News Anchor: Jesus sinned

Earlier this week, one of the most well-known news anchors in America was explaining why monuments and statues to America’s “founding fathers” are problematic. He then tried to make a theological argument and declared on national TV, “Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe, if that’s who you believe in, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this earth.”

His point was that if Christians have no problem with recognizing Jesus’s imperfections, we should be ok with an honest discussion of Jefferson and Washington.

Now, I love it when people use theology to influence their politics. It is true that if people had better theology, they would have better politics. I’m also very grateful to have a person usually known as a political liberal grant that theology should have a role in public deliberations of politics.

But in this case, the declaration that Jesus “admittedly was not perfect when he was here on earth” represents a huge contradiction to what the Bible teaches about Christ.

If Jesus was not perfect when he was on earth, then at least four major components of Christianity are lost. 

The heart of Christianity is sustained by the perfections of Christ. The sinlessness of Christ not only allows for but also proves, these four central components of the Christian message:

The sinlessness of Christ is the proof of the power of Jesus’ life. Jesus began his ministry with 40 days of temptation by the devil, and because “the devil had finished every temptation,” Jesus could begin his public ministry validated as God’s son (Luke 4:13; 9:35). Had he failed his test, and had he sinned, his life would have been stripped of its power.

The enemies of Jesus understood that. This is why they constantly set out to catch him in a trap (Mark 12:13). They knew if they could find one way, no matter how small, that Jesus was less than perfect then the entirety of his preaching would be nullified.

Remember, Jesus preached the same message we preach today, but he preached it in a fundamentally different way. Today’s preachers recognize our own sin, and point people to the sinless Jesus for forgiveness. Jesus didn’t point to anyone else but himself. So if he had sin, his own preaching would have been nullified, and by extension ours as well. But fortunately, when he was arrested and his enemies gathered to examine his life, they could not find anyone who had witnessed Jesus sin (Matthew 26:59-60).

The sinlessness of Christ is proof of the power of the cross. At the cross, Jesus took the punishment from God that we deserve for our sins, and he bore that punishment in our place. If he had any sins himself, this substitution would have been nullified, and he would have died for his own sins instead of ours.

This is why Hebrews declares that while Jesus was on earth, he was “holy, innocent, and undefiled” (Hebrews 7:26). Had he had sin, his sacrifice would have been for his own sin and not ours.

This is the quandary of every human priest—he makes offerings, but they are never able to effectively remove his own sin, much less the sins of others. But Jesus’s death was different. “For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever” (Hebrews 7:28).

Peter understood this when he taught that the death of Christ was acceptable to God because we “were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

In other words, the fact that Jesus was “a lamb unblemished and spotless” is what gives his blood its efficacy. His perfections on earth not only allow him to teach us, but also to save us.

The sinlessness of Chris is also proof of the power of our prayers. Contra Roman Catholicism, sinners cannot intercede in heaven for those on earth. This point is also referenced in Hebrews:

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). 

We have confidence that our prayers through Jesus are effective because his is our mediator before the throne of grace. John makes this connection as well. He says that if “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

If Jesus had his own sin, the cross would be robbed of its power, and thus he would not be our intercessor. But because the cross is powerful, he is our mediator, and this he is our intercessor. He can advocate before God for our well-being:

“Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Romans 8:33-34

And finally, the sinlessness of Christ is proof of the power of sanctification. Christians should grow in godliness throughout their life because we are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. As we love him, we become like him. In fact:

“We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3

In other words, the WWJD bracelets are an effective message, because of the sinlessness of Christ.

Believers love Jesus, his Spirit dwells within us, convicting us of sin, and conforming us over time and through struggles into the pattern of holy living that he demonstrated for us.

“He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:22).

So if Jesus had sin, then the gospel loses its power because the cross lost its power. The cross lost its power because Jesus’s life lost its power. For that reason our prayers lose their power, and our life will lose its power.

If Jesus had sin, then the whole Christian religion falls apart.

But fortunately, the Bible teaches that Jesus, “if that’s who you believe in” was indeed perfect. Not only when he was on earth, but forever. He is the sinless Son of God, so he is able to save. He is the sinless lamb of God, so he is the sacrifice to save. And he alone led a sinless life, which means he alone is the Savior. 

Author: Cripplegate