This is the question of the ages. The answer to this question will determine a person's eternal destiny. Some were astute enough to see beyond the miracles and statements that Jesus said and did, to who He really was. Some, however, saw the miracles and heard His words, but never really understood who He was.

• Some people believed He was a great teacher, but He was much more than that.
• Some people believed He was a great wise man, but He was much more than that.
• Some people believed He was a great miracle worker, but He was much more than that.
• Some people believed He was a great prophet, but He was much more than that.
• Some people believed He was a great king, but He was much more than that.
• He was more than any person they'd ever encounters.
• HE IS THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.

As unbelievable as it appears, JESUS WAS AND IS GOD ALMIGHTY! It is unbelievable to us because it goes against everything this world does. It takes a revelation from God for us to believe it. Those who believe have eternal life. Those who do not believe are under the judgment of God.

The understanding of JESUS' IDENTITY is the most important thing in the world! YOUR ENTIRE LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.

In the course of His teachings, Jesus will claim to have equal power to God (John 5:36), equal judgment to God (John 8:16), and equal authority with God (John 7:16–18). He will say He has been sent by God (John 8:18) and approved of by God (John 6:27). Jesus professes to be the one and only way to know spiritual truth (John 8:12), and that those who reject Him do not know God (John 8:47), and will die in their sins as a result (John 8:24). Earlier, Christ pointed out His miracles (John 5:36), the evidence of Old Testament Scriptures (John 5:39–40), and the testimony of other people to support His status (John 5:33). And yet, out of stubbornness and disobedience (John 8:43), the Pharisees claim to not know who Jesus is. www.bibleref.com/John/8/John-8-25.html

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NOTE: A person's actions reveal whether they really believe who Jesus is. No one who truly believes continues to sin or seek the things of this world.

Like many, I had trouble with this passage. After wrestling with it, I finally came to the conclusion that the words translated "the beginning" (τὴν ἀρχὴν) were the biggest problem.

Most English versions translate this verse along these lines:

"What I've been saying to you [from] THE BEGINNING."

John's Greek is simple and normally follows Hebrew word order, which is similar to English. The words "the beginning" are at the very beginning of the Greek text of this verse. Since there is no support for moving them to the end of the verse, they should also be the first words of the English translation (even though they are in the wrong case).

This fits the context better. All throughout the book of John, Jesus has been claiming to have attributes that only belong to God:

• He has the authority to forgive sins;
• He is the light of the world;
• He is the bread of life
• He is the fountain of living water.

Following this same pattern, Jesus is claiming to be the First. This is another attribute of God. He alone is the First. Jesus repeats this claim in the book of Revelation 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” & Rev. 2:8 “These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.”

Being the First and Last is one of the attributes of God (Isaiah 44:6). By claiming to be the First, Jesus is as clearly claiming to be God, following the same pattern we see throughout the book of John.

Based on this support, I translated this verse as follows:

Who are you?
Jesus answered, The Beginning [the First or Head], which is what I've been saying to you.

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NOTE: The translation of this verse in this way is not without its problems. "The Beginning" is in the accusative case, while it should be in the nominative case. Either way you try to translate it, there is a problem. This translation is more natural and fits the context better.
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The Greek in this verse puzzles even seasoned Greek scholars. Listen to what is said about this verse: ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ σὺ τίς εἶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅ τι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν

Almost every word of this answer is in the Greek capable of more than one meaning, and the true interpretation of the whole sentence cannot be decided with certainty. To discuss it with any fulness would be to encumber the page with details which would be unintelligible to the general reader;

Most commentators think that Jesus is saying something like this:

They ask the question, but in such a perverse frame of mind, that they have no real intention to believe on Him, when He tells them.

They appear to be referring to Jesus' statement in verse 24 in which He told them "Unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins." It sounded to them that Jesus may have been referring to Himself as "I Am". This would mean that He claimed to be God. Or was Jesus saying something else? By asking "Who are You?" they appear to be probing to see if Jesus would be more specific, so that they could accuse Him of blasphemy or some sin.

But even if Jesus stated openly that He was God, it seems unlikely that any of them would believe Him. Most of the commentaries I read think that the way they posed the question implies they had no intention of believing Him, that they only wanted Jesus to clarify His statement so that they would have grounds to accuse Him.

QUESTION: The way this question is made seems odd to me. They STATED a question. But in English, we would ASK a question. None of the commentaries I examined dealt with this. However, it appears to be a common structure in Greek. I found a number of places in which this structure is used. In most of them, the speakers appear to have doubted whether the statement was true or, on the other hand, they believed that the statement was universally known to be true:

Luke 4:22 NASB95 - 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

John 6:42 NASB95 - 42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down out of heaven'?"

John 7:31 NASB95 - 31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, "When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?"

John 9:10 NASB95 - 10 So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"