Chapter Nineteen - The Temptation and Sinlessness of Christ

There was a time in the history of the church when the sinlessness of Jesus was almost universally admitted, but that is not so today. This fundamental truth of Christianity has been denied by false cults and unbelievers. This chapter, divided into five major divisions, is a careful study of the Biblical truth which support for the doctrine of the sinlessness of Christ:

1. We will discuss the temptation of Christ.

2. We will examine the doctrine of the sinlessness of Christ.

3. We will provide the testimony to the sinlessness of Christ.

4. We will discuss the question: "Could Jesus have sinned?"

5. We will provide a solution to the question.

1. THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST

Read Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13.

The words "Immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan" (Mark 1:12-13), assure us that in the temptation of Christ the initiative was on the side of the divine instead of diabolical.

1.1 A Personal Tempter

An objective reading of the relevant Scriptures leaves no doubt that there was a personal agent in the temptation instead of a personification of evil. In the wilderness Jesus was not engaged merely in an inner conflict with His own desires and ambitions, but in a desperate, long, drawn-out struggle with the external adversary of God and man, the devil.

The place where the Second Adam met and vanquished the tempter is in striking contrast to that in which the first Adam succumbed to his subtlety - the arid wilderness, not luxuriant Eden. Jesus was tempted in solitude. The monastic life cannot save from satanic assaults.

1.2 Tempted in All Points

Jesus was "in all points tempted like as we are" (Hebrews 4:15). It would mean that Jesus was tempted in every part of His humanity, as we are. The surrounding circumstances and incidentals of the temptation of Christ may differ, but temptations are essentially the same for all men and women in all ages.

The temptation of Christ may be classified in the following three categories:

1. Appetite: the desire to enjoy things (Matthew 4:2-4; Luke 4:2-4) or John refers to this as "the lust of the flesh" (1 John 2:16);

2. Ambition: the desire to achieve things (Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 4:9-11) or John designates "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16); and

3. Avarice: the desire to obtain things (Matthew 4:8-11; Luke 4:5-7) or John designates "the lust of the eyes" (1 John 2:16).

1.2.1 Appetite

At the end of the forty days, Jesus became hungry. Since He was hungry, Satan made his first approach on the physical plane and in the realm of legitimate appetite. Satan came in the role of a benefactor. Why not turn these stones into bread? Desire for food is God-given and innocent. Since Jesus was the Son of God, why not use His inherent power to gratify His legitimate desire? The temptation was so plausible, so specious, that few if any of us would have detected in it the satanic attack.

The whole point of the test focused on the Lord Jesus' submission to the will of God. In each temptation Satan endeavored to induce Jesus to act in a manner contrary to complete dependence on God, by asserting a measure of independence springing from self-interest.

Jesus' method of resisting the temptation was simple, yet most effective. "It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). These words expressed His utmost confidence that His Father would supply Him with needed bread in His own way and time. This trust crushed the very suggestion of distrust and thus overcame the temptation.

He refused to employ His divine prerogatives to gratify His own natural desires. To yield to the satanic suggestions would be a denial of His incarnation, because He would be calling into His service powers which His brethren could not employ.

Further, it would have been satisfying a legitimate craving in an illegitimate way. He preferred remaining hungry to moving out of line with His Father's will. Had He yielded and provided Himself with bread by a miracle, His call to discipleship would have been out of the question for those who possessed no such powers but must earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow.

1.2.2 Ambition

The scene changes. Satan takes Jesus up to a pinnacle of the Temple. The pinnacle was in all probability the southern wing overlooking the Kidron valley hundreds of feet below, the sheerest depth well-known to the Jews. Satan's suggestion was that Jesus should leap into this abyss, not into the crowded Temple court. Had not God promised in Psalm 91:11-12 that He would preserve the Messiah?

The focus of this temptation was on His confidence in God, and the tempter supported his proposition by a misquotation from Scripture, from which he omitted a vital phrase found in the original of Psalm 91:11, "in all your ways" (Luke 4:10-11; cf. Psalm 91:11-12). The real subtlety lay in the misapplication of the passage. Jesus was challenged to prove His faith by putting God's promise to the test. Perhaps Satan was tempting Jesus to present Himself as Messiah by performing a sensational stunt. Malachi had predicted the Messiah would suddenly come to His Temple (Malachi 3:1). Here then was Jesus' opportunity to obtain fame and notoriety as the promised Deliverer without going to Calvary.

