Jakson Moncada.

Christology.
Brother Licentiate Jonathan Parra

THE 'I AM' OF CHRIST IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN.

(Essay)

Christology comes to show the various nuances and forms in which the authors
sacred New Testament texts present Jesus and demonstrate that He is the Son of God
made man to save humanity and as He Himself Jesus is God. For example
In response to the question 'who is Jesus?', Mark affirms that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah;
Jesus Christ is the suffering servant humbled, who gives his life as a ransom (Cf. Mk. 10:45)
but what triumphs. Jesus is the Son of God and also the Son of Man with meaning
eschatological.

For his part, Matthew, who writes for the Jews converted to Christianity,
Jesus is the Master, the Lord, the Son of Man; but his preferred title is that of
Jesus, Son of the living God, a term that fit perfectly into the thought
Jew and solemnly confessed by Peter. (Cf, Mt. 16:16). Matthew seeks in everything
to ensure that the writings of the Old Testament are fully fulfilled
perfectly in Jesus. Therefore, Jesus is the eschatological Messiah of Israel.

On the other hand, in San Lucas, who had been a disciple of San Pablo, there
find an Gospel with universal and missionary character that has Jesus as
center of the salvation plan, salvation of universal dimension. Jesus is the face of the
mercy and grace (Cf. Lk. 1:28), is the saving manifestation of God the Father. The
God's universal salvation comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who fulfills.
the grace and mercy of God who desires to save fallen humanity. Jesus is the
Lord and center of the history of salvation. For this purpose, he is found in the
synoptic gospels a line with similar characters in which Jesus is professed
as the Son of God and the Christ, this is the savior Messiah.
 Now, the Gospel of St. John does not fit these lines of the
not only synoptic but takes a higher step as the Christology found in John
it is much deeper. Right from the foreword, Juan sets higher points
and makes a difference by recognizing the identity of Jesus as the Word of the Father and of
Son in the Trinity. Jesus is the revelation of the Father and of the Trinity.

Jesus is essentially the revealer of the Father through his person and his
Word (cf. Jn 1:18). For Saint John, Jesus is the Son of God, but the Only Begotten Son (cf.
Jn 1, 14) On the other hand, John presents Jesus as the Word (Logos). He places the
emphasis on the pre-existence of the Verb in eternity which translates into a
eternal and divine preexistence. The Logos for John is God and this Logos is the beginning
of creation.

To this end, Jesus reveals in the flesh that God whom no one has seen;
The word of God became flesh and made his dwelling among us (cf Jn. 1, 14) Therefore
another part, the Johannine text asserts another Christological title, that of Jesus as Son of
Man who refers to the eschatological aspect but whose character is not.
apocalyptic but it is face to face, it is right now. Emphasizes that the Son of man has
descended from heaven (Cf. John 3:13; 6:38,42...) and who is already presented as judge, who
saves those who receive it in faith. In the fourth title in St. John, there is a particularity.
to present the identity of Jesus both absolute and pronominal in the speeches of
Revelation. There it will be emphasized that Jesus is God,

Regarding this, in the absolute identity, which is determined by the verb to be in

first person singular. it is made evident the assertion that Jesus is
God. For this, he uses the expression: "I AM". (Cf. John 6:20; 8:23-30; 18:5) Christ is the
the face of God manifesting (theophany) is the almighty who triumphs. This
(I AM) refers to the Old Testament in the way it self
reveals the God of the people of Israel, YHWH, (I am who I am) (Cf. Ex. 3:14; Is. 43:3;
This will mean that God is Unique and that He is defined by being what He carries.
to affirm that Jesus is God, identifies with YHWH; Christ brings us closer to the mystery, the
unveils, shows the face of the Father.

In terms of pronouns, the phrase I AM appears 7 times.

using signs as attributes that place Jesus as life itself. Unite the sign
To the speech. In Christ, these 7 I AM will manifest and express the
mystery of his person. These 7 I AMs are: "I Am the bread of life" (Jn. 6). "I Am
la luz del mundo” (Jn. 8, 12) “Yo Soy la puerta” (Jn. 10,-9) ”Yo Soy el Buen Pastor” (Jn.
10, 11-14) "I am the resurrection and the life" (Jn. 11, 23-27) "I am the way, the
"Truth and life" (John 14:4-6) and "I am the true vine" (John 15:1-5).

At first glance, it can be seen that there is a subject and a verb, which means
What is the most important element, namely, Jesus defines himself, what he speaks.
of the Father (I Am) and of that communion and intimacy with Him. The second element is the
symbol in itself, each sign as an attribute of the mystery of the person of Jesus and
As a third element, one can observe the object of this sign, whose object is life.
What is in line with the purpose of Jesus, who has come so that the
humanity has life and life in abundance (Cf. Jn. 10, 10).

