In the gospel of John, Jesus said to his critics:
“Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
(John 8:58, NASB).
To understand what Jesus meant, we need to look at something Jesus said earlier in the book.
The Samaritan woman said to Jesus: “I know that Messiah is coming…” (John 4:25, NASB).
Jesus replied to her: “I am he…” (John 4:26, NASB).
In the Greek, the phrase translated here as “I am he” is “ego emi.”
This is the same phrase that is used in the Bible whenever anyone wants to identify themselves with something or someone.
For example, the formerly blind man indicated he was the one healed by Jesus by saying “I am the one” [“ego emi”] (John 9:9, NASB).
So, in and of itself, there is nothing in the phrase “ego emi” that identifies Jesus as God.
What did Jesus mean, then, when he said that
“before Abraham was born, I am [ego emi]?”
He meant that before Abraham was born,
he was already the Messiah in God’s plan and foreknowledge.
God even shared the good news of the Messiah with Abraham, promising him that one of his descendants would cause blessing for all nations.
And so,
“…Abraham was overjoyed that he would see [Jesus\’] day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” (John 8:56, NASB).
Jesus was not claiming to be deity, but rather that he is the Messiah, the one foreknown by God in His wise plan, the plan revealed to Abraham.