John 8:58

⁵⁸ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” ⁵⁹ At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

If Jesus had merely wanted to say He existed before Abraham’s time, He would have said, “Before Abraham, I was.” The Greek words translated “was,” in the case of Abraham, and “am,” in the case of Jesus, are quite different. The words chosen by the Spirit make it clear that Abraham was “brought into being,” but Jesus existed eternally (see John 1:1). There is no doubt that the Jews understood what He was saying because they took up stones to kill Him for making Himself equal with God. Such a statement, if not true, was blasphemy and the punishment by Law was death. But Jesus committed no blasphemy; He was and is God, the second Person of the Godhead, equal to the Father in every way.

Definition of blasphemy

1a: the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of respect for God

b: the act of claiming the attributes of God (claiming to be God)

e.g. for a mere man to suggest that he was … divine could only be viewed … as blasphemy

Additional reading

Exodus 3:14

¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”

John 1:1-2

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.

John 1:14

⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Lord we acknowledge you are the bread of life, the light of the world, the way, truth and the life. You were there from the very beginning just as you are here now. You are the great I AM. On this second day of advent, help us to remember and anticipate the reason we celebrate this season. Help us to truly understand the magnitude of what was started that night all those years ago in that stable. Thank you for you saving grace, In Jesus name, amen.