“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.”
(Jn 8:21-30)

This passage recalls the passage where Moses, after receiving the mission to go to Pharaoh, asks the Lord, “And whom shall I say has sent me?” And the Lord answers, “Tell them that I AM has sent me.” The claim that the gospel is making is that Jesus, lifted up on the Cross, is I AM, that Jesus Crucified is God.