Yohanes 4:26

4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

Yohanes 6:20

6:20 But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Yohanes 8:24

8:24 Thus I told you ¹  that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, ²  you will die in your sins.”

Yohanes 8:28

8:28 Then Jesus said, ³  “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, ⁴  and I do nothing on my own initiative, ⁵  but I speak just what the Father taught me. ⁶ 

Yohanes 8:58

8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁷  before Abraham came into existence, ⁸  I am!” ⁹ 

Yohanes 13:19

13:19 I am telling you this now, ¹⁰  before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe ¹¹  that I am he. ¹² 

Yohanes 18:5-6

18:5 They replied, ¹³  “Jesus the Nazarene.” He told them, “I am he.” (Now Judas, the one who betrayed him, was standing there with them.) ¹⁴  18:6 So when Jesus ¹⁵  said to them, “I am he,” they retreated ¹⁶  and fell to the ground. ¹⁷ 

Yohanes 18:8

18:8 Jesus replied, ¹⁸  “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for ¹⁹  me, let these men ²⁰  go.” ²¹ 

[8:24]  ¹ tn Grk “thus I said to you.”

[8:24]  ² tn Grk “unless you believe that I am.” In this context there is an implied predicate nominative (“he”) following the “I am” phrase. What Jesus’ hearers had to acknowledge is that he was who he claimed to be, i.e., the Messiah (cf. 20:31). This view is also reflected in English translations like NIV (“if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be”), NLT (“unless you believe that I am who I say I am”), and CEV (“if you don’t have faith in me for who I am”). For a different view that takes this “I am” and the one in 8:28 as nonpredicated (i.e., absolute), see R. E. Brown, John (AB), 1:533-38. Such a view refers sees the nonpredicated “I am” as a reference to the divine Name revealed in Exod 3:14, and is reflected in English translations like NAB (“if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins”) and TEV (“you will die in your sins if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’”).

[8:24]  sn See the note on Christ in 1:20.

[8:28]  ³ tn Grk “Then Jesus said to them” (the words “to them” are not found in all mss).

[8:28]  ⁴ tn Grk “that I am.” See the note on this phrase in v. 24.

[8:28]  ⁵ tn Grk “I do nothing from myself.”

[8:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “but just as the Father taught me, these things I speak.”

[8:58]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:58]  ⁸ tn Grk “before Abraham was.”

[8:58]  ⁹ sn I am! is an explicit claim to deity. Although each occurrence of the phrase “I am” in the Fourth Gospel needs to be examined individually in context to see if an association with Exod 3:14 is present, it seems clear that this is the case here (as the response of the Jewish authorities in the following verse shows).

[13:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or (perhaps) “I am certainly telling you this.” According to BDF §12.3 ἀπ᾿ ἄρτι (ap’ arti) should be read as ἀπαρτί (aparti), meaning “exactly, certainly.”

[13:19]  ¹¹ tn Grk “so that you may believe.”

[13:19]  ¹² tn Grk “that I am.” R. E. Brown (John [AB], 2:555) argues for a nonpredicated ἐγώ εἰμι (egw eimi) here, but this is far from certain.

[18:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “They answered.”

[18:5]  sn The author does not state precisely who from the group of soldiers and temple police replied to Jesus at this point. It may have been the commander of the Roman soldiers, although his presence is not explicitly mentioned until 18:12. It may also have been one of the officers of the chief priests. To the answer given, “Jesus the Nazarene,” Jesus replies “I am [he].”

[18:5]  ¹⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Before he states the response to Jesus’ identification of himself, the author inserts a parenthetical note that Judas, again identified as the one who betrayed him (cf. 18:2), was standing with the group of soldiers and officers of the chief priests. Many commentators have considered this to be an awkward insertion, but in fact it heightens considerably the dramatic effect of the response to Jesus’ self-identification in the following verse, and has the added effect of informing the reader that along with the others the betrayer himself ironically falls down at Jesus’ feet (18:6).

[18:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “moved back” (but here a fairly rapid movement is implied).

[18:6]  ¹⁷ sn When Jesus said to those who came to arrest him “I am,” they retreated and fell to the ground. L. Morris says that “it is possible that those in front recoiled from Jesus’ unexpected advance, so that they bumped those behind them, causing them to stumble and fall” (John [NICNT], 743-44). Perhaps this is what in fact happened on the scene; but the theological significance given to this event by the author implies that more is involved. The reaction on the part of those who came to arrest Jesus comes in response to his affirmation that he is indeed the one they are seeking, Jesus the Nazarene. But Jesus makes this affirmation of his identity using a formula which the reader has encountered before in the Fourth Gospel, e.g., 8:24, 28, 58. Jesus has applied to himself the divine Name of Exod 3:14, “I AM.” Therefore this amounts to something of a theophany which causes even his enemies to recoil and prostrate themselves, so that Jesus has to ask a second time, “Who are you looking for?” This is a vivid reminder to the reader of the Gospel that even in this dark hour, Jesus holds ultimate power over his enemies and the powers of darkness, because he is the one who bears the divine Name.

[18:8]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Jesus answered.”

[18:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “if you are seeking.”

[18:8]  ²⁰ tn The word “men” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The translation uses the word “men” here rather than a more generic word like “people” because in context Jesus referred only to the eleven remaining disciples who were loyal to him and were present at his arrest.

[18:8]  ²¹ sn A second time Jesus replied, “I told you that I am he,” identifying himself as the one they are seeking. Jesus also added, “If you are looking for me, let these men go.” Jesus successfully diverted attention from his disciples by getting the soldiers and officers of the chief priests to admit (twice) that it is only him they were after. Even in this hour Jesus still protected and cared for his own, giving himself up on their behalf. By handing himself over to his enemies, Jesus ensured that his disciples went free. From the perspective of the author, this is acting out beforehand what Jesus will actually do for his followers when he goes to the cross.