This blog is dedicated to promoting Great Commission ministry. I realize that some posts are more obviously linked to the Great Commission than others, but the Great Commission is always at least in the back of my mind as I write.
In recent days I have had occasion to spend some time looking at the seven “I AM” statements made by Jesus and recorded in the Gospel of John, and I have realized that these statements are closely tied to the Great Commission. The sayings are as follows:
John 6:35, 48 I am the bread of life – Jesus is the source of our very lives. He is our sustenance, the nourishment that gives us eternal life.
John 8:12, 9:5 I am the light of the world – Jesus reveals truth, brings light into the darkness of our thinking, the darkness of our world.
John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I am – Abraham is recognized as the father of the nation of both biological and spiritual Israel, as all in both senses descended through the seed of Abraham. But Jesus precedes Abraham. In fact, Jesus is eternal; Jesus is God the Son.
John 10:9 I am the door – Jesus is the pathway to God the Father, the only pathway to eternal life.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd – Jesus is the sacrificial shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep, that is, you and me, paying the penalty for our sins.
John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life – Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection, and, if we believe, we follow Him in our own resurrection into eternal life.
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life – Jesus in not “a” way, “a” truth, “a” life. He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. Jesus exclusively is the pathway to God the Father. There simply is no other way.
John 15:1 I am the true vine – Jesus is true Israel, the vine being symbolic of Israel throughout Scripture. We are branches connected to that vine and it is from that vine that we derive our very lives.
So what has all this got to do with the Great Commission. Jesus tells His disciples then and now to go and make disciples. The first step in making disciples is to share our faith, the truth about Jesus. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks the all important question, “Who do you say that I am?” With the seven “I AM” statements made by Jesus in John, He answers His own question. That is the Gospel. That is the truth that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, makes disciples. At the heart of the Great Commission is the truth about Jesus, and who better than Jesus to tell us who He is.
Go and make disciples!
