"before Abraham was born, I am"?

Question

Jesus said this in John 8:56-59. What does this mean?

lobbing a soft-ball for my fellow believers. God bless.

Answer 1

In Exodus 3:14 with the burning bush, God said to Moses "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " This is God's personal name, and by saying "b4 Abraham was, I AM" Jesus was claiming to be God! This is one of my favorite verses because this proves that Jesus is God -- I'm a Trinitarian.

Answer 2

This means many things, to the Jews it meant that it was OK to stone Jesus Christ and they tried many times to do exactly that, because being a man he was saying he came to their greatest prophet Moses as the voice from heaven speaking for God. Jesus Christ was claiming to be the greatest person in their religion. The great ' I AM " the self existent one, the Lord Almighty, the everlasting father, or more simply put God. To a Christian this means Jesus and the father are one because the first commandment says there is only one God, not many, not three or two as some teach.
This is a great mystery of the Bible but how can a son be born and be called everlasting father --- Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Answer 3

John 1:1 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with with God, and the word was God.

As you continue reading the chapter, you will find that Jesus is the Word of God, and existed, as God and with God, at the time of creation. As a part of God, Jesus has always existed, just as God Himself has always existed. The fact that Jesus was born as a mortal, giving up for a time the divine part of Himself, does not indicate in any way that there was a time when He wasn't. He is saying in this verse that even though He is revealed in the time of His birth, that he existed even before Abraham, that He has continued to exist for all that time. And from before Abraham even until today, He is.

Answer 4

"I am" is the name God gave Moses when Moses ask Him who should Moses say sent Moses to the children of Israel.
God answered Moses and said, "Say "I Am" has sent you.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees that He lived before Abraham was born. Abraham had been dead for many hundred years at the time Jesus walked the earth.

Jesus told the Jewish Pharisees at that very moment that He was God and they took up stones to stone Him and Jesus hid himself from them. God can make Himself invisible at any moment.

We've got a lot to learn about the human body.

Answer 5

It is one of several places where Jesus claims to have existed prior to his birth as a human being. In this case, claiming that he had meet Abraham, who lived about 2000 years before.

While he could have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was", he did not. He said "I am" instead. In the Jewish tradition, God is knows as the "I am". When Jesus used that term, he was claiming not only the have existed then, but to have been in the form of God at that time.

If you go to the book of Genesis and chapter 15, you will see the meeting between Abraham and Jesus. God told Abraham that he was going to make a convenant with Abraham. So Abraham prepared the proper sacrifices. He took several animals and split them so that he and God could walk between the halves of them. Standard way to make a blood convenant at the time.

However, before Abraham could walk through them God causes him to fall into a sleep (or trance). He saw God pass through the pieces in two forms, a smoking furnance and a burning lamp. It was God the Father and God the Son walking through the parts. God cut the convenant with Abraham, but through Abraham's great, great, great, great...granson, Jesus Christ.

So Abrahm "saw" Jesus, still in his divine form, passing through the animals. And Jesus said that he rejoiced to see.

A common question is how did people get saved in the Old Testament, before there was a Jesus to believe in. It is simple. They knew he was coming, and believed in him even before he appeared. Just as Abraham did here.

Answer 6

It means that Jesus has always existed, even with the Father, in heaven. Notice in Genesis when the earth is being created, God says "let us create man in OUR image". Also, there is a verse that says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Its speaking of Jesus, referring to him as the Word in flesh. The fulfillment of prophecy.

Answer 7

Jesus has called him "the living word of God"
If we look at this way, it makes sense.

"In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God."

Jesus is saying that as the living word of God, he was with God before the creation.

Answer 8

Jesus is the firstborn of all creation.Jesus is said to be the only-begotten son of God.Jesus helped God make the heavens and the earth and all the spirit creatures.Jesus is second in command of the entire universe...what a supreme sacrifice Jesus made by fulfilling God's wishes to come down here to earthly sinful man in order to save them from death and hades.

Answer 9

It seems he meant that he was immortal, retrospectively - that he had always existed. Which might be interpreted as meaning that he was either Adam, or God, presuming God came before anything. Whatever - it's a very impressive statement; unless you think about it; or unless you're simply content to be one of all the descendants of all the generations that have gone before. That seems impressive enough, for me.

Answer 10

It means that Jesus is the God of the Bible and was the creator of the world