Articles
Yet Without Sin
These three words describe the moral qualification of Jesus to be our Savior and high priest: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15). That short notation is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. While cultures develop their own religious beliefs and rituals, man can never solve the problem of sin on his own. To recover fellowship with God broken by sin requires an offering that is morally and spiritually perfect and that is representative of all humanity. Only the Son of God so qualifies.
Moral perfection. This is an astounding claim, especially considering the abundant evidence of Scripture that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; 3:9-18). All of the heroes and giants of faith in the Bible were flawed and succumbed to various forms of temptation. But Jesus did not give Himself a pass and assume a fleshly form that insulated Him from temptation. Instead, Jesus exposed Himself to temptation in its most intensive appeals and yet did not yield to those cravings.
The author of Hebrews is not the only one to make this point. Peter, who had intimate association with and knowledge of Jesus, applied Isa 53:9 to Him, “Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth” (1 Pet 2:22). Peter earlier referred to Jesus as “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1:19), drawing on the imagery of flawless Mosaic sacrifices (cf. Lv 22:20-24).
Is this the stuff of myth and legend? Did the apostles just invent the fiction of moral perfection? Such legends don’t take root when the claims are within the lifetimes of the hero-figures, for there remain contemporaries who can debunk such exaggerations. (Similar to another extreme contention of Christianity: Jesus was raised from the dead.)
Further, on the surface the claim is preposterous compared with common human experience. This being true, it would be foolish to base the success of a religious movement on an assertion that generally discredits. Who, other than Jesus, would we take seriously if they claimed moral perfection? The implication is that though Jesus was a man, He was not merely a man, for no mere man can justifiably claim to be morally pristine.
The last Adam. But someone might say – and some cultures have done so – “I will offer my unblemished child as a sacrifice to God” (a Peruvian burial site more than 500 years old was recently discovered where 140 children were ritually slain). First, while no one can impugn the moral purity of a child, no single human being is of equal value to the totality of humanity. The payment for mankind’s sins had to cover all mankind, past, present and as long as the world stands. No child, no matter how innocent, is of such comprehensive value.
But the Son of God, Himself eternal, divine – yea, even the very instrument of creation – took on the earthly nature of man and lived in a fleshly body (Mt 1:20-23; Lk 24:39; Jn 1:14; Heb 10:5; etc.). As such He is “the last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45-49), the One who took on our nature even to the extremity of physical death. Paul contrasts the sin and death that came through the first Adam with the free gift which “abounded to many … even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (Rom 5:15, 18). After speaking of the creation of man, the Hebrew writers says, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb 2:9).
Second, because of this moral and spiritual rigor of the perfect sacrifice, God would have to offer it for man, not man for himself. This was clearly indicated in prophecy: “The rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ … to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done” (Ac 4:26, 28). Also, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son …” (Jn 3:16); “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (Jn 1:29). Sin originates with man, but atonement springs from the love of God.
A willing offering. It is astounding that though Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing, He willingly surrendered to His enemies for execution: “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (Jn 10:17-18). As Creator Jesus had all the resources of the cosmos and angelic hosts at His disposal, yet “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so He opened not His mouth” (Ac 8:32/Is 53:7). It was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world that He would offer salvation; that the sacrifice would come from One related to mankind; that salvation would be secured through the shedding of blood; that the offering would be absolutely pure and holy; and that the sacrifice would be willing. Only one person fulfills all of that.
“Yet without sin” should mean that Jesus couldn’t possibly die, but with the addition of the grace of God what should not have been became a reality in order for a sinner like me to have eternal life. God be thanked!
