Before Abraham was, I AM!

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

John 8:58

So said Jesus as He discussed His authenticity with the Jewish religious leaders of His day.

They "poo-pooed" His assertion and said that He had a demon:

John 8:52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

Yet Jesus insisted on His Eternal Existence in the God-head.

Indeed John's gospel starts with emphasising this:

John1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

There are numerous appearances of The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, proving Jesus' claim (Note: not "an" angel, but "THE" Angel").

One such episode is in Judges 13, where He appears to foretell the birth of Samson:

V.17-22 Then Manoah inquired of the Angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honour you when your word comes true?”

He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the Angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the Angel of the Lord.

“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”

Before Jesus' Incarnation His Identity was shrouded in mystery, but when He became flesh and blood, He revealed Himself fully to us.

He is the God who sees us and is, above all, the God who loves us.

How blest are we today to be able to know God through Jesus, to run to His Loving Arms and not cower down in fear.

This new day let us stop in wonder that the Creator God of the Cosmos wants to bring us into close fellowship - to be members of His own family.

That is indeed AMAZING GRACE!