Sinless Jesus

QUESTION: Sinless Jesus - Could He live His whole life without sin?

ANSWER:

Is a sinless Jesus possible? Yes, Jesus not only could, but did live his whole life without sin. 1 Peter 2:22 says, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 1 John 3:5 says, ". . . And in him is no sin." Then in John chapter 8 Jesus said of himself, "Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. . ."

A sinless Jesus is possible because He is the Son of God. The sinless state of Jesus proved that He was from God. In Isaiah 53:9 we read a prophetic statement that Jesus, the Messiah and Christ would live a life without sin. "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth."

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, we are told that heaven opened and a voice from heaven said, "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22). In John 8:42, Jesus said, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own, but He sent me."

Jesus made more statements about Himself in John 10 referring to His godliness: "What about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:36-38) When Jesus died, one of the criminals that was hung with Him recognized both His godliness and his sinlessness when he rebuked the other criminal and said, "'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise'" (Luke 23:40-43).

The sinless Jesus communed with God in prayer. Throughout all four gospels, we repeatedly read that Jesus went off to the hills or solitary places to pray (Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, John 17). Christ came to earth to be our example. The Bible tells us to seek God to help us avoid being tempted from evil.

By spending time communing with God in prayer, Christ was, also, able to avoid sin. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Psalms 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He did use scripture to overcome the temptations and defeat the devil (Luke 4). 2 Peter 2:9 says, ". . . the Lords knows how to rescue the godly from trials. . ." and Isaiah 28:26 says, "His God instructs him and teaches him the right way."

Jesus showed us by his example. Hebrew 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."

The sinless Jesus was a perfect sacrifice. We read that God sent His Son into the world (John 10:36). He was expressly sent to live a sinless life and die as a criminal to take on the penalty of sinners pardoning them for their sins. 1 Peter 2:24 explains: "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

This was God's plan from the beginning. He knew that we would need a redeemer. And God knew that without a redeemer we were dead in our sins. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." God's perfect plan for our redemption was foiled without a sinless Jesus.