As for what refers to Jesus as the bread of life, 'I am the bread of
life" (Jn. 6:34) John reveals in Jesus his pronoun identity using a sign
prefigured already in the Old Testament but which can be understood here in two
dimensions of the same mystery, namely, on one side the bread as word, as
doctrine and revelation of the Father and the bread as the Eucharist properly so called that goes

having its preamble in the multiplication of the breads (Cf. Jn. 6, 1-13) Jesus self
reveals like bread but a bread that does not perish but a bread that gives life, true, the
eternal life. It is not by chance that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew translates as

bread case. Thus Jesus will show Himself as the bread that gives life, He is the food of
eternal life.

Regarding 'I am the light of the world' (John 8:12), light symbolizes good.
and of life. In the Old Testament, it finds its prefiguration and context in the feast
of the tabernacles, feast of light (See Lev. 23) feast of booths. God is
shows like light that illuminates. Light is also related to creation (Gen 1)
Creator God who illuminates and orders the chaos. In the same way, the Torah is conceived as
light that guides and illuminates (Psalm 119:105)

Jesus takes on this sign and amplifies it. Christ shows himself as the full reality of
the light, Supreme good who clears away the darkness and fears, He makes the beautiful and the pure seen
where He goes, the ultimate temple, towards the Father. O beautiful life, which brings life within itself
the same. But this light aims to illuminate all corners of the world, it is light
what gives life, what brings life no longer as a sign but as truth and reality.

"I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7-9) Here the attribute of door takes a
dimension of a path but in the attitude of a walker, it is direction and goal. Remember the step

from the Jordan River to the promised land coming from Egypt (Cf Joshua 3). The Jordan River
It is a sign of baptism, not to stay looking from the outside, but to immerse oneself and delve in.

in the mystery. Christ is the narrow door, it is difficult but also because it is
individualization, as a shepherd and door wants to account for each one and one by one. He is the
door of the sheepfold which means the atrium of the temple; Jesus takes out of the atriums of the ancient

temple and leads to where He goes, the definitive temple, the Father. Jesus Christ is also
the gate of the shepherds, those who do not enter through Him are thieves and robbers. To be
genuine shepherd of the flock must go through Christ.

One of the most representative signs that Jesus takes on in his revelation of
The pronominal identity is that of the Good Shepherd. "I am the Good Shepherd" (Jn. 10, 11-14)

This sign is referring to and alluding to God, to Moses and to David. Christ is
God shepherding his sheep, that is, his people; he is the new and complete Moses and the
new and full David. He is a shepherd but with the qualifier of good, in Greek kalos, it is
to say the good one, the one who fulfills his function; a good shepherd is a shepherd without sin; the shepherd

authentic and true, definitive and genuine that fulfills completely and in obedience;
it prefigures the suffering servant (Is. 53) obedient from the cross.

Thus, the shepherd cares about the sheep, the flock because they are his.
bought at a high price, at a blood price. That is why the shepherd gives his life for his
sheep, risks his life for them, gives his life day by day; He knows his sheep and them
sheep recognize his voice and follow him, that's why He goes ahead guiding and his sheep
they walk after Him. Christ takes upon Himself the Good Shepherd that David speaks of in Psalm 23,

The Lord, Adonay, is my shepherd; I shall not want, and making it his own, he carries it to
fullness for He is the authentic, true Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep like
suffering servant (Is. 53) who gives his life out of love and of his own will without anyone making him
I removed it. (Cf. Jn. 10, 14; 17).

I am the resurrection and the life.” (Jn. 11, 23–27), In this revelation
Pronominal Jesus does not use only the resurrection as a sign but as a reality.
the resurrection as a truth and as a reality - By saying I am the resurrection
it refers to one that is this8 (the resurrection) is a person, that is, the same
Christ, He Himself (Christ) is the resurrection. It is an explicit act of the power of God.
power of love, for to resurrect is to be loved, very loved by God, for this one must
relate to Christ, connect with Him, connect with Him who is life itself and the
resurrection as a future fact of full life.

As for the 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' (Jn. 14:4-6) Christ
it presents itself not only as a goal but above all as a path, Christ has become
love for men. pathway, a pathway to Him through Him. This implies walking with Him but
behind Him, that He as teacher and Lord be the one guiding like the good
pastor with his sheep. Jesus will be the answers to the hows and whys of man.
That is why it is also presented as the Truth, both as an object of search and more.
deep of the human being as much as content, for in Him everything is fulfilled and He is everything.