Jesus resisted temptation by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16, "On the other hand, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test." Jesus' reply clearly revealed that for Him to act thus would be not faith but presumption. He avoided the peril of fanaticism, refusing to go beyond the limits God had laid down and thus tempting God, for God is not bound to respond to every irresponsible whim of the want of faith. Stunting was not one of the ways of God. The Jews sought a Messiah who would work dazzling wonders and establish a worldwide empire with Jerusalem as its centre, and this was a temptation to yield to their carnal expectations.

Note the repeated use of "It is written" in Jesus' replies to the devil. Jesus knew how to use the sword of the Spirit. He would not presumptuously run into danger, unless clearly in the will of His Father. He refused to attempt to dazzle people into faith. He would not establish His kingdom by display and outward show.

Foiled again, the tempter makes a last attempt to seduce Jesus.

1.2.3 Avarice

The first temptation was on the physical plane, the second on the mental. In the third, Satan invades the realm of the spiritual - the giving to him a place that belongs to God alone.

This time Satan takes Jesus to a high mountain. Apparently in a vision (for "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them" could not be seen "in a moment of time" from any mountain in Palestine) the glory of world-domination was brought vividly before the Son of Man. Satan offered Him an outward kingdom with its outward splendor.

It is noteworthy that Jesus did not challenge Satan's boast of the power to give Him the kingdoms of the world or charge him with falsehood. Notice the world itself was not offered, but the kingdoms of this world. There is a sense in which Satan does have authority over the kingdoms of this world. Originally these kingdoms and this glory were given to Adam. Man's sin has made Satan "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), and "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2).

God purposed the kingdoms of this world will one day become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 11:15). So Satan was offering Christ what would eventually be His anyway. But there could be no short cut to the Throne. The Cross had to come first. In the counsels of God, the Lord Jesus had to suffer before He could enter into His glory. He perceived that Satan was offering Him the Crown without the Cross. The devil focused his last temptation on the possibility of an evasion of the Cross by a compromise with him. Jesus would not achieve a legitimate end by a wrong means.

What a preposterous insult! A rebel-spirit, asked his sinless Creator to bow down and worship him! Could anything be more blasphemous? For the third time our Lord Jesus draws the sword of the Spirit from its sheath and uses it expertly. Jesus quoted, "It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only" (Deuteronomy 6:13; cf. Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8) showing that as a Man He should worship and serve God alone.

Having failed to storm the citadel of Christ's loyalty and absolute obedience to His Father's will, the adversary departed from Him "for a season," but only for a season. Later Satan returned to the attack with greater fury.

1.3 The Spiritual Lessons Which Can be Learned From the Temptation

1.3.1 The essence of the three temptations

The first temptation concerned the body, the second the soul, the third the spirit. They appealed respectively to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. These revolve around three of the strongest drives of human existence - physical appetite, desire for power and possessions, and desire for public recognition. How often disciples are tempted to choose a pathway of comfort and ease, to seek a prominent place in the world, and to gain a high position in the church.

In other words, the essence of the three temptations may be summarized:

1. The first was the temptation to satisfy a legitimate appetite by illegitimate means.

2. The second was the temptation to produce spiritual results by unspiritual means.

3. The third was the the temptation to obtain a lawful heritage by unlawful means.

1.3.2 Satan's methods of temptation

Satan's methods are varied, and we need to be on our guard constantly lest we be caught by them:

1. First Satan tempts us to act independently of God, to take things into our own hands, to act in our own behalf.

2. Then he misapplies the Scriptures. Scriptures are wrested from their setting and given a false application, the unwary are deceived and misled. The devil is never more subtle than when he comes to us with a Bible under his arm!

3. Finally he plays up self-advantage, the avoidance of the painful path of suffering down which God would lead us toward the final goal.

1.3.3 The correct approach to resist temptation

It is not without significance that each of the answers of Jesus to Satan was a quotation from the the Word of God (i.e. the Holy Bible). They were simple enough for the average child to understand. They were authoritative, not in the form of submitted suggestions. Human reasonings and arguments are weak in conflicts with Satan because they lack authority.

