Jesus' I AM sayings
Delivered on Sunday 26 March 2000 in St Michael's, Bishops Itchington
© Ben Green 2000
As we heard at the start of the service, Jesus came to explain who and what the Messiah is, and through that show us what God is like, "whoever knows me knows the father". The who part was easy, because it is Jesus, but the Jews wouldn't accept this because they didn't know what the Messiah is. They thought that he would be like a knight in shining armour on a white charger, come to rescue them from the Romans. The "I am" sayings are therefore Jesus' way of telling everyone that this was wrong, and what he is really like, and therefore what God is like.
Jesus said, "I am the Gate", which not only means that he is the only true way to heaven, but also conveys a feeling of protection and safety in him. He protects us from the devil and temptation, if we let him. This is linked with the Good Shepherd, because the shepherd is the person who lies across the Gate to protect the sheep inside. But "I am the Good Shepherd" also shows that Jesus not only protects, but saves us as well when we go astray. He is the "Resurrection and the Life". Not someone else. Only through him can we be saved. We can only live on through his death on the cross.
Jesus is also the route we must take to get to heaven. He is "The Way, the Truth and the Life". We must be like him to get to heaven. He provides us the example which we must follow. In a world where there are so many grey areas, where right and wrong are smudged around the edges, we must have a reference point from which we can tell if we are living correctly. This is Jesus. He is the Truth. We are often encouraged when faced with difficult situations to think about what Jesus would have done, and then do it. To do this we must give ourselves completely over to him. We must let him become a part of our lives, plain in everything we do. We are the salt of the earth, beacons of light in a world of darkness. He lights the way, we must follow and help to light the way for others. He is the Light of the World.
A theme here is that we need God. We cannot be without him. Without him, we die. With him, we are given eternal life. He must be allowed to become a part of us. He will only be a part our lives if we let him because he will force nothing onto us. That is not his way, and is why we have been given Free Will. If we eat and drink of him, we will never thirst or hunger. He is the Bread of Life. He sustains us, he is the Vine for our branches. Although the Vine provides the sustenance for the branches, in Jesus' case this is the Holy Spirit, it is also pruned by the gardener. God the Father cuts away the bits in our lives which are bad, if we let him. He did this to Jesus, who was only perfect because God removed all the pieces of him which were bad. He had to be completely human or else the sacrifice wouldn't work, but being human comes with the bad bits. This is what God had to remove to make Jesus perfect. He also mends the bits which are broken in our lives, through the Holy Spirit.
And that is the main theme for tonight. We have been examining what the Messiah is, but we can only truly understand through the Holy Spirit. Jesus the Vine and the Bread of Life feeds us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us guidance and support when we need it, and is the implement of God's power and love. Jesus relied on it, he only started working miracles when he had been baptised, and it helped him in return. The "I am" sayings show us what Jesus is like so that we can try and live like him, so we can understand them and know how to get to heaven, and how to live like Jesus, all possible through the power of the Holy Spirit, God's love on Earth.
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