7 or 9 I AM Statements of Jesus in John (Complete Guide)

I am old enough to remember a song that I don't suggest you go look up, but it said, "I am whoever you say I am." We can't make that statement about Jesus. He isn't whoever we say he is. He is whoever he says he is.

In this complete guide, we're going to look at the I AM statements found in the Gospel of John—seven of them with two bonuses, giving us eight or nine total. We'll also explore the original context given to us in Exodus so you can understand the profound weight these declarations carried for the original Jewish audience.

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Why These I AM Statements Matter

Before we dive into these I AM statements in their brevity, let's address the key questions: What are these seven I AM statements? Why are they significant? What are the two bonuses? And what do these really mean to the original audience?

A Critical Warning: We Don't Define God

God is very clear about this. We cannot come into a definition of God that we make of our own imaginations. That's not God. God is holy, holy, holy. He is who he declares himself to be to us, and we don't want to fall into the error of the Israelites where God rebukes them in Psalm 50:21 saying:

The warning we want to take from this is that we don't get to impose upon God who we say he is. He gets to declare to us who he is. And that's exactly what John has communicated to the people in the beginning of his gospel: "In the beginning was the word." The word declares to us who the Father is, what the Father has done, what he is doing, and what he will do.

So we don't get the luxury of defining who our Savior is, who our God is. He comes and he says, "I AM. I am who I say I am. And I am who I've always been."

Understanding the Jewish Context: Exodus 3

Now, writing to a primarily Jewish audience, we need to understand how the Jews would have received these I AM statements. And to do that, we go all the way back to Exodus chapter 3.

Israel's Bondage in Egypt

In Exodus chapter 3, Israel was already in bondage to the Egyptians. Jacob (or Israel) and his sons had already moved to the land of Goshen. They had lived there beneath the authority of Pharaoh, and Joseph—his favored one—eventually died, as did Jacob.

New generations were raised up. Israel grew stronger and stronger, and the Egyptians drove them into slavery because they were fearful over what the Israelites could do to them if they so desired. At this point in time, Israel was under deep oppression and bondage—to the point of Pharaoh charging the Hebrew midwives to kill every single Hebrew male that was born.

Out of fear of God, the midwives didn't do that. Moses was raised by his mother for as long as she could possibly hide him, to the point where they had to entrust this baby boy to the care of God. They put him into a basket, covered him in pitch, and sent the liberator of Israel down the Nile. That liberator, Moses, found his way into the hands of Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him to be her own and raised him up in the house of Pharaoh.

Moses' Failed Attempt at Liberation

When Moses was grown, Exodus 2:11 tells us he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens and saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

The next day, when two Hebrew men were fighting, Moses intervened. But one of them said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Did you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?"

The point I want to make here is that Moses, even though he was raised in the Palace of Pharaoh to be an elegant Egyptian, still considered the ways of Israel and considered them to be his people. He took that seriously to the point of seeking to liberate them in his own strength.

But his own strength failed him, so he had to flee, where he became a shepherd in the land of Midian for 40 years.

The Burning Bush: God Reveals His Name

This is where we enter into the story of God revealing to Moses—and to his people—who he is and what he is going to do.

Moses is out there feeding his flock in the desert. He came to Horeb, the mountain of God, and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush. The bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn."

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I am."

Then God said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground. Moreover, I am the God of your Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

In verse 7, the Lord said:

So God has seen the affliction of his people. He has heard their cry, and he says, "I've come to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians—the oppression of the Egyptians, the power of the Egyptians, and the presence of the Egyptians."

"Who Am I?" Moses Asks the Right Question

But Moses said to God in verse 11, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

God replies, "I will certainly be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Moses is questioning. He's saying, "I understand what you want me to do." But in his mind, I imagine he's thinking, "I've tried this before. It didn't work. So how am I going to communicate to the people and bring them together on this?"

So Moses in verse 13 says to God, "Indeed, when I have come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is his name?' what shall I tell them?"