1.3.4 The reliability of Old Testament Scripture

Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy to resist Satan's temptation. It is a book that has been so strongly assaulted by destructive critics. Our Lord Jesus thus stamped the Pentateuch as the Word of God.

1.3.5 Additional points in connection with the temptation

Several additional points should be mentioned in connection with the temptation:

1. Temptations usually come in suddenly rather than in streams.

2. In all three cases, the end held out was right enough but the means was wrong.

3. In all three cases, Satan used religious language and thus clothed the temptations with a garb of outward respectability. He even quoted Scripture.

4. It is always wrong to obey Satan, to worship him or any other created being.

5. It is wrong to tempt God.

1.3.6 We can share Christ's victory over Satan

Jesus gained a stunning victory over His enemy, the benefits of which can be shared today by every tempted soul. Because the Christ to whom we are united by faith was victorious over every class of temptation, we may share in His triumph as we appropriate it by faith.

1.4 The Issue of the Temptation

In relation to Christ, the temptation issued in unqualified triumph. The suggestions of the evil one left Him untainted by sin. His filial relationship with His Father remained undisturbed. He entered on the temptation "full of the Holy Spirit." He returned "in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:1, 14); enriched, not impoverished, by the experience.

In relation to Satan, the temptation meant disgrace and utter defeat. Each reply of Jesus dealt another stunning blow. His subtleties and sophistries were ruthlessly exposed. His defeat in the wilderness foretold his final and absolute defeat at the consummation of the age.

In relation to the believer, the temptation victory gave assurance of the possibility of personal triumph over Satan and his wiles. The weapon used by our Lord in the contest is equally available to the believer, so that he need be "in nothing terrified by his adversaries" (Philippians 1:28).

2. THE DOCTRINE OF THE SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST

2.1 Definition of the Sinlessness of Christ

"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).

"For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens" (Hebrews 7:26).

Sinlessness in Jesus was not merely a neutral quality of innocence as it was in the first Adam. The New Testament speaks of His overcoming temptation. Temptation means nothing if it does not comprise striving against sin. The words "has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" must mean that, although He was tempted to sin, the conflict left Him faultless.

Jesus as High Priest is described as being "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). He was holy in character, utterly devoted to God. He was harmless in the sense of being free from malice. He was undefiled, free from all moral impurity and defilement, He was separate - set apart permanently - from the sinners for whom He lived and died.

2.2 The Fact that Jesus Did Not Sin

At His conception Jesus was described as "holy" (Luke 1:35). Hebrews 4:15 affirms that He was tempted, "yet without sin," and 1 Peter 2:22 states that He "committed no sin." The Gospels record the fact that at every point, especially under stress and hostility, Jesus always did what was right. He expressed anger, but He did so righteously, for examples:

1. His closest friends called Him "holy and just" (Acts 3:14).

2. Judas admitted that he had "betrayed innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4).

3. Even Pilate pronounced Him "just" (Matthew 27:19).

There was not a trace of selfishness in Him. The testimony of those who observed Him was uniform: He was without fault.

2.3 The Importance of the Sinlessness of Christ

The mystery of Jesus' sinlessness lies in the combined facts that He is fully human, yet completely faultless. His humanity has practical value in the sympathetic relationship we are able to have with Christ, yet we have absolute confidence in Him as Saviour and example because of His blamelessness.

2.4 Objections to the Sinlessness of Christ

It is argued that on philosophical grounds there is an antecedent improbability of such a perfect life as that portrayed in the gospels. We should be compelled to admit the validity of this objection if deity be left out of account.

The presence of a sinless man among universally sinful men would be as much a miracle in the moral realm as would a virgin birth in the physical realm. But in spite of this improbability, if sufficient evidence is adduced, is it reasonable to reject it? And we submit that sufficient evidence has been adduced.

Other objectors assert that since we have no record of the thirty years of obscurity, it is impossible to claim sinlessness when we are ignorant of His actions. To this we answer that we prove Christ's deity and base His sinlessness on that fact. Further, the claim is confirmed by those who lived closest to Him and were thus in the best position to know. The quality of His life during the thirty hidden years is best evidenced by the life He lived during His years of public ministry.

3. THE TESTIMONY TO THE SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST

The testimony to the sinlessness of Christ is divided into the following three major categories:

1. the witness of Scripture;

2. the witness of Christ Himself; and

3. the witness of friends and foes.

