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And He (Jesus) was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
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The ‘them’ in today’s bible verse that Jesus was addressing were the Pharisees and the scribes, the religious leaders who were rejecting the Lord, testing Him so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. {Jn.8:6} He was indeed a threat to them, exposing the fact their traditions, the traditions of the elders, were far more important to them than the commandments of God! He said to them that they were experts at setting aside the commandments in order to keep their traditions. {Mar.7:8-9}

Even today, all too much of the ‘Christian religious world’ is very much at odds with the Word of God, once again rejecting the truth of the Lord! As a matter of fact, Jesus said that will become a greater and greater problem as we get closer to His return. There will be a growing apostasy and rejection of the truth. He said that many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. {Mat.24:10-11}

The focus of Jesus and of the Father was then, and still is, the issue of life and death; eternal life. That life was only made possible by the completed work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. And as Paul the apostle wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” {Eph.2:8-9} The Pharisees of Jesus’ day and now of ours are all focused on our works, most always defined and controlled by them.

Jesus said that “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Except that is not what He said! What He actually said was, “unless you believe I Am you will die in your sins.” That little word ‘he’ has been added by the scribes of our day. YHWH is the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush to say to His people, the children of God! {Ex.3:14} And now revealed once again.

Over and over Jesus said ‘I Am’ and He said it with purpose. From the Gospel of John, I Am: the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the door (10:7), the good shepherd (10:11,14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way the truth and the life (14:6) and the true vine (15:1). And do remember that Jesus never spoke anything that He had not heard from the Father. {Jn.12:49} He is indeed the Great I Am!

In what is likely one of the most direct confrontations between Jesus and other Jews is found also in the gospel of John when He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” {Jn.8:58} Later the apostle John was imprisoned on the island of Patmos and would start his revelation by speaking of Him who is and who was and who is to come—Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! {Jn.1:29} Which brings us full circle right back to the fact that anybody without Him will die in their sins!

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” (John 8:31-32)

ABIDE IN THE WORD OF GOD