John 8:58 "Very truly I tell you..." and John 14:6 "I AM the way, and the truth..."

"Jesus said to them, 'Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am'" (John 8:58).

Comment:

As is frequently the case in the Gospel of John, Jesus confounds those listening to him because they don't understand the consciousness from which he is speaking. The Pharisees are upset because a man "not yet fifty years old" (John 8:57) claims to have personal knowledge of their revered ancestor Abraham. However, Jesus is not speaking as Jesus of Nazareth but as Jesus Christ—the full manifestation in human expression of the infinite and eternal Presence and Power of God. Moses is told in Exodus that the 'name of God'—the name of the Presence of God in each of us—is "I AM." Jesus here says "Before Abraham was, I am." In other words, the Christ, as the Power of God, is eternal; it has long preceded any human expressions. Jesus of Nazareth had a specific birth date. Jesus the Christ is eternal—just as the Christ is the eternal spiritual power within each of us.   PASSAGE: "Jesus said to him, 'I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).   COMMENT: Again, there has been confusion for centuries over the consciousness from which Jesus is speaking. He is speaking as the Christ—the I AM that is the creative Power of God expressing as each of us. It is only by recognizing and embracing that Christ as our true spiritual identity that we can “come to the Father”—make the creative choices that bring that spiritual Power into tangible expression. We can only find the Allness of God the Father by turning within and affirming the Christ of God as our true identity.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed