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John – Punctuation Saves Lives
Circulating the internet is the following: “’Let’s eat, Grandma.’ ‘Let’s eat Grandma.’ Punctuation saves lives.”
Ah, the power of a comma! While the most abused of all punctuation, apparently it has the power to save lives. Here’s a Biblical example of such grammatical chicanery. Change the punctuation and we have a command to steal:
Ephesians 4:28 – He who steals must steal. No longer but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good.
Punctuation is a modern invention designed for clarification. Changing punctuation can be fun, an irritant to English teachers, or completely change the meaning. The seven “I AM’s” of Jesus in the book of John are seven times where punctuation is not needed and adding it does not change the meaning. But adding it does add a dimension of truth in English.
But first a little background. In the Tanakh, God reveals Himself to Moses as “I AM” (Ex.3:14). Such a name and Yahweh became sacred within Judaism. In the Testament given to Christians, Jesus both outright and out loud calls Himself by this most holy name:
John 8:58 (HCSB) Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.”
This is not Jesus being grammatically incorrect. This is Jesus saying, “I AM.” This led to His almost being stoned, meaning that the Jews understood perfectly what Jesus claimed. Several more examples could be given but my personal favorite is often lost on most because of translations:
John 13:19 (HCSB) “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.
There are two signs of divinity within this verse. The first is “I am telling you now before it happens” and the second is last two words. When Jesus claims the ability to foretell, He is claiming knowledge only a true God possesses (Isa.46:9-10). Never does Jesus say, “Thus saith the Lord.” He claims to say, tell and foretell. This claim of omniscience should have been understood by His Jewish friends. The second sign is not ability, but name. Your version probably has “He” as the last word, but that is not in the Greek. Few versions actually translate accurately here, but here are three that do:
- EMTV – From now on I tell you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe that I AM. (English Majority Text)
- GNB – I tell you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, you will believe that ‘I Am Who I Am.’ (Good News Bible)
- LITV – From this time I tell you before it happens, that when it happens you may believe that I AM. (Literal Translation of the Bible)
Jesus is, has been, and always will be, “I AM.” Now let’s take this claim and change the punctuation and show that the meaning does not change, but a nuance of truth is added.
- John 6:35 – “I am the bread of life” – “I AM, the Bread of Life”
- John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world” – “I AM, the Light of the World”
- John 10:9 – “I am the door” – “I AM, the Door”
- John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd” – “I AM, the Good Shepherd”
- John 11:25 – “I am the resurrection and the life” – “I AM, the Resurrection and the Life”
- John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life” – “I AM, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life”
- John 15:1 – “I am the true vine” – “I AM, the True Vine”
Jesus, the I AM, is the Bread, Light, Door, Good Shepherd, Resurrection, Life, Way, Truth, Life, and the True Vine. Jesus is all these empowering descriptions because Jesus is “I AM.” “I AM” saves lives.
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