"Me, I am"

"Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and said to them, Who are you seeking ? They answered him : Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said to them: "It is I" (or I am). John 18: 4, 5

Conducted by Judas, the troop of soldiers and ushers sought Jesus the Nazarene. She thinks she finds a humble man since he comes from a city as despised as Nazareth. But the latter speaks to them nobly when he answers "It is I". The Greek expression translated by "It's me" is exactly the one we have considered in recent weeks :  "Me, I am". Jesus presents himself as the one who bears this divine name (Exodus 3:14).

Such a declaration made these armed men retreat and threw them on the ground, overwhelmed by divine power. The Son of God dominates all this scene and shows, in an evident way, that he is the one who says "I am" ; Consequently, no one can seize him without his consent.

His divine sovereignty also appears when he takes care of his disciples : he does not appeal to the goodwill of those who seek him; He gives them an order : "Let these go". She still sees herself in perfect submission, when he declares to Peter, who wanted to defend him with a sword : "The cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it ?" (John 18: 8, 11).

Jesus does not implement his personal power tied to "Me, I am" to defend himself and his enemies. On the contrary, he uses it to fulfill the word he had said to his disciples : "I leave my life so that I can take it back. No one takes it away from me, but I leave it with myself" (John 10:17, 18).

Nothing is more glorious, in this "I" became man, than this determination to fulfill the will of his Father, for the salvation of beings as rebellious and as hateful as ourselves! No one constrains him and it is of his own free will, in full accord with the will of his Father, that he voluntarily presents himself as "the Lamb of God" whose sacrifice was necessary for our salvation.

Thus, Jesus, our Savior and our Lord, is the one who bears the name of "I am," the name of the God of eternity, powerful, wise, full of love. The men of this world still despise him, but we, his redeemed, contemplate his greatness and his love with respect and adoration.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)