3.1 The Witness of Scripture

The fifteenth of the thirty-nine articles of faith of the Church of England sets out clearly a truth that finds consistent support in the Scriptures:

"Christ, in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which He was clearly void, both in His flesh and in His spirit."

There is not one statement of Scripture which, consistently interpreted, can be made to imply less than sinlessness for our Lord. Four affirmations by different New Testament writers are unequivocal in their testimony:

1. "in Him is no sin" (1 John 3:5).

2. "He did no sin" (1 Peter 2:22)

3. "He knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21)

4. "Tempted ... yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15)

3.2 The Witness of Christ Himself

The challenge flung out to His carping critics by the Lord still remains unanswered, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" (John 8:46). His sinlessness was unimpeachable or they would have brought a charge against Him. Even hell could bring no accusation. "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me," Jesus claimed (John 14:30).

A study of His life reveals a consistent sense of immunity from sin. Never did He evince the slightest discontent with Himself - a grave fault in any other man. Never did He shed a tear over conscious failure. He demanded penitence of others, yet was never penitent Himself. Nor can this self-satisfaction be explained on the grounds that His standard of duty or sense of moral obligation was less exacting than that of His contemporaries. The reverse was the case. His code of ethics was immeasurably higher than theirs, yet not once does He admit that He has in any degree fallen short of His own exacting standards.

At the end of His life, as He communed with His Father in His moving sacerdotal prayer, He claimed to have accomplished perfectly the work entrusted to Him (John 17:4). In any other case than His, we would be justified in regarding such claims as obnoxious pride and arrant hypocrisy. In His case the facts substantiated the claim.

To quote T.C. Edwards in this context, "The fact that Jesus never confessed sin implies in His case that He never did sin. In every other good man, the saintlier he becomes the more pitiless is his self-condemnation, and the more severe he is on certain kinds of sin, such as hypocrisy. But Jesus, if He were a sinner, was guilty of the very worst of sin, which He rebuked with burning anger in the Pharisees of His day. Yet He never accuses Himself ... He never speaks about redeeming Himself, but declares Himself to be the paschal lamb 'whose blood of the new covenant is shed for many unto the remission of sins'" (Matthew 26:28).

While painting the doom of the impenitent in awful colors, He is quite unconcerned about His own Salvation. He prayed, "Father, forgive them," but never, "Father, forgive me."

It is a striking fact that the Scriptures that so faithfully record the sins and failures of their most notable heroes, such as Abraham and Moses and David, have no record of His sins or failures.

3.3 The Witness of Friends and foes

That Jesus was sinless appears to be the conviction of His contemporaries, whether friends or foes, including:

1. His disciples;

2. Judas;

3. the criminal;

4. the centurion;

5. Pilate and his wife; and

6. the demons.

3.3.1 His disciples

For more than three years His disciples had daily opportunity to observe His actions and reactions under all possible circumstances. Had there been discrepancy between His talk and His walk, they would have been the first to observe and note it. But they consistently found in His life the embodiment of His teaching.

As honest men, had they detected any flaw or shortcoming, they would have recorded it as they did their own. But with one voice they exalt their Master as the perfect example of a holy life: "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just" (Acts 3:14). They openly declared of Him that He "did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22).

3.3.2 Judas

Tthe testimony of Judas is of peculiar importance. After he had betrayed his best friend, he found he could not retain the wretched price of blood. Remorse compelled him to fling the silver at the feet of the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have betrayed innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4). So violent was the panic in his breast, that he could bear life no longer, "and he went away and hanged himself." We may depend upon it that if Judas had ever seen, in public or in private, anything in the character of Jesus inconsistent with His claims, he would, if only to mitigate the poignancy of his remorse, have dragged it into the light of day. But conscience compelled him to testify that He whom he betrayed was innocent. He was unable to extract a single crumb of comfort from any inconsistency in the life of Jesus.

3.3.3 The criminal

The criminal, deeply impressed by the words and demeanor of the Lord under the most agonizing conditions, gave as his testimony, "This man has done nothing wrong" (Luke 23:41).

3.3.4 The centurion

The centurion, similarly impressed, could find no explanation for such serenity and triumph in the hour of suffering and death, except in the conviction that "Truly, this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).

