When Jesus says He is the “Bread of Life” (6:48), He insists that those seeking salvation, must “Eat his flesh and drink His blood,” not as some crazy act of cannibalism, but as an act of humility, transparency, and vulnerability. To take Jesus’s living words of Spirit and life into their hearts, believers must have room in their hearts, so they can eat (internalize) Jesus and be nourished in a right relationship with the Father’s God-Life: Spirit to spirit.
Jesus says He is “the light of the world” (8:12). In 2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV Paul explains this ‘I AM’ saying, “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Psalm 36:9 NKJV For with You (God the Father) is the fountain of life (God the Holy Spirit); In Your light (God the Son) we see light (We get a true revelation of Who God is and how to relate to Him).
Jesus says, “I AM the door or sheep gate” (10:7). Here Jesus describes His two functions as the gate of God’s sheep or people. The one gate function regards rightful access to those who would influence the sheep. Shepherds who God sends (called and chosen leaders of God’s people) will come through the gate (Jesus) to care for the sheep – God’s people – and give them abundant life (the inspired nurture, care and guidance that is necessary for life and godliness). Those would-be leaders, who climb over the wall (who don’t know Jesus and use other ways to gain influence over the sheep), are thieves and robbers sent by the devil to steal, and to kill, and to destroy God’s people! Jesus’s other gate function regards the sheep’s initial access of salvation into the Father’s heart, and the ongoing access to lush new spiritual pasture lands for grazing as well! John 10:9 NKJV “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus says, “I AM the good shepherd” (10:11, 14). Here Jesus transitions His self-description from that of the sheep gate to that of the good shepherd of the sheep! Jesus explains the gift of faith the Father gives to each of His children. By the Holy Spirit, God’s sheep (people) can recognize Jesus’s (the good shepherd’s) voice and differentiate the Good Shepherd’s voice from all other stranger’s voices. God’s people will hear and follow Jesus: they will not follow the voice of a stranger! In this ‘I AM’ says Jesus He will die for His sheep to protect and save them, because they belong to Him. Jesus is giving every believer the responsibility that comes with the gift of faith to learn how to hear His voice and follow His leading!
Jesus declares, “I AM the resurrection and the life (11:25). Jesus adjusts Martha’s heart so she can enjoy the supernatural sweet spot of living in the obedience that comes from faith. By declaring that He Himself IS the Resurrection, Jesus corrects Martha’s balance and shifts Martha’s eyes, beyond her feelings, her limited earthly desires, and her past with its anger, blame and regret, onto Jesus and Who He IS! With one foot firmly planted in the moment and her other foot planted in eternity, Martha hits the sweet spot and makes a good confession. In John 11:27 NIV, focusing her eyes on Jesus, Martha says, “‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’” However, when Martha’s faith wavers, Jesus needs to address Martha’s follow-through power. Jesus says to Martha, John 11:40 NIV, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Martha returns to the supernatural sweet spot of the obedience of faith! She lends her consent to Jesus’s command to roll away the stone from the Tomb! Because of her trust-grounded obedience to Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life, Martha gets to see her brother Lazarus come back to life and walk out of the tomb after being dead for four days! We’re called by the Resurrection to the thrill of discovering and living in the supernatural sweet spot, the now and forever, of the obedience of faith!
Jesus says, “I AM the way, the truth and the life” (14:6). These words are spoken by Jesus to His disciples as a comfort, so they wouldn’t panic when everything started changing. Jesus is declaring that, not only does He (the way) save people from their sins, and eventually bring them to His Father’s house in heaven forever (the place He’s going), but that He also connects His followers to the Father for the purpose of finishing the work on earth that He started! A work that will only be accomplished by the person and power of the Holy Spirit! Jesus leads Philip beyond comfort and a concern about how to get to heaven after death when He lays out a mind-blowing series of promises pertaining to the powerful works Jesus is expecting Phillip and His followers to walk in! He jumps from the reconciled relationship with the Father, that His death will make possible for His followers, right into the works that His followers will do because they are rightly connected with the Father through faith in the Son! John 14:12-14 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’” Jesus is definitely giving His followers the reassurance of heaven, but He’s challenging them to prepare for the earthly mission before them in the here and now! The great commission to make disciples and be built together into His Church, His heavenly Bride!
Jesus says, “I AM the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser” (15:1). Jesus speaks these words as a warning on the one hand, and as an encouragement on the other. The Father comes with the sharp clippers of His Word. He will cut every branch. There is nowhere for the branches to hide. The unfruitful branches will be cut off and laid aside to wither in a pile that is going to eventually be burned. The fruitful branches will be pruned because they’ve been fruitful. The painful process of pruning can lead some of Jesus’s followers to feel like failures and into a paralyzing discouragement and fear rejection. Jesus asks His followers to take a mature, long view of this necessary, organic process in the Kingdom of God, where necessary losses and setbacks are embraced as hopeful signs of authenticity and a promised future of growth, gains, and deeper intimacy with the Father. Answered prayer will become the joy of mature believers partnering with Jesus in the expansion of His Kingdom to the glory of God the Father!