I am a student of Buddhism and, naturally, have a 'mystical' or 'gnostic' bent. I have read some unconventional views on the internet about the renowned words attributed to Jesus:
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.
I have read the Bible in the past & obviously noticed the words: "I AM" in both the Old & New Testaments. Also, in the non-Biblical Gospel of Thomas, are the words:
Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone and you will find me there."
The unconventional view I mentioned refer to the Aramaic language & assert the words for "I am" are 'ena ena' and then assert these words have a mystical Biblical meaning that does not refer to the personal self of Jesus but to the totality or unity of God, a meaning related to the use of "I AM" in the Old Testament. I understand the Gospel of John was originally written in Greek rather than in Aramaic however these unconventional authors assert Jesus would have naturally spoken Aramaic.
My question is: do the assertions of these unconventional authors have any substance or merit? Or are the words "I am" and "but through me" just straightforward personal pronouns & not related to the "I AM" of the Old Testament?