What does it mean when Jesus says, I AM? Like in John 6:20, he stands on the waves in the middle of the Sea of Galilee and says, “I AM, don’t be afraid.” In the Bible, the seas represented the unknown, chaos, evil. And Jesus stands on top of all that and says to his followers, “I AM, don’t be afraid.” The apostle John records seven times where Jesus makes this absolute I AM statement (in five different settings). In the original Greek in which the Gospel of John was first written, the words are simply I am. Our English Bibles translate it often as “it is I” or “I am he” to make more grammatical sense. But it didn’t make any more grammatical sense in the original Greek either. Jesus is making an astonishing claim. And each of these times he says it is significant with meaning when it comes to seeing Jesus and worshiping Jesus as the I AM. John 6:15–20 NIV 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” John 8:24 NIV “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” John 8:28 NIV “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he….” John 8:58 NIV “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” John 18:4–8 NIV 4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he.” Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located. Like this content? Make sure to share it with others and leave us a rating, so others can find it too.