Scripture
John 8:58
Jesus speaks of his existence before Abraham in language that presses beyond ordinary prophetic status.
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Before Abraham
The answer turns on Jesus’ own claim, not on later Christian exaggeration. He locates himself before Abraham and uses a present-tense claim that his opponents understood as blasphemous.
Where this passage comes up
- The New World Translation restores the truthJudged by its own standard of following the text, the New World Translation bends the verses about Jesus' identity in one direction, while much of it reads fairly.
- Jesus is GodThe New Testament places Jesus inside the identity of Israel's one God, the Creator, while still distinguishing him from the Father.
- Liar, lunatic, or LordJesus taught about himself as well as how to live. If he made those claims, 'only a good teacher' does not fit, and the question is whether they are false, invented, or true.