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By Randy Alcorn

"This book has been recommended to me by more people than any other book. An incredible story." - Steve H.

"Is this the day I die?" wonders Li Quan as he endures persecution for his faith. Half a world away his college buddy, businessman Ben Fielding, steps on the plane to China. Reunited after 20 years, both men face decisions that will determine their destinies---and the fates of their nations and the world. 400 pages, softcover from Tyndale.

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What does "I AM" mean?

"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 8:58-59 (NASB)

Several things strike me about this passage. First, it appears to be written using very bad grammar -- "before Abraham was born, I am." Shouldn't that say, "Before Abraham was born, I was."?

Secondly, the Jews immediately attempt to stone Jesus. There is only one thing that calls for immediate stoning. Blasphemy in which you call yourself God. So the Jews are plainly and immediately understanding Jesus to be calling himself God.

How come we don't see this?

The Bible says exactly what it means. We must realize that what we see as bad grammar is not actually bad grammar. The problem is that we are not understanding it correctly.

For Jews, a person's name described who they were. Unlike what we have in America today, a person was not given a name at birth that stayed with them all their life. A person's name changed depending on what they were doing, where they lived, how they acted, etc. A person could have more than one name at a time. And their name always described who they were.

In Exodus 3:13 Moses directly askes God what His name is. By doing this Moses is not just asking for a name, he is asking God who He is, because God's name will describe who God is.

Here is God's answer:

"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.'" - Exodus 3:14 (NIV)

Think about what that name says about God. I AM. I was not created, I exist. I have always existed, I have no beginning. I just am.

In John 8:58-59 what is Jesus doing? He is not only saying that he was around before Abraham was born, he is taking the name of God (I AM) and saying that this is his name. Jesus is saying, to identify who he is, that he is I AM.

Remember, names were not only identifying labels, they described who the person was. God has namy names, but the name I AM is perfect in this case. It answers the Jew's questions about Jesus being under 50 years old and still having seen Abraham, and it explains how this is possible by identifying him as God.

The Jews immediately recognized that this is what Jesus was doing, so they picked up stones to stone him.