It is a popular idea among Trinitarians that Jesus claimed to be God when he said “I am” in John 8:58. A close look at the use of “I AM” in the Old Testament compared to the “I am” in the New Testament will reveal that this is not the case.
In the Old Testament, when Moses was going to the people of Israel to bring them out of Egypt, he asked Yahweh who he should say sent him, if they asked. Yahweh answered, “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14) and told Moses to tell them that “I AM” sent him.
In the New Testament, John 8:58 reads, “Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.’”
The problem with saying that Jesus’s “I am” was the same as Yahweh’s “I AM” is that they aren’t used in the same way. Yahweh’s “I AM” is used as a name, whereas Jesus’s “I am” is used as a statement that he was there before Abraham, and will be there forever. We can see this because if we replace Yahweh’s “I AM” with a name, such as Bill, it still makes sense: “…tell them that Bill sent you.” If we attempt to do the same with Jesus’s “I am,” it makes no sense: “Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, Bill.” This comparison makes it clear that Jesus was not using “I am” as a name, and therefore was not claiming to be the great “I AM.”
