Sermons
Before Abraham was I am
Story about Churchill at a dinner party.
“Winston you are drunk!”
“Madam you are ugly, but tomorrow I will be sober”
That's social one-upmanship – I think it happens in most cultures. Where people say something to lift themselves up I front of others and put others down. It often leads to people laughing, to shame and even violence. “That's fighting talk that is”, Jacob Rees Mogg might say “I challenge you to duel” – so honour is satisfied.
In the Ancient Near East, where Jesus was your standing or honour in the community was the be all and end all. Actually in much of the world it is still like that. Social one upmanship is also called the honour game or challenge riposte. Someone challenges your honour and just like fencing there's a riposte – a quick come back. In Jesus' culture and still – that honour game often leads to violence.
So your social standing or honour is important, but there was the concept of limited good – not enough to go round, so it becomes a competition to gain standing. That's why the Bible with honour one another is so counter cultural – because when identity, status and honour come from God there is more than enough to go round!
The game of social one-upmanship or honour game goes like this
1. Claim of honour – your own directly, or putting someone else's down.
2. Challenge – if there's not enough to go round, it must be challenged
3. Response – it may cycle a while
4. Public verdict
Today we are looking at Jesus' saying Before Abraham was I am. That comes as the finale of one of the “honour games” Jesus is having with the religious leaders. So let's turn to John 8.
Jesu was often clashing with the religious leaders and the tone he uses can be shocking.
Those religious leaders had the highest social standing at the time – the honour. They lived in a culture of “limited good” – not enough to go round. Poverty mindset we might call it. When you have that mindset you tend to grab what you can when you can. So When Herod hears about a new king born, that would steal his status so he has all the babies killed. Honour games often lead to violence.
As we delve into the honour game that leads to Jesus saying “before Abraham was I am”, we will
Firstly see the honour game play out
Secondly grasp how wonderful that saying is for us and those around us who need Jesus!
I don't know about you but to my Western ears when Jesus' response contains the phrase “You are of your father the devil” – that's kind of uncomfortable.
People used to wear WWJD bracelets – what would Jesus do. Does he want us to take part in these honour games? Do what Jesus is doing?
No!
John 5:41 “I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me…. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God.”
Jesus is saying this social one upmanship is unnecessary when we come to the Lord and get our identity, our glory our honour from him, not by grabbing the limited supply from stepping on others.
Jesus's has brought an upside down kingdom where we don't need to grab honour and status from others – we have it from God.
And so in Mk 9:35 he says “If anyone would be first, he must be the last and servant of all.”
In Mk 10:43 he tells us greatness comes from serving others.
Paul writes to the Romans “Outdo one another in showing honour”
So as we look at John 8 and see Jesus engaging in this challenge/riposte honour game that so often leads to violence, he is provoking them which will lead to the cross. And from Jesus side he goes silent and allows them to think they have won. Shaming himself by being killed on the cross – a curse in OT teaching. But then He wins by breaking out of death and being restored to the highest place – the right hand of the Father and taking us with Him.
Jesus goes to the place of greatest shame on our behalf to lift us to the place of highest honour. So we don't have to grab at social one-upmanship and putting others down to get ahead thinking there's not enough to go around. He lifts us out poverty thinking to abundance!
So let's see how the challenge/riposte plays out
Read 8:38-47
John 8:38 – the religious leaders make the claim “Abraham is our Father” – not yours!
Verse 39 Jesus response, his riposte – If you were Abraham's children you would do what he did, but you don't.
They respond “We were not born of sexual immorality.” In other words you are a bastard no-one knows who your dad is.
Jesus parries back God is my father and your father is the devil. Fighting talk! Uncomfortable huh!
Read 48-59
Next they say he is a Samaritan and have a demon. That's pretty harsh. The Samaritans were not liked by the Jews – they were mixed race and looked down upon people from the Northern Kingdom. It's like saying you are a psycho from Wisbech!
Then Jesus says no. My father is God and I honour him while you dishonour me. Then he says “Yet I do not seek my own glory” – in other words this whole social one-upmanship, grabbing at honour by playing this honour game is ridiculous. I don't need you to honour me, I already have it from God.
And so the verbal parrying continues. Jesus tells them Abraham saw him. That's ridiculous – Abraham was 2000 years before that day. So the Jewish leaders say you aren't even 50 – retiring age from temple service and you reckon you have seen Abraham.
So then Jesus says “Before Abraham was, I am” – really odd phrasing. And for a reason. It winds them up so much they want to kill him. The honour game leads to violence, so Jesus hides and goes out – because the time isn't right.
So the first level of application of this whole encounter is that we don't need to do what the world does.
We don't need to think there's only a limited supply. We don't need to put others down to make ourselves feel better or look better in the eyes of others.
If you follow Jesus, he has taken away your shame, your low standing and lifted you up into the highest places. Our security, our identity our social standing come from Jesus, not from fighting for position.
The last shall be the first. And the greatest are those that serve!
And then we need to begin to come to land at where most people focus in this passage – the phrase “Before Abraham was, I am”
God first appeared to Moses, in a strange burning bush and told Moses his name is “I AM WHO I AM”, not I am this or I am that. But I am who I am. God is not defined by anything outside of Himself. God is the self existent God who be to his people all that He chooses and all that we need.
God tells us All I am, I am for you!
He stands before a wayward people, or a discouraged people or a seeking people and says, Stop, turn and look at me. Come to me, trust me for I am your wholly.
And so I AM is God's signature. I JUST AM. I am who I am and I am all you need! So when Jesus says Before Abraham was, I am. He is using that signature for God. He is telling them He is YHWH. He is the IAM WHO I AM. He has won the honour game hands down. But those leaders are so incensed by the claim – blasphemy if not true, they want to kill him!
But if they stopped to look and understand and receive Him they would have got three wonderful claims Jesus made in the sparring of words.
Freedom from sin's slavery – v32 you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. V34 Truly I say to you everyone who sins is a slave to sin… So if the son sets you free you are free indeed. If we take Jesus claim to be God as true and follow we get freedom from the slavery of sin – the addiction of sin, that enslaves people to a life of misery.
Adoption – God as Father v42. “If God where your father.” Accepting who Jesus is means we get to be part of God's family, adopted in and children of God with all the rights of the heirs.
Eternal Life – v 51 if anyone keeps my word he will never taste death.
We get eternal life. Eternity to enjoy God's good kingdom in perfection with no sin or pain or decay or evil around
Are you ready to do that. Are you fully live in the good of Jesus being I AM?
With each of the rest of the “I am” statements we will look, Jesus makes these huge claims, these big concepts and then brings them right down into the concrete with individuals.
I am the light of the world and then he finds a blind man in an alleyway and gives him sight,
I am the bread of life and then he feeds 5,000 hungry people with bread.
I am the resurrection and then he raises Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus says Before Abraham was, I am – he tells us he is the I AM WHO I AM – The God who is above all but has made himself available for you because He loves you!