saying, “I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.” – Hebrews 2:12 NASB

The writer points back to Psalm 22.

Psalm 22 prophesies in detail about Jesus’ suffering on the cross. It’s an amazing passage in so many ways. I wonder, when I read it if David saw this as a vision since his depiction of the crucifixion includes so many details in such vivid language.

David’s telling of Christ passion starts with words Jesus quoted on the cross, or is it David whose doing the quoting? (hmmm)

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? – Psalm 22:1

After David finishes with this gruesome description of the cross, he comes to our quote.

I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly, I will praise You. – Psalm 22:22

David is writing roughly a millennium before the incarnation. Through this psalm, he cries out to God. He’s feeling God-forsaken and persecuted. Yet he resolves to declare the Name of the Lord to those with whom He worships.

At the same time, our writer puts these words in the mouth of Jesus, 1,000 years later. We have no record of Jesus actually saying this in the pages of the gospel writers, but this writer takes it as a quote from Jesus’ own mouth.

He did indeed declare the name of the Lord to those of His congregation. He, like His Father from the burning bush, repeatedly used the phrase, “I AM.” This infuriated the Jews. They saw blasphemy in it. It doesn’t strike us that way for a number of reasons. We are used to the idea that Jesus is God, which tones down the blasphemy element. We also live in a self-centered generation, where many see themselves as God and the world spinning around them anyway. So it’s not so shocking to hear someone say “I am.”

But when Jesus uses this “I AM” form, He proclaims the name of the Lord over His hearers in a tangible way. Much like the redemptive names of God give us clarity on the Father’s character and identity so to do the I AMs of Jesus,

John recorded seven times in Jesus’ ministry where He used this form with an element of His nature. There is an eighth that is not usually counted. He spoke with the woman at the well in John 4, but this first time it stands alone and carries no comparison. It is like what the Father left Moses with at the burning bush. There is a silent ellipsis at the end of it. “I AM…” I mention it because it amazes me. Jesus, for the first time, announces to the world that He is the “I AM” through a woman of a despised race. Moved by Him, she evangelized her whole city. WOW. Jesus loves to break down walls.

The seven “I AM” statements of Jesus:

Rather than sending messengers to tell people about the character and nature of God, like the Father did in under the Old Covenant, God introduced Himself to us in person to usher in this new contract.

As Jesus came and lived among us, He was full of praise for the Father and by His every action declared the nature and character of God.

God is so good! Hallelujah. This whole thing makes me happy.

I pray you’ll come back again.

Shine around the people God has given you.

Ben.

If you need to catch up on our exploration of the book of Hebrews, you can do it here.