Greetings 6days, Yes, Jesus is stating who he is. I suggest that the expression in Greek “I am” is part of the theme in John’s Gospel of whether or not Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The same expression in John 8:58 translated as “I AM” is the same Greek expression in John 8:24,28 translated in the KJV as “I am he”.
John 8:24–28 (KJV): 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. 27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. 28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
The second occurrence above clearly shows that Jesus was not claiming to be Deity, and here he also calls himself “the Son of man”.
To remove some of the difficulty or ambiguity regarding this Greek expression, this same expression is used by the blind man showing that the English addition of “he” helps in understanding the Greek.
John 9:8–11 (KJV): 8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
Kind regards
Trevor
Well, no. The translation is not from ego eimi to "I am he."
ego eimi translates to "I am.
There is no word for "he" in the greek phrase "ego eimi," and even in the septuagint, in Exodus 3:6, the same phrase ego eimi is used without the word "he."
You even admit that the word "he" is an addition to the text, and not an actual
translation of the text.
the English addition of “he”
I have stated before that while yes, a direct, word for word translation of Greek to English is not possible due to the differences between the languages, so adding some words is necessary, that DOES NOT give anyone the right to add words that change the meaning or intent of what is said.
Jesus used this phrase multiple times in the Gospels.
Here are a few of them:
[JESUS]I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”[/JESUS] - John 8:18
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John8:18&version=NKJV
(No "He" here, yet it's the exact same phrase)
[JESUS]Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am
He, you will die in your sins.”[/JESUS] - John 8:24
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John8:24&version=NKJV
("He"" was added here, as indicated by italics in the NKJV)
Then Jesus said to them, [JESUS]“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am
He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.[/JESUS] - John 8:28
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John8:28&version=NKJV
("He"" was added here, as indicated by italics in the NKJV)
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, [JESUS]“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.”[/JESUS]Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”Jesus said to them, [JESUS]“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”[/JESUS]Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. - John 8:53-59
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John8:53-59&version=NKJV
(The NKJV correctly translates Jesus' words as "I AM" here, same phrase as used in 8:18)
And let's not loose the forest for the trees here, notice what they asked Him:
"Who do You make Yourself out to be?"
What was Jesus' response?
"I AM."
The entire chapter is Jesus claiming to be God, yet the bumbling fools didn't understand Him until verse 58.
If Jesus was not God, then why did they try to stone him? The punishment for claiming to be God when one is not is death, and the ones Jesus was speaking to knew this.
Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp.And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,“Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death. - Leviticus 24:10-16
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus24:10-16&version=NKJV
So, the question comes down to this:
Is Jesus a liar claiming to be God, but is not God? Or is He LORD, claiming to be God, and is God?
In other words: Was Jesus good?