S4: Week 9 Day 4: Connecting Exodus 3:13-15 & John 8:57-59 to Christ

Summary

A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace: Season 4, Episode S4: Week 9 Day 4

Connecting Exodus 3:13-15 & John 8:57-59 to Christ

Release Date: February 27, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace, hosts Beth and Alexa delve into the profound connections between the Old and New Testaments, specifically focusing on how key passages point directly to Jesus Christ. This episode is part of Season 4, which follows the "Christ in all of Scripture" reading plan, aiming to illuminate the centrality of Christ throughout the entire Biblical narrative.

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Recap of Previous Days

Beth begins by providing a succinct recap of the past three days, setting the stage for the current discussion:

• Exodus 3: Beth explains that this passage marks the first instance where God reveals His name to His people as "I am" (Exodus 3:14). This declaration emphasizes God's eternal and self-existent nature, underscoring that He is uncreated, always in existence, and the very source of life for the Israelites during their Exodus from Egypt.

• John 8:57-59: The conversation shifts to the New Testament, where Jesus claims the same "I am" title, asserting His unity with God. Beth highlights that Jesus's use of "I am" signifies His divine nature and eternal existence, paralleling God's self-description in Exodus.

Notable Quote:

Beth [00:31]: "Jesus claims the same name. He claims to be the I am. And so he's claiming that he and God are one, that they share a nature and that he has existed long before the Father of all of Israel, Abraham." [00:31]

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Connecting Exodus 3:13-15 & John 8:57-59

Alexa prompts Beth to elaborate on the connections between the two passages. Beth elucidates that Jesus's use of "I am" is a deliberate reference to God's revelation in Exodus. By doing so, Jesus affirms His divine authority and eternal existence, much like God did when speaking to Moses.

Notable Quote:

Beth [01:51]: "When Jesus uses the words I am, we know that this is intentionally done to alert us to the fact that he shares a nature with God. In other words, he is God from God." [01:51]

Beth further explains that in Exodus, Moses questions God's authority, and God responds by affirming His eternal nature and role as the Creator. Similarly, in John, the Pharisees question Jesus's authority, and He responds by aligning Himself with the same divine authority, positioning Himself as the source of life and creator.

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Deeper Christ Connection

The hosts delve deeper into the implications of Jesus's declaration in John 8:57-59. Beth points out that Jesus doesn't just align Himself with God; He also asserts authority over Abraham, a revered patriarch for the Jewish people. This assertion would have been radical and provocative, reinforcing Jesus's divine identity and authority.

Notable Quote:

Beth [03:35]: "He is the God of Abraham. … He is saying once again that he and this God are the same, that he has authority over Abraham." [03:35]

Alexa adds that while Abraham was greatly respected, Jesus's claim to authority over him underscores His supremacy and divinity, which should naturally inspire faith. Instead, it led to accusations of blasphemy from those who couldn't reconcile Jesus's claims with their understanding of God.

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Jesus Uses "I Am" in the Book of John

Beth introduces an engaging exploration of the seven instances where Jesus uses the phrase "I am" in the Gospel of John. Each declaration encapsulates a different aspect of His divine nature and mission:

1. I am the bread of life.
2. I am the light of the world.
3. I am the gate through which people enter eternal life.
4. I am the good shepherd.
5. I am the resurrection and the life.
6. I am the way, the truth, and the life.
7. I am the vine.

Notable Quote:

Beth [04:02]: "By connecting these characteristics with the phrase I am that we learned about in Exodus, we're seeing that these phrases even have more weight than just the what they seem like on the surface." [04:02]

Beth emphasizes that each "I am" statement not only describes Jesus's role but also reflects His eternal and authoritative nature, mirroring the self-existent God from Exodus. This continuity across both Testaments reinforces the Bible's unified testimony about Christ.

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Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Alexa and Beth reiterate the significance of recognizing Jesus's divine identity and authority as revealed through the interconnectedness of Scripture. They encourage listeners to reflect on these profound truths and anticipate further applications in the upcoming discussions.

Notable Quote:

Alexa [05:16]: "I think that's a really great place to end today. So I hope today's discussion was helpful and encouraging for you listening." [05:16]

Resources and Further Study

Listeners are directed to the Daily Grace Co. website for additional studies, journals, and resources to deepen their understanding and love for God's Word. The hosts also invite followers to connect via Instagram and other platforms for ongoing encouragement and study materials.

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Key Takeaways:

• The phrase "I am" is a significant link between God in Exodus and Jesus in the Gospel of John, underscoring Christ's divine nature.
• Jesus's declarations in John reinforce His eternal existence, authority, and unity with God.
• Understanding these connections enhances the appreciation of the Bible's cohesive message pointing to Jesus Christ.

