3. Jesus and the identity of YHWH

What is present as tension in the Old Testament becomes concrete and unavoidable in Jesus.

3.1 “I Am” as identity language, not metaphor

When Jesus says:

“BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM” (JOHN 8:58),

the reaction from his audience is immediate and violent: they pick up stones to kill Him. This is intelligible only against Jewish identity language. Jesus is not accused of exaggerated self-confidence or of claiming mere age, but of blasphemy.

This must be seen sharply: pre-existence as such was neither unique nor forbidden. Judaism had ideas of pre-existent wisdom (Prov. 8), a pre-existent Torah, and even a pre-existent Messiah.

That does not explain the intensity of the reaction. What makes the statement explosive is not that Jesus existed before Abraham, but how He says it: “I am.”

With this phrasing Jesus reaches directly back to God’s self-revelation in Exodus 3:14. There God reveals Himself not with a descriptive title, but with an identity formula: “I am who I am.” In the prophets this self-identification is repeated in shortened form: ani hu, “I am He” (Isa. 43:10; 46:4).

This is not metaphor, but Name-language: language in which God designates Himself as the One who acts and is present.

That Jesus applies this language to Himself does not mean He claims an attribute of God, but that He draws God’s identity to Himself. The hearers understand. Therefore their conclusion is not: “You are saying something about God,” but: “You, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33).

3.2 “I and the Father are one”

This identity claim is explicitly confirmed when Jesus says:

“I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.” (JOHN 10:30)

Again, there is no mere misunderstanding but a direct accusation. The context shows that “one” here is not functional or moral (“in agreement”), but identity. The reaction of the audience makes that unavoidably clear. They do not hear Him as someone closely connected to God, but as someone claiming God’s unique identity.

Again, what Jesus does not do is crucial. He does not correct the accusation. He does not say, “You misunderstand; I am only a representative.” Instead He argues from Scripture and remains within the framework of divine identity. The tension remains, and it is not dismantled.

This pattern is consistent in the New Testament. Jesus speaks with authority, forgives sins, speaks as Lawgiver, and acts in ways the Scriptures reserve exclusively for YHWH. The Gospels present this not as a problem to solve, but as revelation demanding recognition.

3.3 The Name in Jesus’ actions

This identity claim is not limited to statements; it becomes visible in Jesus’ actions. When He forgives sins (Mark 2:5–7), the immediate response is: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” The text does not correct the reasoning; it shows that Jesus does exactly what only God can do.

When Jesus speaks of Himself as Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), or rebukes the storm (cf. Ps. 107:29), YHWH-language is applied to Jesus’ deeds. The Gospels pile up these motifs not to build a theory, but to make one point: the God of Israel is acting here.

3.4 Jude 1:5 and the continuity of identity

This identity reading is not carried only by the Gospels, but also by the apostolic writings. One of the strongest and most overlooked indications is Jude 1:5. In the earliest and text-critically best manuscripts the text reads:

“JESUS, WHO SAVED A PEOPLE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT …”

Later copyists changed this to “the Lord,” presumably to soften the theological implication. But precisely the original reading is so significant. The exodus is in the Hebrew Scriptures the definitive, identity-defining act of YHWH. That Jude attributes this act, without explanation, to Jesus, shows how deep the identification runs.

This is not a change of persons, nor a mere typological pointing. Jude does not say Jesus acted on behalf of YHWH, but that He was the One who acted. This is not later dogmatic reflection, but early Christian conviction, recorded before conciliar debates.

3.5 Identity continuity, not a shift of persons

Taken together, these texts show not a change in God’s being, but a consistent pattern of recognition: the New Testament speaks of Jesus in terms of continuity of identity with YHWH, not internal divine differentiation. 

The same God who spoke to Moses, redeemed Israel, and spoke through the prophets is now recognized in Jesus.

This does not mean Jesus is equated with an abstract idea of God, but that God Himself is recognized in Jesus’ concrete presence. The question these texts raise is therefore not: how do Father and Son relate ontologically? but: do we dare to acknowledge who is acting here?

The New Testament does not correct the accusation “You make yourself God”, because in its core it is correct, provided one understands that it is not about a man becoming God, but about God making Himself known as man.

This chapter therefore forms a load-bearing pillar of Identity-Based Echad Monotheism, which is explicitly substantiated in chapter 7: Jesus is not a second alongside YHWH, but YHWH made visible. This is not a later construction, but the heart of the apostolic witness.