Jesus and His 'I am' Statements in John Quiz

Answer: bread

The missing word is 'bread'. Jesus made the statement "I am the bread of life" shortly after he fed a multitude of people with five barley loaves and two small fish, as per John 6:1-14.

According to Verse 10, about five thousand men were fed with the pittance of food. Because the figure does not include women and children many scholars believe Jesus fed as many as fifteen thousand people.

Even though Jesus used only five loaves to feed the people, Verse 13 states there was so much food left over, the Twelve Disciples were able to fill twelve baskets "with fragments of five barley loaves". In other words, each disciple was able to fill a basket with left overs.

After the miraculous feeding, Scripture states Jesus walked on water and calmed a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. While talking to people on the other shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus made His famous statement He was the "bread of life".

For details, see John 6:1-40.

Answer: light

The missing word is 'light'. Jesus made the statement in John 8:12 to the scribes and Pharisees after they brought a woman before Him who had been caught in the act of adultery. To the amazement of the woman's adversaries, Jesus told them no one had the right to judge and that if the woman is to be condemned, the person who is without sin should throw the first stone.

Christ's statement apparently resonated to the inner core of the scribes and Pharisees as Verse 9 tells of those "being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last."

With the scribes and Pharisees departed, Jesus asked the woman, "Has no one condemned you?" The woman responded by saying no one condemned her and Jesus replied, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Then Jesus turned to His original audience and made the famous statement, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life'."

Answer: door

The missing word is 'door'. (In the NIV, Jesus says He is the 'gate'.) In John 9, Jesus was involved in an exchange with the Pharisees and John 10 is a continuation of that exchange.

In the the first six verses of the chapter, Jesus states He is the true shepherd and makes references to sheep being cared for and protected.

Then in Verses 7 to 10, Jesus states: "'Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly'."

Answer: shepherd

The missing word is 'shepherd'. Scripture states Christ's words were prophetic as all four Gospels tell of Him giving His life for His sheep. At the same time, the four Gospels all tell of Jesus rising from the dead three days after His crucifixion, just like He said He would on multiple occasions.

The 'I am Statement' by Jesus in John 10:11 comes immediately after another 'I am Statement' in Verse 9. In that verse, Jesus states He is the door. (In the NIV, it quotes Him as saying He is the gate.)

To put the two verses in context, I recommend reading John 10:1-18.

Answer: resurrection

The missing word is 'resurrection'.

Jesus made the 'I am Statement' in John 11 when He raised Lazarus from the dead at Bethany. According to Scripture, Lazarus had been dead for four days and his body was starting to decay when Jesus brought him back to life. Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, the best known sisters in the New Testament.

Jesus made His 'I am Statement; to Martha in the presence of a number of other mourners. To put the verse in context, I recommend reading John 11:20-27.

Answer: truth

The missing word is 'truth'. The 'I am Statement' by Jesus was made to the disciples after Thomas had questioned Him. To study the verse in context, read John 14:1-6.

Thomas issued his question after Jesus told the disciples in His Father's house are "many mansions" and that He is going to prepare a place for them, adding, "And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Thomas, however, was not clear about Christ's statement so he issued a question: "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"

It's at this point Jesus made His famous statement in John 14:6 when He replied to Thomas stating: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Needless to say, the statement by Jesus "no one comes to the Father" except through Him, has caused enormous dissension over the centuries.

Countless millions of people, many of them Christians, strongly disagree with the statement "no one" can come to the Father except through Christ. However, most evangelical Christians insist the statement is decisive evidence one can only enter heaven if they go through Jesus.

Answer: vine

The missing word is 'vine'. Jesus is once again talking to His disciples when He made the 'I am Statement' contained in John 15:5. The verse is one of my favorites. Taking the verse at its literal meaning, a believer cannot accomplish anything of permanent spiritual value, unless they abide in Christ. To study the verse in context, read John 15:1-8.

Answer: Abraham

The missing name is 'Abraham'. In other words, Jesus stated, "Before Abraham was, I AM." Or as the notes in the NKJV Study Bible state, Jesus was not just claiming to have lived before Abraham, He was claiming eternal existence.

The notes go on to state: "He was claiming to be God Himself. (See Exodus 3:14) This time the Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be God, so they took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy. (See Leviticus 24:16)"

To put the verse into context, I suggest you read John 8:48-59.

Answer: True

True. God tells Moses His name is "I AM" in Exodus 3:14.

To put the verse in context, here's how Exodus 3:13-15 reads in the NKJV: "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: 'The LORD 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'."

With God describing Himself as 'I AM', many theologians believe Jesus made His 'I am Statements' in John to prove He was of God. In fairness, others see things differently and they are entitled to their opinions.

Study notes in the NKJV Study Bible have this to say about the 'I am statements' in the Gospel: "John doesn't take any chances that we might miss what these 'I am' statements suggest. He records certain occasions when Jesus equates Himself with the Old Testament 'I AM' (Yahweh). You can't be more specific than this: 'Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM' (8:58)."

Study notes also have this to say: "The Gospel of John is a persuasive argument for the deity of Jesus. It concentrates on presenting Jesus as the Word, that is God (1:1) who became a man (1:4). Thus John meticulously records the statements and describes the miracles of Jesus that can only be attributed to God Himself."

Answer: No

No, the 'I am Statements' are found in only the Gospel of John. While Matthew, Mark and Luke report on Jesus' ministry over a three-year period, John largely focuses on the final days of Christ's ministry.

Many theologians believe John wrote his Gospel with the express purpose of proving Jesus was God. To back up such a claim, they point to the first five verses of John which read in the NKJV: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."

Throw in the 'I am Statements' found in John and then Thomas' statement in John 20:28 proclaiming Jesus to be his Lord and his God, many Christians believe it's a foregone conclusion Jesus is God. It must be stressed, others see things differently and they are entitled to their opinions.