Throughout John’s gospel Jesus makes many “I am” statements. John writes this way to help his readers understand Jesus on a deeper basis then as a prophet, healer and teacher, in these statements John is directly connecting Jesus with Yahweh, the name that God is called by all people of Israel. In the book of Exodus, God (Yahweh) has a conversation with Moses from a burning bush. God commands Moses to lead God’s people from slavery to freedom and life in the Promised land. Moses asks God what name he should use when telling the Israelites what God has commanded them and God replies, ‘I am who i am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”: This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.‘ (Exodus 3:14-15). John’s I am statements that Jesus makes throughout his gospel are meant to link Jesus directly to Yahweh the God they have always known and worshipped.
Right at the start John wants his readers to understand that Jesus IS God and the I AM statements which follow throughout his gospel not only iterate that message but also help us to understand what that means in our understanding of Jesus and of God.
The ‘I am’ statements go a bit further than that though as they also help the reader understand God (Yahweh) now through their relationship with and the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. In today’s reading Jesus says ‘I am’ the gate. Specifically, the gate to the sheepfold and we are the sheep. Jesus is the path that we follow in order to enter into the rest, peace and refreshment that are offered in Psalm 23 that the Good Shepherd brings us to. Jesus is the one who has created a gateway through sin and death. Sin and death are no longer a closed door, an end to hope, to life, to rebirth and second chances as Jesus has become the gate which allows us passage through.
John begins his gospel with the statement, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ Right at the start John wants his readers to understand that Jesus is God and the I am statements which follow throughout his gospel not only iterate that message but also help us to understand what that means in our understanding of Jesus and of God. Jesus comes to bring about the plan of salvation which was set in place from the creation of the world, the plan to ensure that the darkness and death is not the final outcome of our lives but rather we walk through the gate which is Jesus into pleasant places of peace and rest. Amen.