As I have continued my study of the book of John, I have reached the end of John 7. In John 7 there is a lot of discussion and debate among the people as to who Jesus actually is. In 7:40 some call Jesus "the Prophet." In 7:41 others call him, "the Messiah." At the same time, some argue that Jesus can't be the Messiah because the Scriptures say that the Messiah was to be of the line of David and come from Bethlehem, while this Jesus was from Galilee, not Bethlehem. It told me that these people, who argued against Jesus as The Messiah, knew the Scriptures, but did not know Jesus. Had they really known Jesus they would have known that he had been born in Bethlehem and was indeed of the line of David.
It reminded me that a person can really know a lot about the Bible but not really know Jesus. I want to make sure that this statement does not describe me. This study of John has really helped me reacquaint myself with Jesus in new ways. I have been amazed by Jesus as I come to know him better. In conversations with others, it seems that many are reaching this same conclusion, that we need to dig deeply into the life of Jesus so that we can all know him better.
When I reached John 6 in my study of John, I ran across a list of "I AM" statements that Jesus makes scattered throughout the book of John (King Jesus, by Steve Kinnard, page 307.) They are as follows:
- I am the Bread of Life - John 6:35
- I am the Light of the World - John 8:12, 9:5
- I am the Gate for the Sheep - John 10:7-9
- I am the Good Shepherd - John 10:11-14
- I am the Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25-26
- I am the Way, the Truth and the Life - John 14:6
- I am the True Vine - John 15:1, 5
Tom
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