I Am

March 19

Numbers 16-17

Psalm 35:17-21

Proverbs 8:20-21

Mark 14:43-72

I Am

“Again, the High Priest asked Him, ‘Are You the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’  ‘I Am,’ said Jesus, ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven.”  Mark 14:61-62 NIV

In this one small verse Jesus answers the question that had been on everyone’s mind.  He answered the question that is still on the minds of so many today.  He said unequivocally that He is the Christ, the Son of God.  If there was any doubt as to who He claimed to be, it was gone.  Jesus told them that He is the Messiah.  I love His answer because He didn’t just say, “Yes, I am the Messiah.”  He said, “I Am.”  This ties in the Old Testament account of when Moses asked God what he should tell the Israelites when they asked him who had sent him.   God told him to tell the people that “I Am sent him.”  It also ties in the prophecy about the Messiah found in Isaiah 7:14 which refers to the Messiah as Immanuel.  The Hebrew word for Immanuel is translated “God with us” or “I Am.”  Matthew 1:23 tells us that this prophecy was fulfilled at Jesus’ birth.  Jesus then goes on to say that they will see the Son of Man seated next to God and coming on the clouds of Heaven.  Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” 81 times in the Gospels.  This is His most common title for Himself and no one else uses this title for Him.  Another prophecy about the Messiah is found in Daniel 7:13. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of Heaven.” (NIV) Jesus is leaving no doubt as to His identity.  He wants them to know that He is the Messiah.  The members of the Sanhedrin refused to believe Him and turned Him over to be crucified.  Do you believe Him?