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Before Abraham Was
Scripture Focus:
John 8:58
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” - ESV
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” - ESV
Welcome to Fridays at Deeper Still.
This week we have been sitting inside the title “The Son” and asking what it actually means when God uses it to introduce Jesus to the world. Monday opened the full argument. Wednesday went deep into Hebrews 1:3 and the Greek word charakter. Today we close the week inside one of the most explosive moments in the entire Gospel of John. Five words that nearly got Jesus stoned in the middle of a public street. We are going to look at exactly why.
Devotional Thought:
In John 8:58, Jesus is in the middle of a heated public exchange with a crowd of religious leaders who are questioning His identity, His authority, and His claims about Abraham. The conversation has been building in tension for several verses. Then Jesus says something that does not just end the argument. It detonates it.
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
To a modern reader this can sound like a slightly unusual grammatical construction. Before Abraham was born, Jesus existed. Okay... A claim to preexistence. Significant, but perhaps not immediately explosive on its own.
But to every Jewish listener standing in that crowd, what Jesus just said was not a claim to preexistence. It was something far more specific and far more confrontational.
The phrase “I am” in Greek is ego eimi. In the context of Jewish Scripture and theology it carried one specific, unmistakable reference point. Exodus 3:14. When Moses stands before the burning bush and asks God for His name, God responds: “I AM WHO I AM.” The Hebrew is ehyeh asher ehyeh. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in the Septuagint, the translation used ego eimi… I am.
This was not a generic phrase. It was the divine name. The personal, self-defining name of God Himself, spoken to Moses from the burning bush. Every person in that crowd knew exactly what they were hearing the moment the words left Jesus’s mouth.
He was not saying He existed before Abraham. He was saying He is the same ‘I AM’ that spoke to Moses. The same one who parted the Red Sea. The same one whose presence filled the tabernacle. The same one whose name was considered so sacred that devout Jews would not even speak it aloud.
And He said it in the middle of a public street in Jerusalem.
This is why they immediately picked up stones. They were not confused about what He meant. They understood precisely what He was claiming and responded to it as blasphemy. The claim was either the most offensive lie ever spoken in that city or the most staggering truth. There was no comfortable middle ground available to them and there is none available to us either.
The title “The Son” is not a soft, domesticated word. It sits inside a lineage that runs directly from the burning bush to a street in Jerusalem to the cross. The same “I AM” that Moses could not look at directly chose to speak our language, walk our roads, and absorb our death.
That is who we are praying to. That is who we are singing to on Sunday morning. Not a teacher. Not a guide. The “I AM” in human form.
Daily Action Step: Read Exodus 3:13-14 and then John 8:58 back to back without stopping. Sit in the silence between them. Then write down one way that understanding Jesus as the “I AM” rather than simply a preexistent being changes how you approach Him in prayer this weekend.
Closing Thoughts:
Before Abraham was, I am.
Five words that have been reordering lives for two thousand years. Let them do their work in yours this weekend.
That closes our first full week of Deeper Still. Monday’s essay opened the argument. Wednesday went inside the charakter of Hebrews 1:3. Today we stood in that street in Jerusalem and heard what the crowd heard.
Next Monday, a brand new essay drops and a new theological thread begins. If this week added something real to your understanding of who Jesus is, share Deeper Still with one person before Sunday. That single forward is how this community grows.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for going deeper.
Recent Essay:
The Son: We Have Been Reading Right Past Him - June 22, 2026
The Son P1 - The Exact Imprint - June 24, 2026
See you Monday.
Lawrence
Deeper Still
Deeper Still is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to Deeper Still at deeperstilltheology.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Lawrence CampbellScripture Focus:
John 8:58
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” - ESV
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” - ESV
Welcome to Fridays at Deeper Still.
This week we have been sitting inside the title “The Son” and asking what it actually means when God uses it to introduce Jesus to the world. Monday opened the full argument. Wednesday went deep into Hebrews 1:3 and the Greek word charakter. Today we close the week inside one of the most explosive moments in the entire Gospel of John. Five words that nearly got Jesus stoned in the middle of a public street. We are going to look at exactly why.
Devotional Thought:
In John 8:58, Jesus is in the middle of a heated public exchange with a crowd of religious leaders who are questioning His identity, His authority, and His claims about Abraham. The conversation has been building in tension for several verses. Then Jesus says something that does not just end the argument. It detonates it.
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
To a modern reader this can sound like a slightly unusual grammatical construction. Before Abraham was born, Jesus existed. Okay... A claim to preexistence. Significant, but perhaps not immediately explosive on its own.
But to every Jewish listener standing in that crowd, what Jesus just said was not a claim to preexistence. It was something far more specific and far more confrontational.
The phrase “I am” in Greek is ego eimi. In the context of Jewish Scripture and theology it carried one specific, unmistakable reference point. Exodus 3:14. When Moses stands before the burning bush and asks God for His name, God responds: “I AM WHO I AM.” The Hebrew is ehyeh asher ehyeh. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in the Septuagint, the translation used ego eimi… I am.
This was not a generic phrase. It was the divine name. The personal, self-defining name of God Himself, spoken to Moses from the burning bush. Every person in that crowd knew exactly what they were hearing the moment the words left Jesus’s mouth.
He was not saying He existed before Abraham. He was saying He is the same ‘I AM’ that spoke to Moses. The same one who parted the Red Sea. The same one whose presence filled the tabernacle. The same one whose name was considered so sacred that devout Jews would not even speak it aloud.
And He said it in the middle of a public street in Jerusalem.
This is why they immediately picked up stones. They were not confused about what He meant. They understood precisely what He was claiming and responded to it as blasphemy. The claim was either the most offensive lie ever spoken in that city or the most staggering truth. There was no comfortable middle ground available to them and there is none available to us either.
The title “The Son” is not a soft, domesticated word. It sits inside a lineage that runs directly from the burning bush to a street in Jerusalem to the cross. The same “I AM” that Moses could not look at directly chose to speak our language, walk our roads, and absorb our death.
That is who we are praying to. That is who we are singing to on Sunday morning. Not a teacher. Not a guide. The “I AM” in human form.
Daily Action Step: Read Exodus 3:13-14 and then John 8:58 back to back without stopping. Sit in the silence between them. Then write down one way that understanding Jesus as the “I AM” rather than simply a preexistent being changes how you approach Him in prayer this weekend.
Closing Thoughts:
Before Abraham was, I am.
Five words that have been reordering lives for two thousand years. Let them do their work in yours this weekend.
That closes our first full week of Deeper Still. Monday’s essay opened the argument. Wednesday went inside the charakter of Hebrews 1:3. Today we stood in that street in Jerusalem and heard what the crowd heard.
Next Monday, a brand new essay drops and a new theological thread begins. If this week added something real to your understanding of who Jesus is, share Deeper Still with one person before Sunday. That single forward is how this community grows.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for going deeper.
Recent Essay:
The Son: We Have Been Reading Right Past Him - June 22, 2026
The Son P1 - The Exact Imprint - June 24, 2026
See you Monday.
Lawrence
Deeper Still
Deeper Still is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Get full access to Deeper Still at deeperstilltheology.substack.com/subscribe