Before Abraham Was, I Am

The patriarch Abraham met Jesus face-to-face in Abraham's times. Jesus paid Abraham a number of visits, revealing himself to Abraham as Yahweh. But what makes us so confident that it was Jesus who addressed Abraham? Isn't Yahweh the name of God?

We know that it was Jesus because he told us. Jesus told us that Abraham saw his day!

‘Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad.’

So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!’ (John 8:56-58; NASB)

Jesus is so willing for his appearance to Abraham to be public knowledge that he even told his enemies. He affirmed something that offended them: that the I Am who appeared to Abraham was him! Jesus told the Pharisees that he saw Abraham, Abraham saw him, and that he existed before Abraham.

These three statements stopped being mysteries 2000 years ago when Jesus explained them. Jesus did not keep these truths from anybody—and he wouldn’t keep them a secret from any of his followers today either—would he? If you’re a Christian, you should know about Jesus' encounters with Abraham. Let’s look at four of them and see how they apply to our own lives.

Encounter #1: A Promise to Inherit the Land / First Altar

The first time Abraham saw the preincarnate Lord Jesus face-to-face, Jesus appeared to Abraham in Canaan, in the town of Shechem. The ruins of that city exist today. Abraham had just arrived from his homeland, Ur.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him (Genesis 12:6-8).

Did you notice that the passage emphasizes that 'Yahweh appeared to Abram'? It even calls Yahweh the one 'who had appeared to' Abraham. Emphasis is on the word appear because the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that it was not the One God, the Father, speaking to Abraham. No one has ever seen God.

So, Abraham’s first altar was dedicated to Jesus! Jesus was the God who appeared to Abram that fateful day. Later, Jesus would present himself to Moses at the Burning Bush as the One who was ‘the God of your ancestors… the God of Abraham’ (Exodus 3:15). Indeed, Abraham's God was Jesus.

Abram continued to worship our Lord Jesus as his God. Soon he would be joined in worship by Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High, who used the same elements we use today as believers in Jesus Christ: bread and wine. Melchizedek's ministry of bread and wine can’t be a coincidence! These men had the same faith we do.

Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18).

Encounter #2: Counting the Stars / Special Sacrifice

The second time Jesus appeared to Abraham was right after Abraham spoke with God in a vision (Genesis 15:1-4). After the vision, Jesus took Abraham outside and invited him to look upwards and count the stars. Again, we know that it was Jesus because nobody stands next to the One God and converses with him.

He [Yahweh] took him [Abraham] outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’

Abram believed Yahweh, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

He also said to him, ‘I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’

But Abram said, ‘Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?’

So Yahweh said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’

Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other (Genesis 15:5-10).

Abraham brought a very special sacrifice to the One with whom he was speaking. Abraham brought a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove, and a pigeon to the One who said ‘Bring me [these]…’ Do you get it? This could not have been the One God. Abraham was speaking with him and standing before him, presenting sacrifices before him.

Encounter #3: Name Changes / Covenant of Circumcision

In the following encounter, Yahweh changed both Abram and Sarai’s names, giving them a new identity, and he established the covenant of circumcision.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.’

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations…

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised…

God also said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her…

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’

‘…my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him (Genesis 17:1-6, 10, 15-16, 17, 21-22).

Remarkable are the words ‘When he had finished speaking… God went up from him.’ If God went up from Abraham, it’s because they were together in the same place and God departed from that place after the conversation ended. Nobody stands side-by-side with the Living God, the One True God. It was Jesus speaking to Abraham again.

We wonder whether they were sitting or standing. Since Abraham fell facedown twice, his body was in a standing position. That's the only position he could have been in prior to the two prostrations. Abraham was standing in the presence of his God, the preincarnate Christ.

Refresher: No Man Has Seen God

The passage we're reading begins with the words ‘Yahweh appeared to him’ so there is no doubt that the One who was speaking with Abraham was seen by Abraham. He went by the name God Almighty but he was not the One God and Father. Again, it only could have been the preincarnate Christ for no man has seen God. We have studied this topic in other lessons, but we hope that the following 14 Bible passages might be helpful to refresh your awareness of this truth.