Moses is asking the right question: "God, you are sending me to deliver these people out of the power of the Egyptians. But who am I? I can't do it in my strength. What am I gonna say to them about who it is who's sending me?"

The Name Above All Names: I AM

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent you to me.'"

So God declares to Moses who he is. He is who he's always been. He will be who he's always been, and he will be who he always is. He is the ever-existing one. He is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of the people of Israel. He is, and he will always be.

So if they have a question about anything that he as God has done in the past, remember the stories of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and how God had made promises and he's kept them faithfully. The one who is going to deliver them is the I AM—the one who has always been and will always be. He is God.

Moreover, God said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.'"

Anytime you see "the LORD" in all caps in your English Bible, you're looking at the name Yahweh—covenant God of the people of Israel. This is followed by "God" (capital G-O-D), so you're looking at Elohim, the Almighty creator God.

So if there's any doubt that God can do what he says he is going to do, he is the covenant God of the people of Israel who has created the heavens and the earth and all that fills them. And he has every ability to do what he says he's going to do. And there is none that can rise up and thwart his plan. He's got this.

The Context Changes Everything

When God invoked his memorial name—I AM—it's in the context of him delivering his people from the penalty, the power, and the presence of the Egyptians.

And what I want us to see when we look at these I AM statements of Jesus is this: He's declaring to the audience, first and foremost, that he is God.

The people would've deeply understood that he is making these declarations. Maybe not the first time, but when he did it over and over and over again, they certainly understood.

John's Purpose Statement

Now, if you've watched any of my videos before, you'll understand the purpose of John writing his gospel, and it comes into play when we're looking at these I AM statements. So you must have this in your mind.

The purpose is found in John 20:30-31:

So Jesus is writing these things for a very specific purpose:

1. That we would understand that he is the Christ—the Messiah, the Savior, the liberating King

2. That we would believe that he is the Son of God

3. That by believing we would have life in his name

You have to keep those things in your mind as we're looking at these I AM statements of Christ.

The Seven I AM Statements (Plus Two Bonuses)

1. I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)

Jesus as God is the only one that can bring satiation to our spiritual needs. This is compared to the manna that was given to the nation of Israel in the wilderness. This, I believe, is what Jesus is talking about in the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread."

This concept of bread was very necessary for the Hebrew people. Bread meant life. Apart from bread, there was no sustenance. Meat was there and it was gone. Vegetables were seasonal. Fruit was seasonal. But bread was the staple. And if you had bread, that meant you had sustenance, and sustenance meant you had life.

So Jesus declaring, "I am the bread of life," and associating that with satiation of the soul—the soul that comes to me shall not hunger, the soul that believes in me shall never thirst. Believing and coming to Christ are used interchangeably here.

What Does "Coming" Mean?

J.C. Ryle in his Expository Thoughts on John says:

That sounds a whole lot like the language in John 1:12: "But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name"—to take hold of, to grab and grasp, to acquire and obtain possession, to come to Christ and believe upon him.

The one who comes to Christ, who takes hold of, who grasps with earnestness, will be satisfied. His soul shall not hunger. His soul shall not thirst because his soul will be completely satisfied.

This satisfaction leads up to eternal life. Verse 40 says, "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

The Jews were grumbling because they said, "Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I've come down from heaven'?"

But he declares to them in verse 45: "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life."

So to those who presently engage with Christ, come to Christ, take hold earnestly of Christ as their sustenance, they will have everlasting life and they will be satisfied.

This bread, he equates to his body: "I am the living bread, or the bread of life that came down from heaven, and the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh."

The flesh that he's speaking of isn't, as the Catholics would say, his real flesh that we have to consume in order to have everlasting life through the elements of communion. The communion wasn't even given at this point. The Eucharist wasn't even given at this point in time. It wasn't until later that this was actually given.

The context defines what Jesus is talking about, and the context is that of the bread that he will give for the life of the world—which is his body broken on the cross for the life of the world. It was future tense then; it's past tense for us.

