Jesus…Jehovah…I Am Who I Am

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14, NIV)

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58, NIV)

Jesus, the name above all names, is Jehovah incarnate. 

Before He was born, an angel told Joseph to name Him Jesus (Matthew 1:21), the name the Apostle Paul tells us is “above every other name.” (Philippians 2:9) 

Jesus’ name itself proclaims who and what He is—“Jehovah, our Salvation” (Herbert Lockyear, All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible). The first syllable “Je” represents “Jeho” or Jah”—short for “Jehovah.” The other syllable “sus” literally means “help.” 

Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua, which is a contraction of Jehoshua—meaning Jehovah our Savior. Of all God’s names, Jehovah represents our ever-revealing God, who revealed Himself to His people many times in many ways. There are many compound variations for His name Jehovah that indicate the ways in which He helped His people in the Old Testament, and the ways in which He will relate to us today. He is Jehovah: our Peace (Judges 6:24), our Provider (Genesis 22:14), our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1), and more. 

God’s greatest revelation of Himself is through His incarnate Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Jehovah of the Old Testament (wherever we see “LORD”) and Jesus (Jehovah our Savior) of the New.

When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14), He identified Himself as Jehovah, “I Am that I Am,” a statement of His self-existence. He is beyond time; at every moment of our lives, He is present—always “I Am,” never “I Was” or “I Will Be.” Jesus identified Himself as the timeless “I am” when He said, “before Abraham was born, I am.” 

There are many “I Am” names of Jesus—including the bread of life (John 6:35); the light of the world (John 9:5); the gate through which we are saved (John 10:9); the good shepherd (John 10:11); the resurrection and the life (John 11:35); the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6); the true vine (John 15:1); the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:18); the First and the Last (Revelation 1:17; 22:13); the Living One (Revelation 1:18); the bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). 


Every title, every name of God, every attribute is revealed in Scripture to help us understand who God is and who He desires to be in our lives. We trust in His names because they reveal and represent Him—and He is trustworthy.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7, NIV)