Is it I?

Much has been made of the Greek phrase used by Jesus speaking to the mixture of torch and pitchfork bearing crowd that came to fulfill the scriptures during the night of Christ's betrayal. When asked by the crowd if he were Jesus of Nazareth, He answered "I am He" ego eimi (John 18:5). This is the same phrase, exact in the Septuigent, that God spoke to Moses on Sinai. When Moses asked who should he tell the curious Jews who had sent him, God repiled "tell them I am sent you" (Exodus 3:14). Others have tied this phrase in with the many "I am this and I am that" that is found in the book of John. This makes good preaching but it might be bad interpretation.

Doing a simple search on this phrase in the New Testament Greek, it turns up fourty-eight times in the NT. The exact usage, I am (he), finds itself in many different contexts. We find Matthew quoting God describing himself "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac...." Here he is just saying who he is and not just I am He, or I am. He seems to be using good Greek, (English in our case) to form a clear explanation of who He is. And in a number of other places we find the phrase used in normal situations saying exactly what anyone else might say in context in that situation.

One person who really stands out is Judas. When Christ told his disciples that one in their midst would betray him, Judas asked "ego eimi?". Surely that was not God's name he was uttering. Maybe he was cursing using God's name in vain? I doubt it. He was simply asking a question. "Is it I?"(Matt.26:22). How then are we to interpret this powerful phrase? Are we to discount others interpretations? Maybe not, or maybe, you will have to decide.

I do want to offer another, simpler explanation. Maybe we have made the "ego eimi" too big a deal. Maybe God was simply saying I am in the present. NOT that this is my name, to be made holy, wash your hands before writing and never say it, type name. Not a name to which no one can relate. It was just "I am that I am". Popeye said it, "I am what I am and that's all that I am I'm Popeye the Sailor Man"(I Am What I Am by Edie Brickell).

Jesus may have simply said "Yes that is my name... I am he." Read verses 8 and 9 following. His response to their falling down was simple. "I told you I am Jesus of Nazareth". It was the Jews who fell down in their fear or religious piety or something. Paul said that "God is near you even in your mouth!(Acts 14)" Maybe God simply is. It is not a statement of religion but one of relationship, "I am here and with you, now. I am."

John follows this theme with the many "I am...." sayings (ex. Egw◊ ei∆mi oJ a⁄rtoß th:ß zwh:ß, "I am the bread of life" John 6:48). If we take Christ at his word then we simply receive him as our food, our protection, our connection, our light. He is with us now and has always been with us, "before Abraham was, ego eimi"(John 8:58). The Greeks have a nuance for their present indicative tense. It is called continuous. This is the case here. God is continuously being. He told us " I will never leave you or forsake you"(Heb. 13:5). The great I am. This is a comforting thought for me, not a nomenclature.