John 18:4-5a says, “ Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to them, ‘Whom are you seeking?’ They answered him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am.'” Judas and the armed soldiers arrived in the garden where Jesus prayed and the disciples slept, now awake. More clued in than anyone there, he “went forward” and approached them. He didn’t wait, hide or run. John mentioned this earlier (v. 1), so twice makes a pattern. He even begins the conversation questioning their purpose. In response to that, he says, “I am,” claiming to be the I AM of Exodus 3:14. Everyone in the garden, all Jews, knew this. Jesus drew his line in the sand: you’re arresting deity! This same Jesus is in us. He wants outsiders to see his deity is us lived out. Let’s do that today.