6 “Before Abraham was, I am”(Jn. 8:58)
These words are often misapplied to teach that Jesus existed before
Abraham did. However, closer investigation reveals the opposite to be
true:
1. Jesus does not say ‘Before Abraham was, I was”. He was the
promised descendant of Abraham; we make a nonsense of God’s promises to
Abraham if we say that Jesus physically existed before the time of
Abraham.
2. The context of Jn. 8:58 is Christ’s discourse with the Jews
concerning Abraham. As far as they were concerned, Abraham was the
greatest man who would ever live. Jesus is saying “I am now, as I stand
here, more important than Abraham”. As they stood there, Jesus was the
one to be honoured rather than Abraham. He is saying ‘I am now, more
important than Abraham ever was’. It is possible to understand “before”
in Jn. 8:58 with some reference to time, in the sense that before
Abraham existed, Christ had been in God’s plan right from the beginning
of the world. It was because Jesus was “before” Abraham in this sense
that he was “before” him in terms of importance. But the more
comfortable reading is to understand "before"as referring to importance
rather than time. In 2 Sam. 6:21 there’s a good example of “before”
meaning ‘before’ in importance rather than time. David tells his wife:
“The Lord chose me
before your father [Saul]”. Actually, in terms of
time, God chose Saul well before He chose David. But God chose David
above Saul in terms of importance and honour.
3. Proof of this is found in Jn. 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see my day; and he saw it, and was glad”. The only time Abraham is
recorded to have laughed and been glad was when he was given the
promise that he would have a seed; he understood that ultimately that
promise had reference to Jesus (Gen. 17:17). Abraham “saw” ahead to
Christ through the promises made to him concerning Jesus. He
cryptically commented about the future sacrifice of Jesus: “In the
mount of the Lord it shall be seen” (Gen. 22:14). It was in this sense
that Jesus speaks of Abraham as having seen him. It is in this context
of speaking about the promises that Jesus could say “Before Abraham
was, I am”. He appreciated that God’s promises to Abraham were
revealing the plan about Jesus which God had known from the beginning
of the world. That purpose, which had been “before Abraham was”, had
been revealed to Abraham in the promises to him, and was now being
fulfilled in the eyes of the Jews of the first century, as they stood
in a ring around Jesus, “the word (of promise) made flesh”.
4.
"I am" may indeed be a reference to the Divine Name which Jesus, as the
Father's Son, carried (Jn. 5:43). But "I am" is also used by the healed
blind man in Jn. 9:9 with no apparent reference to the Name. The same
Greek words are also used by Asahel in the LXX of 2 Sam. 2:20. Jesus
and the Father were "one" and so for Jesus to bear the Father's Name is
no reason to think that 'Jesus = God". Note however that the unity
between Father and Son spoken of e.g. in Jn. 10:30 is the same kind of
unity possible between the Father and all His children (Jn. 17). The
use of the neuter form for "one" (hen esmen) in Jn. 10:30
shows that the Father and Son aren't interchangeable- they are at one
with each other, not one and the same. And sharing such unity it is
quite appropriate for them to share the same Name.
A related misunderstanding is often applied to the
comment of John the Baptist about Jesus- that “He was before me” (Jn.
1:30). John the Baptist was actually older than the Lord Jesus; he
therefore meant that Jesus was “before” him in the sense of being more
important than him. C.H. Dodd interprets this passage as meaning:
“There is a man in my following who has taken precedence over me,
because he is… essentially my superior”(1).
Notes
(1) C.H. Dodd, Historical Tradition In The Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: CUP, 1976) p. 274.