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For more insightful Bible studies and resources, visit thedailygraceco.com and follow The Daily Grace Podcast on your preferred platform.

Transcript

[Beth]

Welcome to A Year in the Bible with daily grace. This year we want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through our study Christ in All of Scripture. Each week we will dive deeply into two passages of Scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the new, seeing how they connect and point to Jesus.

[Alexa]

Whether you are doing the study yourself or just following along with us here, we are hopeful that through studying these passages each week, you will see how Christ is not only present throughout the entire Biblical story, but with the center of it.

[Beth]

Hi friends. Welcome back to Year in the Bible. I am Beth and I am joined by my co host Alexa.

[Alexa]

Hey everyone. Today we are going to be making the connection between John 8, 57, 59 and Exodus 3, 13:15. But before we do that, Beth, could you recap the last three days for us?

[Beth]

Yeah, I think that is going to be really helpful for this week for sure. First, on Monday and Tuesday we were looking at Exodus 3. And so what we saw here was that this is the first time that God reveals His name to his people. And his name is the I am. That I am. And yeah, and so what he's telling Moses and the people of Israel during the time of Exodus is that he is the eternal and self existent God. He was not created and he's always been in existence and he is their source of life and being. And so that leads us to on Wednesday where we annotated John 8, 57, 59. And there we saw that Jesus claims the same name. He claims to be the I am. And so he's claiming that he and God are one, that they share a nature and that he has existed long before the Father of all of Israel, Abraham.

[Alexa]

So we can already begin to see the Christ connection between these two passages just from that recap. But can you unpack it a little bit more for us?

[Beth]

Yeah, of course. When Jesus uses the words I am, we know that this is intentionally done to alert us to the fact that he shares a nature with God. In other words, he is God from God. As the Nicene Creed puts it, he and God the Father are one in the same. They're both self existent and eternal. But the connection goes even deeper than that. If we remember the context of both of these passages, we can see this deeper connection. So first we see that Moses is asking God by what authority he should tell the Israelites he is speaking and God responds with his self existent nature. So his authority comes from the fact that he's eternal, he's always been in existence, and that he is the source of life. And so he has authority over all things because he created all things. But in the same way, the Pharisees are questioning Jesus's authority. They're accusing him of being possessed by a demon. They're saying that he is blaspheming God. And Jesus responds to them by appealing to the same authority that God does in Exodus. He says that I am. I am the source of life. I am your God, your creator, and I've always been in existence, and therefore I have authority to do these things. Yet in addition to that, Jesus is claiming in this passage to also have authority over Abraham. And that's crazy, because Abraham was like their ultimate source of authority in Israel at the time of Jesus. He was their patriarch, the father of their nation. And so Jesus saying that he has authority over Abraham would have been a really big deal deal. But this also connects us to what God said in Exodus. God says that he is the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And so Jesus is saying once again that he and this God are the same, that he has authority over Abraham. He is the God of Abraham.

[Alexa]

You know, like you were saying, Beth, Abraham was someone who was really revered by the Jews. And even though he did great things for God, God was so much greater than him. And by Jesus's words, he reveals how he is so much greater than Abraham, which should have led to faith in him. Instead of that response we ultimately see of the people accusing him of blasphemy. Is there anything else you think we should discuss about these passages?

[Beth]

Yeah, just for fun, I thought it might be cool to look at some of the other places in the Book of John where Jesus uses the phrase I am. So we actually have these listed on pages 142 and 143 of your study. And so you'll see that Jesus uses this phrase seven times in John. And he attaches a different quality of his nature to the phrase I am every time. So I'm just gonna read those off for you really quickly. He says that I am the bread of life. He says I am the light of the world. He says I am the gate through which people enter eternal life. He says I am the good shepherd. He says I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And then his, he says I am the vine. And so, yeah, by connecting these characteristics with the phrase I am that we learned about in Exodus, we're seeing that these phrases even have more weight than just the what they seem like on the surface. So not only is God our sustaining bread of life or our light or our shepherd, he is all of these things eternally and with the utmost authority. And so what this shows us is that he truly is all that we will ever need and that he will never fail us.

[Alexa]

Yeah, I think that's a really great place to end today. So I hope today's discussion was helpful and encouraging for you listening and we hope you join us tomorrow as we end the week talking about how we can apply these passages. Bye friends. Thank you for listening to today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Be sure to check out our show notes for some helpful links and resources related to today's episode and make sure you're following the Daily Grace Podcast and at the Daily Grace Co on Instagram for more Bible study resources and encouragement. We're looking forward to studying God's Word with you again tomorrow. Bye friends.