Did Jesus Ever Sin?

Posted Jan 31 2013 by Christian Piatt with 13 Comments

Banned Questions Jesus Sin1

    Most Christians’ first reaction to this question is to answer this with a resounding “Of course not!” After all, he was the Son of God; he had to be blameless in order to be the perfect sacrifice…right?

    But what if we consider Jesus crucifixion and resurrection differently? Many today believe Jesus died because of the sins of humanity, but not necessarily as a sacrificial substitute for our sins. But regardless of your beliefs about atonement, what about the fact that Jesus was tempted in the desert after his baptism? And it seems that the Gospels indicate he lived the life fully as any man, with all the same temptations. And then if we consider the text from Matthew 5:28 that says anyone who lusts in their heart has already committed adultery…so how (if at all) is lusting in one’s heart different than being tempted?

    I decided to put this question to my panel of expert respondents in book two of my “Banned Questions” series, Banned Questions About Jesus.

    After Jesus’ baptism, he is tempted in the desert several times. How is this different than when he teaches in Matthew 5:28 that “…anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”? Aren’t these basically the same thing?

    Becky Garrison: In the desert, Satan tried to get Jesus to follow him by appealing to his physical humanity by offering him bread. When that failed, he tried to force Jesus to perform a miracle as though he was some trained devotional doggie who could use the power given to him by God at will. After Jesus blew him off, Satan tried unsuccessfully to lure him in by promising a kingdom here on earth. While these three options must have been mighty tempting, Jesus didn’t let these temptations enter his heart and influence his thinking.

    Related: Do I Deny the Resurrection? by Hugh Hollowell

    Compare that to a man who might claim he’s not sinning because he’s not doing the dirty deed. But his mind is corrupted because he keeps thinking about doing the dirty deed with another dude’s lady. While someone in a relationship might not be having an actual affair by sending steamy emails, flirting on Facebook and posting titillating tweets to another party, they’ve definitely crossed into that gray area where commandments might not be actually broken, but boundaries were definitely crossed.

    Phil Snider: In the highly controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus imagines what life might be like if he chose a path that didn’t lead to the cross but instead to a comfortable family life. This is similar to the temptation that many people still face today. While such temptations aren’t necessarily relegated to the choice of dying on a cross or raising a family, the basic idea still remains; certain risks are involved when one chooses to follow the call that God places on one’s life, and most of us tend to prefer a more comfortable life instead. The temptations that Jesus faced in the desert serve as an overture to Jesus’ entire ministry, for they symbolically emphasize the ways that he – in contrast to most of us – refused a comfortable life in order to be faithful to his calling, no matter the consequence.

    This is very different from what takes place in Matthew 5:28. In this passage, Jesus is highlighting the dignity of women, implying that they should be treated as human beings and not mere objects. Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 – combined with several of his other teachings – provocatively challenge the customs and laws of the times, so much so that religious and political authorities wanted to take action in order to get rid of him. Yet he refused to give in, no matter the consequence. So you might say that the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert is connected to Matthew 5:28, but not in the way this question implies.

    Joan Ball: When tempting Jesus in the desert, Satan went out of his way to create scenarios that would distract and confuse. This was an active and malevolent effort on the part of Satan meant to sideline Jesus and insult the Father. Jesus faced each challenge prayerfully, intelligently and with self-control and, as a result, Satan was foiled.

    For the second scenario to be the same this generic woman in Matthew must be cast in the role of malicious “temptress” (aka Satan) and the man’s inability to seek God, engage the Spirit and grow in self-control as Jesus did (i.e. not look at the woman lustfully) must be ignored. I’m not buying it. God is bigger than the male libido.

    Lee C. Camp: Though it is often assumed that Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness entailed a period of intense testing with the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the vain-glorious pride of life,” numerous New Testament scholars these days believe that the temptation in the wilderness was concerned with what sort of Messiah Jesus was going to be.

    Also by Christian: I Hate Loving Mark Driscoll

    Nonetheless, it seems a fair and important question to ask the difference between a “temptation” and a “lustful thought”?  If a man looks at a woman and thinks a lustful thought, has he as much as committed adultery?  But perhaps a more helpful question is to ask this: what is the function or purpose of the Sermon on the Mount?  Therein Jesus provides a description of a way of life oriented toward the Kingdom of Heaven.  What does it look like to live life in the Kingdom of Heaven that has come among us, that has invaded human history?

    The beatitudes announce, for example, that the presence of the kingdom entails comfort to the oppressed and the poor and the persecuted faithful.  Then the six “antitheses” (“you have heard it said, but I say…”) announce certain skills or practices that characterize life in the Kingdom:  reconciliation with estranged parties, rooting out any form of objectification or lust, chastity and preservation of marriage vows, speaking the truth without obfuscation, overcoming evil with good, and doing good to one’s enemies.  These are holistic, lifestyle and community-embraced practices, not merely new legalistic rules.

    One last note:  as Martin Luther, I think it was, once said with regard to temptation and tempting thoughts:  we cannot control what birds fly over our heads.  We can only control whether they build nests in our hair.