3.3.5 Pilate and his wife

Both Pilate and his wife united to pronounce Him a just man (Matthew 27:19, 24).

3.3.6 The demons

Even the demons were forced to add their unwilling testimony, "I know who You are, the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24).

It should be borne in mind, however, that Jesus' perfection of character did not consist in merely negative faultlessness. Throughout His whole life He was characterized by positive and active holiness. There is no perfection of character of which we can conceive that does not find its ideal fulfillment in Him. The more closely His life is analyzed, the more completely His perfection shines out.

3.3.7 Conclusion

Throughout His earthly life, and through the succeeding centuries, hostile men have been searching for some flaw in His character, but in vain. I conclude that Christ is sinless.

4. COULD JESUS HAVE SINNED?

4.1 The Purpose of the Temptation

Sometimes it is suggested that the temptation would have been meaningless if Jesus was not able to sin. What is the value of the Temptation?

Some Bible scholars think that God has publicly demonstrated the perfection of the Man, Christ Jesus. The temptation was designed, not to determine if He could sin, but to demonstrate that He could not! Just as gold is subjected to the acid and the scales to demonstrate its purity, so the "holy, harmless and undefiled" One was tested by Satan. Adam was innocent but Jesus was holy. Adam's innocence was like a blank white sheet of paper which Satan soon befouled. But the Lord Jesus was like a sheet filled with God; Satan could not put a mark on it.

Some say as God Jesus could not sin but as Man He could sin. But He is still both God and Man, and it is unthinkable He could sin today. The purpose of the temptation was not to see if He would sin but to prove that He could not sin. Only a holy, sinless man could be our Redeemer.

If it be asked that if Jesus was not able to sin, how could He have suffered in the temptation? We would reply that suffering is most poignant in those who do not sin, not in those who yield. The suffering of temptation lies in our resistance to it. Yielding to it means giving up the struggle.

We will discuss the question of: "Could Jesus have sinned?" in detail in the following sections.

4.2 Definition of Impeccability

The word "impeccable" means "unable to sin." The consensus of orthodox Christianity is that the God-man was not only able not to sin, but absolutely unable to sin. The union of the divine with the human imparted to His whole being the quality of sinlessness we associate with God who "cannot be tempted by evil" (James 1:13). Thus the answer to the question, Could Jesus have sinned? is an emphatic No!

4.3 Problems with the Concept of Impeccability

All believers affirm the fact that Jesus never committed sin. But not all are agreed that He was unable to sin. The issue involves the question, Why did Jesus never sin? Two answers could theoretically be given:

1. He never sinned because, being God, He was unable to sin (In other words, Jesus could not sin.); or

2. He never sinned because He faced temptation and fought off its inducements, emerging victorious (In other words, Jesus could sin, but He didn't).

4.3.1 Problems with the position of "Jesus could not sin"

The problems with this position may be summarized as follows:

1. The thought of temptation without the possibility of sinning seems unreal. But Scripture affirms that Jesus was tempted in all points as we are (Hebrews 4:15), yet never for a moment did He entertain temptation.

2. If we say that Jesus was unable to sin, we appear to be saying that Jesus was never really tempted. This contradicts Scripture which clearly says that He was "tempted by the devil" (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:2).

3. This seems to threaten Jesus' ability to sympathize with the human plight, an ability achieved by His temptation (Hebrews 4:15). Some say that "tempt" really means "test," and this is sometimes true, depending on the context. The same Greek word is used for a "trial" and for a "temptation" (James 1:12-18). But Jesus' temptation was a solicitation by the devil to break the Word of God, not merely a trial which He encountered to test His faith (James 1:2-8).

4. By reducing the Temptation to a demonstration of sinlessness, the nerve connection is cut with believers, for then it would be logically impossible for New Testament writers to appeal to Jesus' temptation as a ground of confidence for the believer's overcoming of temptation by His sympathetic help (Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-15). If we affirm the inability of the man Jesus to sin, we are affirming a qualitative difference between the humanity of the first Adam and that of the Last Adam."

4.3.2 Problems with the position of "Jesus could sin, but didn't"

The problems with this position may be summarized as follows:

1. If we say that Jesus fought and overcame temptation, we may be leaving out careful consideration of His deity. How could "that holy thing" that was conceived by the Holy Spirit be susceptible to sin?

