Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
John 8:58
Jesus, the Baby born at Christmas, was introduced by the angel as “Christ, the Lord.” In Hebrew: “Meshiach, Adonai.”
He had appeared repeatedly throughout human history before His incarnation. We call each time He did that a “Theophany,” which simply means a pre-incarnation appearance of Christ.
He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. He appeared with two angels and ate a meal with Abraham. He appeared to Joshua as the “Commander of the Lord’s Army,” and the list goes on.
Unlike you and me, Jesus didn’t begin to exist at the moment of His conception in the womb of His mother. He was not created, like we were. He has always been; God, the Son; the Lord; the Anointed One.
In the Nicene Creed we describe what the Bible reveals about Him: “God of God, light of light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made Man...”
He begins the statement we just read in the Gospel of John with the phrase, “Truly, truly, I say to you...”. In other words, “What I am about to say many will find difficult to believe, but it’s the truth...”
And then He drops the Big One on them: “Before Abraham was, I am.”
That’s Who He is; the Eternal One, the One-Who-Always-Is; the “I Am.” To this day, many people struggle to accept it, but that is who the Baby in the manger was- or rather is! The Lord, the Anointed One.
Lord Jesus, You are the Lord, the Anointed One, the Savior promised since the very beginning, Eternal Son of God and Son of Man. I worship You today as I celebrate Your birth in time. Thank You for coming to save me that dark night so many years ago. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles
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