So we have God, who is the sustenance of all who receive him: I AM the Bread of Life.

2. I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:5)

Remember that Jesus is the eternal Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."

The Word is what brings revelation to us—revelation of the person and work of the Father. So Jesus, as the eternal Word that took on flesh, brings light into the world, exposing the darkness, the lies, the deceits, the things that were just untrue about the nation, about God.

Remember the nation of Israel back in Psalm 50? They were rebuked because they thought God was like them. He's not. So Jesus comes and he puts God on display and he shows them, "I am not like you."

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness."

Now remember when the first disciples were called: Jesus turns to them and saw them following and said, "What are you seeking?" And they say to him, "Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying?" And he said to them, "Come and you will see."

So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him for that day, which was about the tenth hour. And then the testimony of scripture declares that day turned into the next day, which turned into the next day, and three years later, which turned into the resurrection of Christ and them still following the Lamb wherever he goes.

So the eternal God has come as I AM to deliver his people. And in that, he has shown them a great light. Whoever follows him in the light will not walk in darkness but will possess the light of life.

This is all about testimony here. It's all about truth here. "My judgment is true. I'm the one who bears witness about myself. My Father who sent me bears witness about me. You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

The one who receives the Father receives the Son. All of this is in the context of "I AM as God, the light of the world."

So if we want to walk in the light and not in the darkness, we have to follow Christ—to know what he did and follow that, to see where he's going and follow that. And all of that is found in the Word, which is ultimately the testimony of who God is, what he has done, is doing, and will do in the world.

BONUS #1: Before Abraham Was, I AM (John 8:58)

At the end of John chapter 8, we get one of those bonus I AM statements. They answered him in this discussion, "Abraham is our father."

And Jesus was like, "No, no, no, no, no, no. You're not doing what Abraham did, who took God at his word and acted. But you are doing the works that your father did."

Your father, the devil, Satan, who rebelled against God and said, "I will not follow your ways," and set himself up as God in his own heart. That's what they were doing. The Messiah, Christ, was standing right before them, and they remained in darkness because their deeds were evil.

Jesus is going back and forth with them in this dialogue. In verse 48, the Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory, but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

The argument continues between them about Abraham and Jesus being greater than Abraham.

And Jesus said to them in verse 58: "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.

This declaration—"I AM"—right here is a clear reference back to Exodus 3:14. He is who he's always been. He's declaring that he was the one back then who said that very thing, that came down to rescue his people, to deliver his people from Egypt's penalty, power, and presence. And they wanted to stone him for it.

So Jesus is declaring to these people that he is eternal, that he is God, and that's how we are to understand all of these I AM statements.

3. I AM the Door (John 10:7, 9)

We have this analogy that Jesus is using of the sheepfold, where the sheep would come to rest at night in this area that was fenced in by rock. There was one door.

And Jesus is declaring that, listen, no one gets into this sheepfold unless you go through me. You can't hop over the wall. If you do, you're a thief and you're a robber.

And if you think you can get past the door—who is Christ—by deceiving him into thinking that your heart is something that it isn't, you're deceiving yourself. He is the door, and none make it into his fold apart from him opening that door. And he who created us, who is God, knows the thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. You cannot fool him.

He is the door, and none will come to the Father but through that door. And he gets to define the terms: that is coming, receiving, believing with the intention to follow the Lamb wherever he goes, or follow the Good Shepherd wherever he goes.

4. I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14)

God is continually revealing to us more and more of how he's going to bring about the deliverance from the penalty, the power, and the presence of sin. Just as we read in Exodus of God delivering his people from the penalty, power, and presence of the Egyptians, Jesus is declaring that to us.

"I am the good Shepherd," and he is the good Shepherd because he lays down his life for the sheep.

5. I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

This comes during the death of Lazarus when Jesus is having a conversation with Martha about her brother.

