Quote:
John 8:57 -- Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Of course, the Watchtower tries to change the meaning of Jesus' words by having him say, "Before Abraham came into existence I have been." I suppose this is supposed to mean that he was around as the Archangel Michael back then or something. (The NWT translates "ego eimi" as "I am" everywhere it occurs except in this verse.)
Also attached to this verse is a contradiction "Was Jesus God?", which again the JWs don't have.
Trinitarians claim that Joun 8:58 is a reflection "I am" in Ex. 3:14, but this claim does not hold water. If Jesus is speaking in Hebrew/Aramaic, then the Hebrew version of Ex. 3:14 is actually in causative mode, and better translates "I will be" or "I will cause to be". If Jesus is speaking in Greek, than all the existing Greek copies of Ex. 3:14 read "I am the One", not just "I am". Either way, in response to a question about the age of Jesus, it's not reasonable to match John 8:58 to Ex. 3:14.
-----------------------------
"Come now, and let us reason together"
"Come now, and let us reason together"