    —
    Christian Piatt is an author, editor, speaker, musician and spoken word artist. He co-founded Milagro Christian Church in Pueblo, Colorado with his wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, in 2004.He is the creator and editor of BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE and BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS. Christian published a memoir on faith, family and parenting in early 2012 called PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date. Visit www.christianpiatt.com, or find him on Twitter or Facebook.

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      About the Author

      Christian Piatt

      Christian PiattChristian Piatt is an author, editor, speaker, musician and spoken word artist. He co-founded Milagro Christian Church in Pueblo, Colorado with his wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, in 2004.He is the creator and editor of BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE and BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS. Christian has a memoir on faith, family and parenting being published in early 2012 called PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date. Visit www.christianpiatt.com, or find him on Twitter or Facebook.View all posts by Christian Piatt →

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      • 22044

        In fairness, there may be a certain amount of mystery regarding Jesus’ time in the wilderness, because of the supernatural reality of being fully God & fully man that we can’t understand.
        To answer the original question, though, it is sufficient to rest in the reality that Jesus, who was fully with God in the beginning (John 1:1) – never sinned.

      • David

        in this article there is no attempt to answer the question posed in the title. I know titling it the nature of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness wouldn’t get as many hits, but it would be more accurate.

        • http://snommelp.tumblr.com/ Snommelp

          I would contend that wrestling with the nature of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is an attempt to answer the question – after all, as Christian pointed out, it is possible to read into the Sermon on the Mount the idea that even allowing one’s self to be tempted amounts to sinning. Since temptation seems to be the closest Jesus ever got to sinning, thinking about Jesus’ temptation (and clarifying the statements from the Sermon on the Mount) would be the way to go about answering the question.

          The only other documented moments of Jesus’ “sinning” are explained by Jesus Himself – e.g. healing on the Sabbath.

      • http://snommelp.tumblr.com/ Snommelp

        I don’t know if I’d call it a “banned” question, though I can see the logic for calling it just that. It’s more like a question that we’re so convinced that we know the answer of that we don’t feel like people need to ask it – and so when a new Christian or a seeker asks it, we unconsciously belittle them for asking a question whose answer is “so obvious.” In that way, it becomes “banned” by our reactions, rather than by a conscious decision.

        • SamHamilton

          Yeah, I think “banned” just makes for a catchier title.

      • Dave Leigh

        Apparently there is a distinction between lusting and being tempted. See Hebrews 4:15 NIV

        “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

        • http://www.facebook.com/dan.duley.54 Dan Duley

          oh but that’s not a red letter verse :(

      • Jonathan Starkey

        I think if you want a better description of lust you should read St. Gregory of Sinai in the Philokalia on prayer of the heart. Lust (power) and despondency (laziness/contentment), the problems of Pharoah, together are the two culprits.
        —
        Lust is about power. And there is a similarity between, receiving all the kingdoms, and sexual lust.
        —
        How does certain demons only come out by prayer and fasting relate to Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. He came out and exorcised the world after his 40 days in the desert.

        • Jonathan Starkey

          Being tempted is not sin. Many a poor young lad is led into self abasement and self loathing because they do not understand this.

          • Jonathan Starkey

            And the sermon on the mount, and more importantly the victory of calvary. Is the over throwing, of the pagan sociopolitical lust for power, or lust to have a woman.
            —
            It is the radical word change.

      • http://morethanbrothers.blogspot.com/ Aidan

        Someone can be tempted (as a verb) without being lured (as an adjective)

      • 21st C. Episcopalian

        Ughh. Why must we superimpose onto the text our modern Western sexualization issues? Seriously! Does the temptation account even remotely mention or even hint at sexuality or lust? Absolutely not.

        It’s clear from the Matthew and Luke accounts that the temptations have NOTHING to do with lust and everything to do with the person and work of Jesus in relationship to the Father’s good and perfect plan. The two, along with the Holy Spirit, work harmoniously and joyfully together to accomplish the redemption of creation and mankind. The temptations in the desert were demonic attempts to sabotage that. It’s much much MUCH bigger than sex and lust.

        Interesting to note that our Lord answers Satan all three times, at the heightened moment of each temptation, by quoting scripture. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had an extremely high view of scripture.
        ———————————————–
        Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,”he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him,”Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
        —————-
        Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’ ” 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ” 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

      • bluecenterlight

        I think Christ’s condemnation of entertaining lust has more to do with it being a warning sign. When you first fall in love, you don’t think about other people. You are consumed with passion for the person you love. God compares His love for us that way. I think what Jesus was getting at was that when we start to get “bored” and our eye starts to wonder, alarms should go off, you are on the road to adultery. You can be tempted and be without sin. There are times when I see a cookie and find strength in myself to resist. There are times I see a cookie and I will knock you down and take it. That’s why we constantly have to build ourselves up so that the strength is there when we need it. I think a better banned question is whether or not Jesus was a good carpenter, lol. I had someone get really mad at me once for suggesting maybe he wasn’t. He certainly didn’t want to stick with it as a career. It is funny to see people get their feathers ruffled over silly questions.

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