A Biography of Jesus (BOOK EXCERPT, PT 7)

Today Book Stop blog is featuring its final excerpt from A Biography of Jesus by Tom Cowley and available from Paraclete Press.

A Biography of Jesus by Tom Cowley

Divinity Declared

Jesus teaches that he and the Father are one.

During the Judea/Perea travels Jesus made two trips to the Jerusalem Temple and one trip to Bethany, near Jerusalem. Jesus went to the Temple for the Feast of the Tabernacles (John 7:1–10:21) and to the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22–42). During these Jerusalem travels, one can detect the challenges and barriers Jesus faced with the entrenched Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John records an important step in Jesus’s ministry at this time. With his "I am" statements, Jesus openly declares his divinity directly to Temple leaders. We can learn a lot from these. Below is a summary guide to all of Jesus's "I am" claims from John's Gospel:
John 7:16 -- “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.”
John 7:28 -- "I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true."
John 7:33 -- "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me."
John 8:12 -- "I am the light of the world."
John 8:16 -- "I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me."
John 8:23–24 -- "I am from above. . . . I am not of this world."
John 8:49 -- I am not possessed by a demon."
John 8:50 -- "I am not seeking glory for myself."
John 8:58 -- "Before Abraham was born, I am!"
John 10:7 -- "I am the gate for the sheep."
John 10:11–15 -- "I am the good shepherd . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14 -- "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:30 -- "I and the Father are one."
John 11:25 -- "I am the resurrection and the life."
The Jewish leaders continued to build their case against Jesus. "'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God'" (John 10:33). Jesus does not back down and concludes, "Understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:38b).
John 11 records the visit of Jesus to Bethany, to Mary and Martha, and to raise their brother Lazarus from the dead. Jesus shares with Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25b). Later, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" (John 11:43b) and the dead man, Lazarus, came out of his tomb!
Refer to: John 7–11
Questions: What do you think of the bold "I am" claims Jesus made? How do they relate to the meaning of your own Christian faith?


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