Did Jesus ever sin?
Let’s look briefly at some of the verses we considered in our last question. We have the witness of three of the apostles in God’s Word that the Lord Jesus did not sin. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 1 Peter 2:21-22 tells us, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” Then, 1 John 3:5 says, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
We have a scriptural principle found in Deuteronomy 19:15 which says, “…at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” We also read in Matthew 18:16, “…in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” We have the witness of Paul, Peter, and John as to the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus. These men wrote under the inspiration of God, so we know their testimony is absolutely true. Christ never sinned. Not only did He not sin, but He knew no sin, and no sin was in Him.
It is so important that we understand the importance of realizing the complete sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did He never sin, He had no capacity to sin. There was nothing in the Lord that Satan could appeal to that would cause Him to sin. Using the NIV translation, we read in John 14:30 where the Lord said, “…the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.” Although the Lord had a human nature, He did not have a sinful nature. Remember, he was conceived of the Holy Spirit as we are told in Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” The sinful nature is transferred through the father. The Lord had no earthly father, and thus He had no sinful nature.
If the Lord had the ability to sin, He would not have been an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Indeed, He Himself would have been in need of a savior, if he had been born in sin as we are. Some have questioned the reason for Satan’s temptation of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11, saying that the temptation was not real if the Lord could not sin. In reality, the temptations were not to see if Jesus would sin, there were given to prove to us that He would not sin. As believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, we realize that He is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. Can God sin? Absolutely not!
We read in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” That literally means that if the Lord Jesus could have sinned while on the earth, He could still sin now. His nature has not changed. Perish the terrible thought that the Lord Jesus could have sinned!
So, based on the inspired Word of God, we can see that not only did the Lord Jesus never sin, He had no capacity to sin. He is our high priest, “who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” as we read in Hebrews 7:26.