The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 18:4-6, “Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him,

went forth, and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ 5 They answered Him, ‘Jesus

the Nazarene.’ He said to them, ‘I am.’ And Judas also who was betraying Him,

was standing with them. 6 When therefore He said to them, ‘I am,’ they drew back,

and fell to the ground.”

As simple as these verses first appear, they are powerfully instructive. Jesus and

His disciples (possibly only Peter, James and John) were with Him in the Garden of

Gethsemane. This is where He prayed while they slept. Jesus’ prayer was that

He might be delivered from having to go to the Cross. It was not His fear of death;

rather, it was being made sin that He abhorred. Still, there was no other way. He

knew all things that were coming upon Him. Nothing ever caught Him by surprise.

But his adversaries were surprised when He said, “I AM.” Notice that the He is

italicized, meaning that it was not in the original language. In Exodus 3:14, the

LORD said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM.” Translated, it says, “I am God; and I’m

all you need in any given situation.”

Commentator Adam Clarke writes, “Our Lord chose to give them this proof of His

infinite power, that they might know that their power could not prevail against Him

if He chose to exert His might, seeing that the very breath of His mouth confounded,

drove back, and struck them down to the earth. Thus, by the blast of God they might

have perished, and by the breath of his nostrils they might have been consumed.”

Job 4:9 says, “By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they

come to an end.”

The power of almighty God is far, far beyond our comprehension! The Scripture

does not say, but it is probable that Judas Iscariot (the traitor), who was “standing

with them,” fell to the ground also. We will do well always to notice who is standing

with whom in any given situation. Yet, our dependency lies with Him, who is “all

that (we) need in any given situation.”

Our love and prayers are with you always,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”