Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Benjamin E. Reynolds on the meaning of εγω ειμι in John 8:24, 28

  

The more probable interpretation of εγω ειμι in 8.24 and 8.28 is to understand it as the absolute εγω ειμι and a reference to the name of God. The expression points back to the name God told to Moses from the burning bush (Exod 3.14 εγω ειμι), and it is used by God to speak of himself in LXX Isaiah (41.4; 43.10, 25; 45.18, 19; 46.4; 51.12; 52.6). Isaiah 43, especially v. 10, provides the closest parallel to John 8.24 and 8.28 and is most likely alluded to by John.

 

Isa 43.10: γένεσθέ μοι μάρτυρες κἀγὼ μάρτυς λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός καὶ ὁ παῖς ὃν ἐξελεξάμην ἵνα γνῶτε καὶ πιστεύσητε καὶ συνῆτε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι . . .

 

John 8.24: ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ πιστεύσητε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν

 

John 8.28: ὅταν ὑψώσητε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τότε γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι . . .

 

Not only do these verses share similar wording, but there are similar themes within the context. In Isa 43.10, God speaks of himself as witness and Israel as the servant he has chosen, and in John 8 Jesus speaks of his role as witness and of God’s testimony on his behalf (8.14, 18; cf. 5.32, 37). In Isa 43.25, God again calls himself εγω ειμι and reminds Israel that he removes their iniquity (ανομια). Jesus, in 8.21, 24, has told the ‘Jews’ that they will die in their sin(s). A further parallel is that both Isaiah 43 and John 8 narrate judicial controversies. In Isaiah 43.8-13, God brings the nations to judgment with Israel serving as witness. In John 8, Jesus acts as a judge and witnesses against the ‘Jews’ who will die in their sin, while the Father witnesses to Jesus.

 

Thus, the absolute εγω ειμι of John 8.28 (and 8.24) and the allusion to Isa 43.10 (cf. 52.6) suggest that the Johannine Son of Man shares the same name as God (Exod 3.14; Deut 32.39) and hints at his unity with him.

 

Jesus’ identity is clarified further, and at the least, the statement indicates that the Son of Man has characteristics in common with God. The shared name may also imply the Son of Man’s identification with the father. On the other hand, the language of identification is not entirely accurate here since the two figures are not equated. As with OG Dan 7.13 where the ‘one like a son of man’ appears ‘like the Ancient of days’ yet is not identical to the Ancient of Days, both the Son of Man and the Father appear as two distinct figures, but at the same time, the Son of Man is described with similar characteristics as God. For example, even though the Son of Man can be described as εγω ειμι, he can do nothing on his own but only what the Father teaches him (8.28). The same tension is noticeable in John 5 where Jesus is given the authority to carry out the two divine prerogatives of giving life and executing judgment, but this authority is given to him by God (John 5.21-23). Andrew Lincoln states: ‘ . . . Jesus’ identity with God, and yet his distinctiveness from God as the Son dependent on the Father, is the paradox that is characteristic of the whole Gospel, beginning with its prologue (Lincoln, Truth, 89). (Benjamin E. Reynolds, The Apocalyptic Son of Man in the Gospel of John [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2 Reihe 249; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007], 166-68)