2. Consider the implications of the possibility of His being able to sin. He was the God-man - divine and human natures indissolubly united in one personality - and if He could have sinned then God could sin, which is unthinkable.

3. Again, if Jesus could have sinned when on earth, He could sin now, for is He not "the same yesterday, and to day and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8)? And would this not place the whole work of redemption on a very shaky foundation?

4. Raising a serious question about the meaning of "overcoming" temptation. James 1:14 teaches that one is tempted by being "led away" by his own lust (evil desire) and "enticed." This experience leads to sin as an overt act (James 1:15). Was Jesus thus tempted? If so, He would have been sinning in His mind before He committed the overt act of sin, according to His own teaching (Matthew 5:22-28), and He would have had evil desire. That is impossible to reconcile with other evidences of His holiness.

5. SOLUTION TO THE QUESTION OF IMPECCABILITY

Let's arrange the Biblical data in the following table in order to put this problem into perspective:

Jesus was both God and Man

5.1 We Fail to Think of Jesus as Both God and Man

Most of the problems that we raised earlier are created by the fact that we fail to think of Jesus as both God and man. We tend to look at Him as one or the other, independently.

5.2 Jesus Never Ceased to Want to Please His Father

First, Jesus is one with the Father in essence and purpose, and while on earth always sought to please the Father. This probably provides one of the best answers to the original question, Why did Jesus not sin? It is not sufficient to say "because He is God," for such a statement, though true, does not reveal the real dynamic, and we find Him impossible to identify with. What we can identify with since we have become believers, is that a desire to please the Father is now our motivation for not sinning. (The difference is that Jesus, who had no sinful inclinations, never ceased to want to please His Father). Our first point also shows that Jesus did not attempt to escape the human condition, but willingly exposed Himself to the temptation, and truly knows what our temptation is like.

5.3 Jesus Was Tempted to Bring About Rightful Ends By Sinful Means

The next two points on the chart fully explain what it was like for Jesus to be tempted. James 1:12-18 views temptation as it occurs with sinful humanity. When a person is tempted, then "led away by his own lust and enticed," he sins. Such an experience, according to Hebrews 4:15, could not be that of Jesus, because He had no lust or evil desires. The question is, In what sense was Jesus tempted?

Our answer is that Jesus was "tempted" to the extent that Satan made appeals to His human needs and divine rights. He was tempted to turn stones into bread to relieve His hunger (a human need). He was tempted to achieve the kingdoms of the world (that will someday be His by divine right - Luke 4:5-6), but to achieve them in a sinful way. Finally, He was tempted to use His divine power (to leap from the pinnacle of the temple - Luke 4:9), but in a sinful manner, acting presumptuously apart from the purpose of His Father. In summary, He was tempted to bring about rightful ends by sinful means.

5.4 Jesus Was Truly Tempted and He Can Sympathize With Us

Being exposed to sinful alternatives is not sin, but the experience is nevertheless painful, because it involves legitimate needs or goals. Thus Jesus was tempted and, like us, He felt the "pull" of legitimate needs. He was tempted "in all things as we are" in regard to real needs that we ourselves have - bodily desires, decisions toward legitimate goals, and use of abilities. In short, He can sympathize with us. Unlike us, though, He never seriously considered the sinful alternatives for fulfilling His legitimate ends. Thus, He never sinned, not even in His mind.

5.5 Summary

Neither of the statements, "Jesus could sin, but He did not," nor "Jesus could not sin, because He was God," is satisfactory as an answer to the question of Jesus' sinlessness. The latter statement is true as far as it goes, but it does not adequately answer the question, Why?

5.6 Conclusion

Jesus was truly tempted because, though He was without sinful inclinations, He had legitimate human needs and divine rights that were appealed to. However, while the choice was actually available, His deity meant unbroken desire to please the Father; thus, He did not sin.

6. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. The Incomparable Christ - The Person and Work of Jesus Christ, Chapters 8 and 13, Moody Press, 1971 Edition, by John Oswald Sanders.

2. The Gospel of Luke, Lesson 2, Emmaus Bible College, 1974 Edition, by William MacDonald.

3. The Gospel of Matthew, Lesson 2, Emmaus Bible College, 1972 Edition, by C. Ernest Tatham.

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