Jesus: The Phenomenon of “I Am”

John 10:9a  -  “I am the gate.  Whoever, enters through me will be saved,”

When I think of the words “I am”, I think about myself.  They are words focused on my own self and experiences.  When I experience pain, perception, or thought, the occurrence in question is expressed immediately as "I am ------."  Experience is personal.  I am in pain. I am happy.  I am big.  I am small.  I am hungry. I am worried.  I am content.  I am in love.  Most of what we experience of our self in life can be summed up simply as “I am ------.”

                            

In philosophy there is a discipline called phenomenology.  My freshman philosophy class in 1979 did not cover this subject.  In our deacon studies, Dr. Wilson had two semesters to review a history of philosophy and was only able to introduce us to the term.  So my googled, self-explained and probably misunderstood definition of phenomenology is the study of how we experience things.  I think “I am” would be a very strong statement in this study.  But, I could be wrong. 

I think of Jesus and when he said “I Am.”  In the Gospel of John, Jesus says “I Am” many times.   In fact, the words “I Am” are said in John about forty-five times.  But, there is the seven times the “I am” (ego eimi) statement is used by Jesus that stands out.  These “I Am” descriptions are paired with terms that are descriptions of God found in the Old Testament.  All are descriptions from the Old Testament with the exception of one, the “I am the gate (door)."

The seven “I Am” statements are:

  I am the bread of life (John 6:35).   

  I am the light of the world (John 8:12).

  I am the gate (door) (John 10:9).

  I am the good shepherd (John 10:11).

  I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).

  I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

  I am the true vine (John 15:1).

This is how the author of John’s gospel understood Jesus.  This is how the Johannine society experienced Christ in their daily lives. 

In a bible study, it was stated to take “the” out of Jesus’ “I Am” statements and put your name in place of “the.”  This is truly the living experience of these statements.

   “I am Bill’s bread of life”,

   “I am Bill’s light of the world”,

   “I am Bill’s good shepherd”,

   “I am Bill’s resurrection and Bill’s life”,

   “I am Bill’s way, Bill’s truth, and Bill’s life”,

   “I am Bill’s true vine”.

Those are powerful ways to experience Jesus' "I Am".  These make me think of how I experience God.  As an apprentice philosopher, if I were to put these in a phenomenological perspective, I would look at one statement; the one “I Am” that is not in the Old Testament.  The one “I Am” statement that allows you to experience and understand all the others - “ I am the gate (door)”.  

I am glad.  Glad because when Jesus said "I Am", it was for everyone.  Thank you Jesus because when I contemplate this “I am Bill’s gate (door)”.  I understand that Jesus is my door to God.  Jesus is the door to salvation.