By Jeff Ware, Student Life Pastor
The claims of Jesus and the Bible have been the subject of much scrutiny and speculation in what is essentially the fallout of a postmodern culture. Many who claim the name of Christ have no real understanding of what that means because they have no knowledge of the Bible other than what has been told to them or manipulated to fit a narrative. For many people, their faith, if real, is shallow, and they have no real grasp on what they truly believe and why they truly believe it. This sort of understanding reminds me of a CNN interview from 2 years ago.
CNN host, Don Lemon, made a statement attempting to prove a point about Americans "deifying" the founding fathers. He uttered the following statement, "Jesus Christ, if that's who you believe in, Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this earth." Many Christians are rightly appalled by such a statement, and yet others are unbothered by this claim and cannot seem to know why it is an issue at all. So, I would like to address the statement in two different ways. First, the problem with the statement itself, and then, why it matters.
The first major problem with Mr. Lemon's statement is his use of the word "admittedly." This implies that at some point, Jesus acknowledged that he was sinful. The truth is that Jesus never claimed to be sinful and in fact, made an opposing claim. In John 7, during the Feast of Booths, Jesus goes to the temple and begins to preach. Those present were astounded at his teaching and began asking questions, and the response Jesus gave is fascinating.
14 About the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?" 16 So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (John 7:14-18, ESV)
If we look at verse 18 we see that Jesus says clearly that there is "no falsehood" in Him. Throughout scripture we see that He never gave into sin; When He was tempted by Satan, He never gave in (Matt. 4:10), Neither Herod nor Pilate found any fault in Him (Luke 23:14-15; John 18:38). Jesus even challenged His enemies to find fault in Him and they could not (John 8:46). So, lets address Mr. Lemon's statement. Did Jesus ever "admittedly" claim to be a sinner? That would be a resounding no.
If that doesn't do it for you, let's look to some Old Testament prophecy. In 700 years prior to Jesus' birth, Isaiah states, "And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9, ESV). In this famous prophecy about the sacrifice of the coming Messiah, Isaiah points out he would be blameless. But certainly, it is not just the Old Testament that emphatically proclaims Jesus was sinless. There are several in the New Testament as well; (1 Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5).
The second issue here is one of extreme importance: why does it matter? To put it plainly, if Jesus was a sinner, then his work on the cross was done in vain. It would have no power and would eliminate any possibility of him being God. If Jesus were not fully God, he would simply be a man trying to do what no man can do; pay for sinfulness. No one is righteous, not one (Romans 3), and as a result, no person can escape judgment on one's own merit. We needed a perfect substitute who could bear the weight of the world's sin and then conquer it. Jesus and Jesus alone could atone for the world's sin. He can do this only because he was fully man, fully God, and perfect in every way.
