The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

8:58).
CHAPTER TEN
THE JEHOVISTIC TITLES OF CHRIST
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am “ (John
The Bible records many statements concerning the deity of Christ, but perhaps none were
so impressive to the early church as those which identified Him with Jehovah in the Old Testament.
Although the name “Jehovah” was used before the time of Moses, it was not until then that
God revealed the uniqueness of its meaning (Exodus 6:3). It was the covenant name of God in
the Old Testament and a form of the verb “to be” repeated twice. When Moses maintained he did
not know the name of God, God revealed His name as “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Jehovah is the I am. This name is printed in the English Bible by the title “LORD,” in which all
four letters are capitalized.
“Jehovah” was the most respected name of God in the Old Testament. When scribes were
copying the Scriptures and came to this name, they would change their clothes and find a new
pen and fresh ink to write the name. They refused even to pronounce the name as they read the
Scriptures; they substituted for it the name Adonai. As a result of this misguided expression of
reverence, considerable debate has arisen over the actual pronunciation of the name. Although
most conservative theologians argue it should be pronounced Je-hov-ah, many liberal teachers
argue it should be pronounced Yah-weh. It is impossible to resolve this debate now at a time
when the name has remained unpronounced for generations. Even if the Hebrew language
included vowels, our task of deciding about how to pronounce this name would be difficult.
Dialects change within languages over years of use, so that the same word pronounced one way
today may sound totally different two hundred years from today. If we did not know the history
of the region, it would be hard for us to believe that the original settlers of the Southeastern
United States spoke English with a thick British accent. Over the years and generations since
they first settled, they have developed their own unique dialect of English. The same thing no
doubt happened to the Hebrew language over a long period.
Jesus used the expression “I am” in eight contexts within the Gospel of John in which He
revealed something about His character as Jehovah. The Greek words which John used on those
occasions, ego eimi, emphatically draw attention to their significance. The following listing
identifies the eight contexts in which Jesus called Himself “I am” and is the group of names
which this chapter discusses:
THE JEHOVISTIC NAMES OF JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
1. I AM the Bread of Life John 6:35
2. I AM the Light of the World John 8:12
3. I AM the Door John 10:9
4. I AM the Good Shepherd John 10:11
5. I AM the Resurrection and the Life John 11:25
6. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life John 14:6