Before Abraham Was, I Am

52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
John 8:52-56
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Before Abraham Was, I Am
The Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy because He claimed to be greater than Abraham. Yet in this moment, Jesus revealed the heart of His identity: He is the eternal Son of God, the “I Am” who spoke to Moses. Abraham rejoiced in God’s promise of the coming Savior, and he saw it fulfilled in Christ. Abraham’s faith was fixed on God’s Word of promise, the same Word made flesh who stood before the Jews. For us, too, faith clings to Christ’s cross, where the eternal Son bore our sins and gave us life. We do not rely on ancestry, works, or reputation but on Him who was before Abraham and who still comes to us in His Word and Sacraments. Like Abraham, we rejoice, not in ourselves, but in Christ, who died and rose for us, our eternal “I Am.”