In the same way, by the way he speaks, in what he says, Christ speaks with truth, with the
truth, He Himself is the Truth, the personification of Truth, Truth of God
incarnate, Truth of God revealed by pure love for mankind. (Cf. Jn. 3, 16)

Regarding life, Christ himself says that He is life, the Logos of the prologue of
Saint John is life, the Logos is life. This means that He is life but even more so, that
He brings us life. Life in San Juan is not just natural life but is life
eternal, full life - (Cf. Jn. 10, 10b). This eternal life is living of God, living in God,
the existence in God. It is not just about the future resurrection but that in Christ already
Let us begin to taste the life of the Kingdom of Heaven in its fullness. May it be lived on earth.
eternal life, eternal as a quality of life, as a style, to live from now, despite
the difficulties, life in God and the life of God, abundant life.

The last 'I am' pronoun revealed as Jesus' identity in St. John is
"I am the true vine" contained in John 15:1–5. In this image - sign used
through Christ in the context of the farewell discourse states that he is the vine, but the true one

In John, the Eucharist does not appear but prefigures the Eucharist in chapter 15,
fruit of the vine, which is found in the synoptic Gospels with the reference to the
The Eucharist properly said. A typology is found in the Old Testament in the
Chapter 5 of Isaiah as biblical background. Israel appears as a vineyard or vine.
leafy.

On the other hand, this image also appears in the book of the Song of Songs.
from the vineyard with which the love of the spouses is guaranteed. Some scholars claim
that this sign used by Christ refers to the tree of life from Genesis 3. Here
The vine is what gives life, the tree of true life is Christ; the true tree.
what gives life is Christ. In the various parables and different times Jesus makes
reference to the vineyard, the vine and the vine growers.

Now then, for the Old Testament and the Jewish conception, to believe is not to have.
an idea without belonging to a people and their faith. The vine in the Old Testament is Israel.
the same. Having a religion is to have a part in that people and in that faith. To be Jewish is

to belong to that vineyard to be part of it. If one is not from that vineyard, one is not a Jew. Here

the key lies in the essential. If Jesus is the true vine, then being a believer in Christ
to belong to Christ is to be united with Him, not just to have the idea and knowledge but
to be attached to Him. That is why Christ will say that without Him the believer can do nothing (Jn. 15,

5b)

To this effect, the essential key is not in what is individually believed or experienced.
but in the authentic connection to the true Vine, that is Christ. In the ancient
testament of the vine village (Israel) in the new testament the Vine Jesus Christ, and his
sarmientos (the people of the New Alliance) inseparably united to Him, the Vine
true. To Him belongs every believer, to Him we belong. God is not only the
owner of the vineyard, but rather is closer and is the vintner; He is the owner and
maker of life; the believers are the branches that, united to the vine, produce fruits,
Bearing fruit will be the distinguishing sign and the essential objective of being a believer and of the mission.

It refers back to the prologue when it states that outside of Him, of the Logos (Jn. 1,
Nothing can exist outside of Him; that is, we can do nothing outside of Him, and no fruit can be produced.

if one is not united to him, the true vine.

Thus, in conclusion, in the gospel of St. John there is a

high elevation Christology, with supremacy in Christocentric titles and images
where the discourses of revelation of Jesus that is presented regain greater importance
like "I Am" which is determined by the same expression with which God is
revealed in the Old Testament 'YHWH'. In this way, Christ affirms his
consubstantiality with the Father with whom he shares the same essence and reveals himself.
like God.

In this regard, there is a trinitarian dimension throughout the Johannine gospel that
traverse the entire path of the gospel to reveal the face of God manifested in Christ,
the incarnate Logos, whose attributes of I am, as pronominal identity do
reference to typified images in the Old Testament, mostly, and to the
which Christ gives them the greatest fullness because He is, that is, He has the fullness of being and

as God has all power and/or strength to act in accordance with His will
from the Father who has sent him with whom he maintains intimate communion since they are One

only.

Indeed, Christ is the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the door of the sheepfold,

resurrection, way, truth, life, and true vine. Note that the object of the attribute
the term life appears more often, both as an object of the attribute as well as
the same attribute, what he is going to say and translate into that Christ has come to bring life and

life in abundance, He Himself is life, eternal life, He is the 'I am', identification
unitary with the One and Only God. He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life.
 BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES.

Auer, Johann. Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary. Herder Publishing, Barcelona,
1989.

Christ, Bread of Life

José A. Sayes

The Bible of Our People

2007