And Martha said to him, "Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

Remember the threefold purpose of John: that they would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we would have life in His name.

Jesus again—the I AM—taking the divine name upon himself within the context of delivering the people from the penalty, power, and presence of their oppressor, which was Egypt in Exodus, but is sin here with Christ.

The resurrection and the life.

So the one who enters in through Christ, who comes to him by receiving him with all tenacity, saying, "I have nothing. I am nothing. I will be nothing apart from Christ"—though his body dies, he shall live.

It is not over. It's never over. After this life, after we take our last breath, that's not it. That's an entrance into eternity. Either eternal life in Christ or eternal death because the wrath of God abides on us.

6. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)

The Word has come to communicate himself to the people and to secure the way to everlasting life.

Now, the wonder about this "I am the way, the truth, and the life" is that the context determines the meaning. The context is that Jesus came in the name of the Father to make known the person of the Father in the power of the Father for the glory of the Father.

And those things are attributed then to those who follow the way, the truth, and the life. In John 14:12, Jesus says:

But later in verse 26, he says:

So we will be given the Spirit who enables us to do the work that Jesus did, because Jesus did that work in the power of the Spirit. So we do it in the authority of Christ, because if you ask anything in my name—not in the name of the Father, but in the name of the Son—he will do it.

7. I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5)

We have this beautiful imagery of a grapevine and the branches coming off of it. I am the vine. Christ is the vine. We are the branches.

We see this agricultural imagery, the fact that the vine is the one that gives nutrients to all of the branches to produce fruit—the fruit of the vine. So since the fruit is of Christ, since the vine is Christ, the fruit will be of Christ. Since the vine is sourced out of eternity as the I AM, then the fruit will also be sourced out of eternity.

Meaning we are born into Adam, but through receiving Christ who is the vine and believing upon his name, we are brought into Christ—born not of man, but of God, to produce God things.

And that is how we are to receive this testimony: that Jesus is the true vine. Apart from abiding in him, we have nothing and we can produce nothing of our own. Nothing good, anyways. Only evil. But those who abide in the vine, who remain in the branch, they can produce much good fruit.

BONUS #2: The Power of "I AM" (John 18:4-6)

Lastly, we're gonna hop, skip, and jump right over to John chapter 18, right before his unlawful arrest and trial. We see this divine name being evoked again and the power and the authority behind it.

The religious leaders of the day, along with the Roman soldiers, are coming, and they see Jesus. Judas betrays Jesus. Jesus walks up to them and says, "Who do you seek?"

He knew, but they answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth."

Jesus said to them, "I AM." (The "he" is supplied in the English. He said, "I AM.") Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.

When Jesus said to them, "I AM," they drew back and fell to the ground.

So the authority of Jesus here in this statement is seen and observed in the visual response of the Roman Army and the religious leaders falling to the ground at the profound announcement that Jesus is I AM, which is what he'd been telling them all along: I AM.

And if that were not enough, Jesus said to them, "I told you that I am he. So if you seek me, let these go."

They could have put all of the disciples in chains. It would've been easy. But they ran away and they escaped, to prove the scriptures true: "Of those whom you have given me, I have not lost one."

Conclusion: Jesus Is the Divine I AM

Jesus is the divine I AM that we see all the way back in Exodus. He is who he's always been, and it's only because of the deity of Christ that we can have an everlasting Savior and someone who can pay for the infinite amount of sins that whosoever should bring to Christ.

And he is willing and able to take that debt off of their shoulders and place it on himself.

Jesus is the I AM, and unless you understand this, you cannot have life.

He is God, and that's what these I AM statements are declaring—that he is truly God who became truly man to live and die, raise from the dead, and become truly High Priest, so that we could have an eternal source of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Want to dive deeper into each of these I AM statements? Check out my in-depth video series in the I AM Statements of John folder. At Immersed Disciple, we seek to teach the scriptures in such a way that magnifies Christ and causes you to go and search him out for yourself. Find out more at immerseddisciple.com.