before Abraham was, I AM

Today Jesus says one of the most profound things He said during His time on Earth. We are reading from the One Year Bible in John 8:31-59.

He's talking to the religious leaders who are refusing to accept Him. They are not listening to God, and are instead being led astray by our ancient enemy. But Jesus answers even THEM with a profound truth that we can still meditate on today.

He tells them that Abraham looked forward to seeing the day when Jesus would come. And he did see it, and was glad, Jesus said. The religious leaders are shocked at this, and they ask, "You're not even 50 years old? How can you say you saw Abraham?"

And in response, Jesus blows all of our minds by saying, "Before Abraham was, I AM."

In case you didn't know, Jesus is not only claiming to be eternal, He's using the word YHWH that most Jews won't even say out loud. He's claiming to be the one God that the Hebrews have worshiped since there have been Hebrews. He's saying what CS Lewis pointed out is one of three things: either lunacy, meaning Jesus was simply insane. Or an evil lie from the depths of hell, which the religious leaders thought He was doing. Or He is LORD, the creator of heaven and Earth.

The mystery of the incarnation doesn't become any less mysterious as we ponder it. The deeper we go in our meditation, the deeper the depths that we find. If you have any difficulty in spending time meditating on His identity, just ask Him to help you. Jesus often asked people who they thought He was. The reason is because it is worth our time and effort to ponder His identity. When we know who He is, it puts everything else in our lives in its proper place.

God, thank You for teaching us who You are.