The closing of the Statements and Signs... from the beginning of the Statements and Signs...

Friends, we have spent months looking through the Signs from Jesus and the Statements He made about Himself, and there has been a lot of learning and growth in this study... at least for me.  I have spent more time in the Gospel of John now than I thought I ever would, and I am growing to love it more and more each day.  Yet somehow, even dissecting this all as far as I have, it seems incomplete.  So I must bring us to one final Statement and Sign, which happened long before John was around.

"Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush.  As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed."

Exodus 3:2, HCSB

Here, in the second book of the Bible, we see a Theophany of Christ appearing to Moses.  Like the water to wine and the miraculous healings, we also see a bush engulfed in flame, yet not being consumed.  The laws of physics as we know them do not apply to the Father... and the Father is One with the Son and the Spirit, so this Sign definitely speaks of the divinity of Christ that we see later in the Gospels. 

But imagine it, would you, as you approach something that is burning but not being burnt.  You hear a terrifyingly loud voice tell you that you must remove your footwear, for this ground is now made holy, due to the presence of the Almighty.  I don't know about you, but I would probably be gripped with immense fear!  I cannot imagine the sound, or the feeling, of those words being spoken from the Father.  Like Moses, I probably would have had little choice but to hide my face and kneel in reverence... what a powerful Sign!

Moses went on from here, and he performed Signs that were permitted to him to show the Pharaoh the power of the Father.  He did, of course, eventually aid in the freeing of the Israelite slaves, and was instrumental in bringing them out of their bondage, by God's will and to God's glory.  There is even a favorite passage in Exodus, one of my favorite verses for almost any occasion, which reads, "The LORD will fight for you; you must be quiet (Exodus 14:14, HCSB)."  But there was also a powerful Statement made to Moses on that mountain, before any of this could happen...

"Then Moses asked God, 'If I go to the Israelites and say to them: the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me "What is His name?" what should I tell them?' 

God replied to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.'"

Exodus 3:13-14, HCSB

Are you as speechless as I in this moment?  I cannot imagine a more powerful Statement to make than just "I AM."  It covers so very much, and it is incalculable just how far these two little words can go.  When people ask me who I am, I tell them who my parents are and who my wife is, where I am from and what interests and hobbies I have.  I tell them about my career path and about my kids.  I have never thought of just saying, "I am who I am," and leaving it at that.  Have you?  Has anyone you know?  As a matter of fact, has anyone in recorded history ever made so powerful and bold a claim?

Look at it again, and notice that this is not how you or anyone you know would make this statement.  There is nothing to reference, other than the fact that He is.  And really, is there any other reference point needed for the Christian believer?  He is, and that's all I need to know, honestly. 

Knowing that God and Christ are One, and knowing that the Word was spoken by God through Christ with the Spirit, we know that this means that this is the first moment when Jesus was present as the words "I AM WHO I AM" are uttered in such glorious power!  I point this out so that we can all realize that from the Old to the New Testament, the entire Truth links together through one Name: Jesus.  He was there at creation, as shown in John 1:1; He is present on this mountain and in many other references throughout the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD, or a Theophany; and then He arrives in flesh in the New Testament at the proper time, so that His sacrifice for all mankind can reconcile us back to the Father.  HE IS!!!

There is no truth like this, friends, and no other teaching, no matter how intellectual, can ever replace the simple fact that JESUS IS.  You may attempt to find another way if you must, but you will fail, because JESUS IS.  You can try to outsmart the Bible, and retranslate and look to false prophets and all kinds of other people for the answers that you wish were there, but you will not find them, because JESUS IS.  The Signs prove Him, and the Statements are made so plainly and clearly, and the only One to ever be present for it all and through it all, the only One to literally conquer hell and death and the power of sin, the only One to make the claim that He IS the Son of God, the only One to be resurrected from the dead and ascend into Heaven before a crowd of witnesses... JESUS IS!!!

Now may the grace and peace of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to reconcile us all back to the father, flow over and through you without limitation as you proceed forward in life to share the Truth that HE IS with all of those who need to hear it.  God bless you all!!!

Amen.  And Amen.