In this episode I deal with the most important verse spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of John. Everything so far has led up to this verse, and everything after it is based upon it. It is the pinnacle of the gospel found in the eighth chapter. They are words that Jesus spoken in response to repeated inquiries by people as to who he was, whether he was the Messiah or the Prophet or someone else. Jesus responded, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
To explore that saying properly I need to put it in context and mention briefly what led up to it in chapters 7 and 8. These chapters center on a discussion of the identity of Jesus, explored in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles.
We find that Jesus is not just talking about himself. He is speaking as the Son of Man, which he called himself a few verses earlier, as representative of all humans. Jesus is teaching about human nature. He is teaching about our nature. What Jesus said of himself, every person can say of themselves. That is because we are not separate individuals. We are one with Christ. Each one of us can say with Jesus, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”
This saying of Jesus is equivalent to a Zen koan. A famous koan says, "Show me your original face before you were born." Or “Show me your original face before your mother and father were born." Jesus’ saying “Before Abraham was, I AM” is pointing to the same reality. These koans are meant to direct our attention to what we truly are apart from our physical human manifestations.
In this episode I make this very practical and lead the listener to experience this. What were you before you were you? What were you before you were born? Better yet, before you were conceived? Before your parents were born? What were you before the universe was born? If you know that, then you know what you are. This is what this saying is all about.
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