Pastor Greg starts a new ten-part message series this week. For ten weeks he will be teaching on various statements that Jesus made about Himself. Eight of these come from the Gospel of John and two come from the Book of Revelation. This week, Pastor G shares a conversation Jesus had with some Pharisees that angered them and made them charge Jesus with blasphemy. What did Jesus say? “Before Abraham was, I am.” Pastor Greg will guide us through Old and New Testament context to show us why this seemingly simple statement angered Jesus’ enemies so much.
MESSAGE NOTES
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
~ Matthew 16:13-17
I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. ~ Daniel 7:13-14
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. ~ John 8:56-59
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
~ Exodus 3:13
Lord = Adonai ~ LORD = Yahweh
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, {Yahweh} the 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-name to all generations.”
~ Exodus 3:14-15
Hayah (Hebrew) ~ To Be, To Exist, To Become
Eimi (Greek) ~ To Be, To Exist, To Become
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way.” ~ John 18:4-8
GO DEEPER
ALOHA GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
READ: Matthew 16:13-17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Why do you think some people thought Jesus as John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets? Where do you think those assumptions came from? All of these people were dead by the time Jesus has this conversation with the disciples and John and Jesus were alive at the same time and even interacted. Why do some people come up with complicated theories and have such difficulty seeing and accepting the truth when it is right in front of them?
2) Jesus says Peter is blessed because God the Father revealed the truth to Him. Have you ever felt like God revealed something to you in this way? If so, how did it feel? How did you know it was from God?
READ: Daniel 7:13-14, Revelation 1:9-16 and Revelation 14:14-16
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Do you agree or disagree with Pastor Greg that the descriptions of the “Son of Man” in Daniel and the “Son of Man” in Revelation both refer to Jesus? Why or why not?
2) When Jesus dictated the Book of Revelation to John, He gives visions of many things that are very similar to visions God gave Daniel. Do you think this was intentional on God’s part? How might knowing this help us in better understanding the mysteries of Revelation?
READ: John 8:56-59 and Exodus 3:13-15
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Had you ever made the connection that Pastor Greg made this week about how Jesus was saying the same thing to the Pharisees that The Angel of the Lord in the burning bush was saying to Moses? Do you agree with Greg? Why or why not?
2) When God says in Exodus 3:15 “This is My memorial name to all generations.” what do you think He means? What should our response be to this? Why do you thing so few people know about this “memorial name” of God even though it is used many more times than any other in the Old Testament?
READ: John 18:4-8
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Do you agree with Pastor Greg’s conclusion that the reason the guards drew back and fell to the ground was because Jesus exuded the power of the Memorial Name of God? Why or why not? What other explanations can you think of, given the details we have in John’s Gospel?
2) Is this the first time you have ever made this connection? Explain.