews and Samaritans) clearly associated with God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob speaking to Moses from the burning bush

Even today, Jews refuse to name God, but instead call him ‘The Name’ (Ha’Shem).  By reiteration of the divine name offered to Moses, Jesus knows the power it contains, and all that hear are deeply moved.  All are inspired with the Fear of God, and it is reminder that Biblically such fear cannot be described simply in terms of reverence or respect; fear means terror and there is no dissonance in any mortal brush with the transcendent God ‘who is’. Jesus says this – and note ‘fear’ translates phobeó, meaning to be seized by terror.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)

Behind the Samaritan woman’s awe, and clearly evident in Judas and his co-conspirators, fear is the natural reaction to the supernatural presence.

This instances of deliberate self-naming stand in contrast to those where the sentence is completed, I am the True Vine, Good Shepherd and so on.  Here the Greek is functional.  With the ‘I am’ statements, seven in all, (and only found in John’s Gospel) Jesus he is expanding not on his divinity rather Messianic fulfilment.  Said directly to and for the benefit of the Jews, these are the credentials that John recorded for Jesus’ candidacy for God’s Anointed; and when it comes to be read by the early church, already predominately Gentile, while making the link to the Scripture of which they knew little, this also developed the understanding of the trinitarian God, and Jesus’ Sonship.  Nonetheless, for the Gentile believers, the seven signs John offered were of the miraculous and concluded:

Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  (Ibid 20:30-31)

In this conclusion then are the two aspects essential to salvatory faith, that Jesus is Messiah (in Greek: Christos) and the second person of the triune God.