by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2026
(Oct. 28, 2026) — To most of the world, Jesus was a good teacher and nothing more.
Islam, the second largest monotheistic religion and Christianity’s chief rival, honors Christ as a teacher and prophet, but asserts that Jesus neither claimed to be divine nor did His disciples believe it.
Up to 70% of evangelical Christians subscribe to this corrosive teaching. For this reason, this series is reviewing the significance and necessity of believing that Jesus is God. In the first two articles, we have seen how Jesus taught that believing in Him is tantamount to believing in God and that He is due equal honor with God.
Now, we come to Jesus assuming for Himself God’s greatest demand on mankind: Love Him wholeheartedly.
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This claim comes in John 8, where Jesus is conversing with Jews who have begun to believe in Him. The dialog quickly becomes a dispute about ancestry when Jesus states, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
They retort, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone” (8:33).
Their claim about never being in bondage is wrong, but that is not what Jesus refutes. He goes after their lineage. “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. You do the deeds of your father” (8:39, 41).
They resent Jesus’ insinuation and escalate their pedigree. “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God” (8:41).
Now, Jesus asserts His claim. “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God” (8:42).
This disturbed them because He challenged their theology. These Jews grew up drilled in the Shema:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. —Deuteronomy 6:4–5.
Jesus declared the God of the Shema sent Him. He called their God—the God of Abraham—His Father. He charged them with dishonor for not loving Him as they supposedly loved the Lord their God.
“Who do You make Yourself out to be?” they demanded (8:53).
“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (8:58).
There it was: blasphemy. I AM had sent Moses to Pharaoh. Jesus took on Himself the sacred name of Yahweh. This wasn’t the first time. Throughout John’s Gospel He has said:
I AM the bread of life.
I AM the light of the world.
I AM the door.
I AM the good shepherd.
I AM the resurrection and the life.
I AM the way, the truth, and the life.
I AM the true vine.
They understood Jesus’ meaning: Yahweh is the I AM, and Jesus said, “I AM.” This was blasphemy.
Taking up stones to kill Him, they condemned themselves.
This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:19-20).
Read the rest here.
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