John 8:58

“Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, etc.] Whether it will be believed or not, it is certainly fact: before Abraham was, I am; which is to be understood, not of his being in the purpose and decree of God, foreordained to sufferings, and to glory; for so all the elect of God may be said to be before Abraham, being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world: or that Christ was man, before Abraham became the father of many nations; that is, before the calling of the Gentiles; for nothing is said in the text about his being the father of many nations; it is a bold and impudent addition to it: and besides, Abraham was made the father of many nations, as Ishmaelites,…”

“Before Abraham was, I am--The words rendered "was" and "am" are quite different. The one clause means, "Abraham was brought into being"; the other, "I exist." The statement therefore is not that Christ came into existence before Abraham did (as Arians affirm is the meaning), but that He never came into being at all, but existed before Abraham had a being; in other words, existed before creation, or eternally (as Joh 1:1). In that sense the Jews plainly understood Him, since "then took they up stones to cast at Him," just as they had before done when they saw that He made Himself equal with God (Joh 5:18). hid himself--(See on Luk 4:30). Next: John Chapter 9”

“Verily, verily - This is an expression used only in John. It is a strong affirmation denoting particularly the great importance of what was about to be affirmed. See the notes at John 3:5. Before Abraham was - Before Abraham lived. I am - The expression I am, though in the present tense, is clearly designed to refer to a past time. Thus, in Psalms 90:2, “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” Applied to God, it denotes continued existence without respect to time, so far as he is concerned. We divide time into the past, the present, and the future. The expression, applied to God, denotes that he does not measure his existence in this manner, but that the word by which we express the…”

“Before Abraham was I AM - Even from everlasting to everlasting. This is a direct answer to the objection of the Jews, and shows how much greater he was than Abraham. John 8:59”

“8:58 before Abraham was even born, I Am! Jesus’ life spans the past from before creation (1:1-2) and sweeps beyond the present into eternity. • I Am: This title is reminiscent of God’s name given on Mount Sinai (Exod 3:14; cp. John 4:26; Isa 43:11-13; 48:12).”

“Verily: Joh 8:34, Joh 8:51 Before: Joh 1:1, Joh 1:2, Joh 17:5, Joh 17:24; Pro 8:22-30; Isa 9:6; Mic 5:2; Col 1:17; Heb 1:10-12; Heb 13:8; Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17, Rev 1:18, Rev 2:8 I am: That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him. The ancient Jews not only believed that the Messiah was superior to and Lord of all the patriarchs, and even of angels, but…”