John 18

Read John 18 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.

(Joh 16:30-33, and John 18:1, it turns out, are bookends for the John 17 Chiastic Structure.)

John 18 divides into 3 Chiastic Structures, that I can see:

John 18:13-28 Chiastic Structure

John 18:29-40 Chiastic Structure

When they came for Jesus, and asked for Jesus of Nazareth, He said to them, “I am He.” And they fell back to the ground. In the Greek, it doesn’t say, “I am He.” It says, “I AM.”

If you recall, “I AM” is the personal name of God, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘YHVH God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” Exo 3:13-15

Now you know why they fell back to the ground. YHVH God, incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, declared to them His name. And His awesome majesty was so great as He spoke His name, that they could not keep their feet. Many times they tried to take Him to kill Him, but the only time they succeeded was when Jesus allowed Himself to be taken.

Notice how many times in John, Jesus says of Himself, “I AM.”

I AM the bread of life. Joh 6:35, 48, 51

I AM the light of the world. Joh 8:12, 9:5

Before Abraham was, I AM. Joh 8:58

I AM the door of the sheep. Joh 10:7-9

I AM the Good Shepherd. Joh 10:11, 14

I AM the Son of God. Joh 10:36

I AM the resurrection and the life. Joh 11:25

I AM the way, the truth, and the life. Joh 14:6

I AM the vine. Joh 15:1, 5

If there are questions, these are good resources:

What are the seven I AM statements in the gospel of John? – Got Questions
Exodus 3, Bible for Beginners (The personal name of God) – Christine Miller

JOHN INDEX OF STUDIES | BIBLE FOR BEGINNERS ARCHIVE