Jesus said to the religious leaders:

51 "Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”

52 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”

54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. 55 You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”

57 The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

58 Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

59 Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.

John 8:51-59 - World English Bible

In these verses from John, Jesus would follow the logic he laid out in his dialogue with the leaders. In 8:31-42, he insinuated that his word was greater than the Law. Now he would give the reason for his implication; not only did he come from the Father, he was I AM. As he spoke the word of the Father, his mere utterance was life giving; the disciple who kept his word would never taste death.

The statement of Jesus enraged the leaders. He was crazy (he had a demon), since the great men of the faith, Abraham and the prophets, had died. Good Jews could visit their tombs. So, how could this Jesus make such an outrageous claim?

Jesus shifted the focus back to the Father. He didn't come to pump up his reputation; he came to do the will of God. Any glory he received came from the divine. Indeed, he existed before Abraham (and the prophets) because the source of his being was not temporal (therefore subject to death) but eternal. He was I AM.

When you look upon an icon of the Lord, do you see God enfleshed?