The Bible expresses the essential character God, especially in His covenant relation to Israel, and then in Christ, to the Church. Simply put, God is the eternal, “I AM.” This truth was revealed to Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees. And it was revealed to Moses at Mount Horeb, while he was tending sheep.
One day Moses saw a bush on fire that was not consumed. It was a strange sight and Moses walked over to investigate. Then, Moses heard the voice of God. When the Lord commanded His servant to go to Pharaoh and demand the release of the Hebrew people, Moses had a practical question.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM (ἐγώ εἰμι, Septuagint): and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you (Ex. 3:13, 14).
Moses knew his authority to speak on behalf of the Israelites would be question. He asked God for an answer.
The centuries passed. During His ministry, Jesus was asked the same question. By what authority did He minister? (Mark 11:28).
Joseph Henry Thayer in his Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament tells us that the word exousia translated “authority” here means, “the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed).”
Jesus was commanding people how to live. When challenged, Christ refused to answer the Chief priests and Scribes. But an inquiry still remains.
If the question were asked today about His authority, “What might Jesus have said to answer the Chief Priests and Elders question?’” the following is suggested.
Jesus could have answered by saying, “I must be about my Father’s business, as I told other religious leaders when I was twelve years of age. My Father has given me authority” (Luke 2:41-52).
Jesus could have answered by saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18).
Jesus could have answered by saying, “I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:49).
My own thought is that had Jesus answered the Chief Priests and Elder about the source of His authority, He would have responded with two words: ἐγώ εἰμι, “I AM THAT I AM|”
Had Jesus answered in any other way, then He would have been submitting Him to another authority greater than Himself. That is not possible for in His divinity Jesus is the Creator of All thing (Col/ 1:16,17), the Eternal Logos of whom John wrote (John 1:1), and very God of very God for He said, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30).
Jesus is the Bread of Life
And Jesus said unto them, I AM the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst (John 6:35).
Jesus is the Light of the World
Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I AM the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).
Jesus is the Gate
I AM the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9).
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
I AM the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep (John 10:11).
Jesus is the Resurrection and Life
Jesus said unto her, I AM the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).
Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life
Jesus saith unto him, I AM the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).
Jesus is the True Vine
I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman (John 15:1).
While God described Himself in covenantal terms to Moses, and Jesus described Himself in relational terms to the world, there were other occasions when God the Father and God the Son simply declared themselves as “I AM” to emphasize the totality of divinity.
The authority of Jesus is found in His own divine essence. “I AM,” says Jesus, and the Church sings a son of praise.
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!”
~Edward Perronet
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 