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{John 13:18} I do not speak about all of you. I know whom I have chosen. Yet, that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'The one who eats bread with me lifts up his heel against me.'
{John 13:19} Now I tell you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe that I am he. -- Restoration Light Improved Version.
Many use John 3:19 as a proof text that Jesus is EHJEH of Exodus 3:14, or some claim that in some way that Jesus was saying that he is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Some use the Christianized Septuagint of some verses where Jehovah expresses himself as being the one who is the one related to the context, using the Hebrew phrase often transliterated as "ani hu" (literally, I - he, with verb supplied in the English and, "I am he"), which is translated into the Greek of the Christianized LXX with the phrase transliterated as EGO EIMI in such verses as Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 41:4; 43:10; 46:4; 48:12. Noting that the phrase ANI HU is only used by Jehovah in the Old Testament, it is imagined and assumed that when Jesus used the phrase EGO EIMI of himself, that this has to mean that Jesus was claiming to be Jehovah who spoke through his prophets, Moses and Isaiah. This idea, however, is contrary to Hebrews 1:1,2, which shows that "God" who spoke through his prophets Moses and Isaiah was only one person, and that this same God now speaks through His Son.
Does the fact the Old Testament only shows Jehovah as using ANI HU of himself mean that no one else could have used that phrase, if such a person had a reason to do so? Obviously, not. More than likely, no situation was ever arisen in which anyone else would have to use the phrase ANI HU. As yet, we have found no scripture that presents any similar phrase used by anyone to identify themselves as being the one referred to, thus it would appear that no similar situation had arisen where anyone else had any need to use the phrase ANI HU of themselves.
But one needs to consider the context. What was Jesus speaking of? In verse 18, he speaks of one among the disciples who would betray him, and he quotes Psalm 41:9 of that one. Did Jesus claim to be Jehovah by quoting Psalm 41:9? Obviously not. Rather, he was claiming to be the servant of Jehovah, the one whom Jehovah anointed and sent. Of course, Jesus was speaking of Judas as the one who "lifts up his heel against me." Thus, when Judas did betray Jesus, Jesus was neither shocked nor alarmed by Judas's behavior because he knew beforehand who would betray him. Nevertheless, but it must have nonetheless been heartbreaking for our Master.
At any rate, Jesus went on to say that he was telling them this before it happened so that his other disciples would know that he was the one whom he claimed to be. There is no indication that he was claiming to be Jehovah who spoke through the prophets of old. Rather he was claiming to Jehovah's Son, whom Jehovah and anointed, sent and raised up as the prophet like Moses.
Some claim that, while EGO EIMI is used of others in the New Testament, it was when Jesus used this term that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. The fact is that Jesus used the phrase many times when the Jesus did not seek to kill Jesus. Indeed, the scriptures record only one instance where the Jews sought kill Jesus after he used the phase EGO EIMI, and in this instance it was obviously because Jesus was claiming to have lived before Abraham.
In this short study, however, it was our goal to mostly discus John 13:18,19. We have links to many other related studies on our page, "Ehjeh and I am".
