Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."

Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

In current readings, Jesus is at the temple in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and dwelt in tents or "tabernacles."  He's been disputing with the leadership who has tried to have Him arrested, but failed.  In yesterday's reading, they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar the the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

"He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."   Over and over again, Jesus returns to the love of God as that which aids our discernment of God's work in the world.  But the leadership, unable to dissuade or defeat Him through logic or truth, resorts to personal insult.  Again, Jesus returns to His consistent theme of fidelity to the Father.

Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  We remember that the term "the Jews" is used here to denote political affiliation; it's a term used for the leaders.  (Everybody in the story is a Jew, including Jesus and the author of the Gospel.)  I AM ("ego eimi" in the Greek) is the divine name of God used in the Old Testament.  It was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  For these leaders, this is a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God -- as we can see from their reaction.  (See also Mark 14:62-64.)   My study bible notes that John places special emphasis on the use of this Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  It tells us that this divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death, a power that belongs only to God the Father.

Jesus does not hold back.  That is, once He is openly saying the truth of His identity, He does not mince words and He does not backtrack.  Instead, He boldly goes on to proclaim identity in the most absolute terms.  The name I AM is the divine name of God.  In the Old Testament, this name for God is often translated simply as "the Lord."  This name, I AM, is that which is conveyed in what is called the Tetragrammaton.  Tetragrammaton basically means "four letters" in Greek.  These letters, transliterated into Latin, read YHWH.  The words Yahweh or Jehovah are derived from the Tetragrammaton.   All of this is to say that when Jesus uses this term, these meanings are clear to the leadership, the experts in the Scriptures.  Not only does He not back down in the face of their criticism and attacks, He goes to the heart of the matter, and makes it perfectly clear what He is saying.  He doesn't back down from the truth.  We note that nobody is able to arrest Him.  It's just not yet "His time," as the Gospel would put it.  It is not yet the time for His Passion, crucifixion, death, and Resurrection, which will come at the Passover Feast.  But even that He knows will come, and He goes willingly, because it is part of His mission.  Over and over again, we note that Jesus returns to the theme of fidelity to the Father.  His absolute reality comes from relationship to the Father.  In this relationship, He is Son.  He shares divine nature and will with the Father.  As the human Jesus, He aligns His human will to this fidelity and obedience.  Not only does He do this, but He asks of each of us the same.  He calls the leadership out for their failure to love God wholeheartedly:  their political agendas get in the way of their recognition and understanding of who He is, their envy of Him gets in the way.  If they truly loved the Father, He tells them, they would know who He is.  But they just can't see it; everything else gets in the way.  But He won't leave His loyalty to the Father.  Regardless of the threat and their opposition, He remains firm in His truth, a truth that comes from that relationship, the love of the Father.  And this is where we need to stand.  We stand with Him, and seek also to find that love that puts us in the right place and keeps us there, regardless of the forces of the world around us.  We note Jesus' deft interaction with the world.  He stands in His truth, but He's always completely in the moment.  It doesn't make Him rigid.  Rather, standing in that love makes Him respond to the world with the full force and energy of that identity and that love and truth.  He responds with compassion when it arises; He responds with correction when it's needed.  He responds with His truth when He is called to testify.  He will even stay silent with Pilate when that is what the situation calls for from Him.  Life isn't about rigid rules, as Christ lives it.  Instead it is living love, every moment, in truth and freedom.  Let us follow His way.