A Portrait of Christ

The Gospel of John is focused on giving us a clear image of Jesus, His character, and His nature. There are nine metaphors (figures of speech or illustrations) in John used to describe Jesus.

  1. I AM the Bread of Life/Living Bread—John 6:35, 48, 51.
  2. I AM the Light of the World—John 8:12; 9:5.
  3. Before Abraham was, I AM—John 8:58.
  4. I AM the Door—John 10:7, 9.
  5. I AM the Good Shepherd—John 10:11, 14.
  6. I AM the Resurrection and the Life—John 11:25.
  7. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life—John 14:6.
  8. I AM the True Vine—John 15:1, 5.
  9. I AM He—John 18:5-6.

Names of the Lord

  • Jehovah (Yahweh -Hebrew) is the personal name of God in the Scriptures–the living, self-existent, unchanging, eternal, creator and Lord of all things.
  • Jesus means ‘Savior.’
  • Emmanuel means ‘God with us.’
  • Messiah is from the Hebrew meaning ‘anointed.’
  • Christ is a Greek word meaning ‘the anointed one.’ Synonymous with Messiah.
  • Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It represents Jesus as ‘the beginning and the end, the first and the last.’