Let's Go Back to the Bible

He Knew No Sin, But Why?

There are some amazing things that we read about Jesus in the Bible.  It is absolutely amazing to read about His fulfillment of over 300 specific Old Testament prophecies (many of which were completely out of His hands regarding fulfillment).  It is amazing to read about the miracles that He performed.  It is amazing to read of those occasions when He knew what men were thinking and responded to their thoughts.  It is amazing to read of the incomparable impact that He had on the world’s population (throughout history to the present). 

One of the amazing things that we read about Jesus (and sometimes lose sight of how requisite it is to our salvation) is that He never sinned—not once.  It may surprise you how often this is affirmed in Scripture.  Jesus was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).  “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21).  Jesus was “separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26), in that He “committed no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22) and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5) and “no unrighteousness” (John 7:18).  Jesus went to the cross and was offered as “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19; Heb. 9:14).  Truly, no one was able to “convict” Jesus “of sin” (John 8:46).  But, what is so special about that?

Jesus came to this earth “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3), meaning that He took on a flesh and blood body, which is not intrinsically (or inherently) sinful but is able to be tempted by the devil.  And He was tempted!  He was “in all points tempted as we are” (Heb. 4:15).  (1) He was “tempted,” which meant that sin must have been tempting for Him.  (2) He was tempted “in all points,” meaning the devil did not hold anything back.  (3)  He was tempted in all points “as we are,” meaning that Jesus faced the same temptations that you face (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13).  Yet, He did not sin!  He did not give in to temptation even once!

Don’t you know that must have been incredibly hard?  Don’t you know that He must have been tempted to use filthy language, to call His enemies certain names, to hate those who mistreated Him, to lust after the women who were around Him, to choose to not do the things that were right for Him to do?  The fact that it was tempting indicates how enticing it was to Him.  But, why didn’t He give in?  What kept Him from sinning?

Many answers could be given, but here’s something to meditate upon: Jesus fought back every temptation to sin, knowing that if He sinned just once, then He couldn’t save YOU!  It was all for YOU!  He came to be that lamb led to the slaughter for YOU (Isa. 53:7-8), but His sacrifice would only save YOU if He Himself was “without sin”!  That is amazing!