No one may see me and live (Exodus 33:20).

… but my face shall not be seen (Exodus 33:23).

Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice… So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire… (Deuteronomy 4:12, 15).

If he were to pass by me, I would not see him. Were he to move past me, I would not perceive him (Job 9:11; NASB).

… if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him (Job 23:8-9).

The Son is the image of the Invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the Only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever… who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16).

[God is called] …him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27).

No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12).

… whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen (1 John 4:20).

… pray to your Father, who is unseen… (Matthew 6:6)

No one has ever seen God… (John 1:18)

… You have never heard his [the Father’s] voice nor seen his form (John 5:37).

No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father (John 6:46).

Encounter #4: Hospitality to Strangers

Let’s look at how one more Jesus-Abraham encounter took place. It’s the one we contemplated at the start of this post, the one Jesus referred to when he said:

Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day, and he saw it and was glad (John 8:56; NASB).

Jesus appeared as a man, used the name Yahweh, and visited Abraham accompanied by two angels who were also disguised as men. Abraham didn’t only offer the visitors a great meal, he had a lengthy face-to-face dialogue with Jesus. Here's what part of the encounter looked like:

Yahweh appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby… Then one of them [it was Jesus] said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him… So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my lord [Abraham] is old, will I now have this pleasure?’

Then Yahweh said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, “Will I really have a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too hard for Yahweh [God]? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, ‘I did not laugh.’ But he said, ‘Yes, you did laugh’ (Genesis 18:1-2, 10, 12-15).

Jesus Gets Serious

Jesus can get pretty serious with people when he wants to, especially when they doubt what Yahweh God can do. Jesus is quick to affirm that nothing is too hard for God. Sounds a lot like the Jesus we know from the New Testament, doesn’t it? Here are two quotes from Jesus from the New Testament.

… with God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37; NKJV).

… with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

So, Jesus corrected the woman who disbelieved, Sarah. But Jesus also affirmed the man who believed, Abraham. Jesus was just as dedicated to fulfilling his word to Abraham as he was with correcting Sarah.

Abraham had already rejoiced that he would see the day when his God, the preincarnate Christ, would reveal himself more fully. That day, the day when Abraham received the Lord Jesus with all the hospitality he could muster, was "the day of Jesus." It's what Jesus meant when he said that Abraham saw his day.

Do you recall how Abraham had already rejoiced thinking of the possibility that such a day would come?

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?’ (Genesis 17:17)

And the day came. Abraham did all he could to express his gladness that day. And what made him glad? That the mysterious visitor assured him that Abraham would have a child. Through that child, Isaac (whose name means laughter), Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea.

Abraham demonstrated his faith through his hospitality. He demonstrated his faith that his descendants would certainly inherit the land--a man who was almost 100 years old, who had never had a child, and whose 90-year-old wife had been sterile her entire life. In spite of all that, Abraham's faith was firm. His hospitality demonstrated his faith.

Receive Christ Through His Servants

In reference to this passage, the apostle says ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this, some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2; NASB).

Abraham indeed entertained two angels, and he did it well. But he did something much greater. He received the preincarnate Christ, the Word, into his home.

Jesus will say ‘I was a stranger and you invited me in…’ to a group of very fortunate people on the judgment day (Matthew 25:35). Will you be one of them? Do people really minister to Jesus unawares? Most certainly!

If it's true, then when has Jesus presented himself to you? Answer: When someone he sent came to your life.

Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me… (John 13:20)

Receive Rewards

Are you aware of your responsibility to treat those who come to you in Christ’s name as if they were Christ himself? Abraham was. He rejoiced to see Christ’s day, and was glad in it.

Abraham only received great blessings into his life because he received Christ into his home. Have you done that already? If not, then why not?

Jesus says to the preachers he sends out:

Anyone who receives you receives me… (Matthew 10:40; NASB; ESV)

And this is what Jesus says to you if you are among those who open their doors to receive those people he sends:

Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward (Matthew 10:41-42).

Abraham got his reward. Will you get yours? It depends on how you deal with the encounters Jesus has planned for you. He has already sent people to you. Have you received them? Have you received Christ?