The question of who Jesus really is has been debated for thousands of years. Is He a good teacher? A moral example? A prophet? Or is He actually who He claimed to be?

In John 10, Jesus leaves very little room for confusion. His words are unmistakable, and the response from the religious leaders reveals something about the difference between being religious and actually believing in Jesus.

Jesus Has Made Himself Clear

Our passage begins during the Festival of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah. This celebration commemorated the cleansing and rededication of the temple in 164 BC after it had been defiled. Hanukkah was all about the temple being renewed for its rightful ministry.

And here stands Jesus, at the temple, during a celebration of the temple's dedication.

The symbolism is hard to miss. Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus presents Himself as the true temple, the place where God dwells with humanity. The physical temple was pointing forward to something greater. Jesus would use His own blood to make a way for us to be right with God.

It is in this setting that the religious leaders confront Him.

"How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." (John 10:24, NIV)

But Jesus had already told them. Over and over again.

He had called Himself the bread of life (John 6), the light of the world (John 8), and the good shepherd (John 10). He had declared, "Before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58). And His works supported His words. He turned water into wine, healed the sick, multiplied bread and fish, walked on water, and gave sight to a man born blind.

Jesus had told them. He had shown them. Yet they still refused to believe.

And then Jesus makes His boldest statement yet.

"I and the Father are one." (John 10:30, NIV)

Jesus isn't simply claiming to be similar to God or to have a special relationship with Him. He is claiming to be God.

The religious leaders understood exactly what He was saying. They picked up stones to kill Him for blasphemy.

When someone claims to be God, there are only a few logical conclusions. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. This is the argument that C.S. Lewis famously popularized.

Consider the life of Jesus. His honesty, His kindness, His unmatched ethic, and His grace even under the pressure of crucifixion. He demonstrated none of the characteristics we would expect from a pathological liar or someone disconnected from reality.

So what do we do with His claim?

Jesus cannot simply be reduced to a good moral teacher. His claims demand a response.

There Are Many Competitors, but Only One Lord

When Jesus is accused of blasphemy, He responds by quoting Psalm 82, where Scripture uses the word "gods." It's a complicated passage, particularly because the Hebrew word elohim can be used in different contexts to describe God, spiritual beings, or those exercising authority.

But Jesus brings the conversation back to His identity and His works.

"Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works." (John 10:37–38, NIV)

Jesus is calling them to consider the evidence standing right in front of them.

And His words raise a question that is just as relevant today: What are the gods of our age?

There are plenty of competitors to Jesus. Materialism, spiritual beliefs, competing worldviews, and the temptation to live as though we are accountable to no one but ourselves. Every generation has its own ideas about what deserves our trust, allegiance, and worship.

But Jesus makes a claim that stands above them all. He is one with the Father. He is Lord over every competing authority.

Jesus came to free us from the things that steal, kill, and destroy. He came to bring life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

The question is whether we believe Him enough to follow Him.

It's possible to acknowledge that Jesus existed, admire His teachings, and even agree with much of what He said while still refusing to surrender our lives to Him.

And that brings us to the heart of this passage.

Believing in Jesus Means Bringing Our Lives Into Alignment With Him

Why is believing in Jesus so important? Why not simply be a moral person?

Make no mistake, the Pharisees were moral people. They were religious. They knew the Scriptures, worshiped God, and probably made great neighbors. But they rejected Jesus as God.

And that's the danger. You can be very religious and still miss Jesus.

The word that helps explain what is missing is alignment.

Think about getting a grocery cart with a bad wheel. It keeps going "thunk-a, thunk-a, thunk-a" down every aisle. Something is out of alignment, and the whole cart feels it.

Our spiritual lives can work the same way.

Alignment with God begins when we come to the place where we say, "OK, I believe."

I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You are right about everything. I am willing to bring my life into alignment with Yours.

My money, Yours. My time, Yours. My heart, Yours. My intellect, Yours.

I will live life Your way over my way.

The word for this is Lordship. Jesus is the boss.

And that is a hard decision for human beings to make because everything in us wants to say, "I am the boss." Whether we say it out loud or not, most of us secretly believe we are the best person to be in charge of our own lives.

But following Jesus means surrendering that position to Him.

At the end of John 10, we see two very different responses to Jesus. In Jerusalem, the educated, religious, moral leaders refuse to believe. But when Jesus returns to the area across the Jordan River, ordinary people come to Him.

"And in that place many believed in Jesus." (John 10:42, NIV)

The difference wasn't education, religious activity, or morality. It was belief.

The people by the Jordan understood that they needed Jesus to connect them to God and forgive their sins. The Pharisees were religious and moral, but they didn't believe they needed anything.

And that may be the most dangerous place to find yourself.

It's easy to think, "I'm a pretty good person. I go to church. I do the right things. I'm fine how I am."

But Jesus didn't come simply to make moral people a little more moral. He came to save us, forgive us, and bring our lives into alignment with Him.

Jesus can clean up the mess of your life. He's good at that. But we first have to acknowledge that we need Him.

So the question isn't simply whether you believe Jesus is God. It's whether you've allowed that belief to change who is in charge.

Who is in charge? Who is Lord? Where will you align?

Are you more like the Pharisees, confident in your own morality and convinced you're doing just fine? Or are you more like the people by the Jordan, willing to throw yourself into belief in Jesus and follow His ways?

Maybe it's time to give up self-centered morality and center everything on Jesus. Let Him rule your mind, your priorities, your family, and every part of your life.

Message recap adapted from the October 25, 2026, message by Minister Mark Ashton.

Message Notes

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