About two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was born of a woman in the fullness of time. Thus He became man according to spirit, soul and body. He grew up and voluntarily accepted the limitations of being human and also weaknesses like z.B. hunger, thirst and fatigue on itself. In this He resembled all men. Nevertheless, there was a decisive difference between Him and us- He was without sin, perfect.
His origin and procreation
The Son of God was from eternity in the womb of the father- in heaven. This place He never left ( John 1:18 ). Yet He was sent from heaven to become man and live on earth. „But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law" ( Gal 4:4 ). This birth happened through the virgin Mary ( Is 7:14 ; Mt 1:23 ; Lk 1:27 ). This virgin birth was of crucial importance and was at the same time a miracle. Because a virgin cannot get pregnant naturally.
How could Mary still be pregnant if Joseph did not have sexual intercourse with her? Here we enter sacred ground. The Holy Spirit was the origin of the child and divine power had overshadowed Mary ( Mt 1:20 ; Lk 1:35 ). Thus possessed the man Jesus Christ has no human origin, but a divine one. „Therefore also the holy one who will be born will be called Son of God" ( Lk 1:35 ).
The divine origin through the Holy Spirit is therefore the first sign that Jesus had no sin in him. He was not a natural descendant of Adam, infected by sin, but the last Adam, the second man from heaven ( 1. Cor. 15:45.47 ). Thus He differed from all other people in terms of origin.
Even the fact that God used Mary, who had sin in her, did not touch the holiness of the Son of God. Mary was a "channel", so to speak, through which Jesus Christ could be born as a human being without being touched by sin. The holiness of God is "untouchable".
Testimonies of the Bible about his perfection
In the Bible, there are three fundamental passages that introduce us to the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus. These three passages were written by different writers. God used them to reveal this truth to us. Besides these three fundamental passages, we also find testimonies of people about His blamelessness and justice.
1.) "And sin is not in him" ( 1. John 3:5 ).
This testimony comes from John. He informs us that sin is not in the Lord Jesus. By sin John does not mean the actual sins, but sin as such- the sinful nature. This sin (original sin), which all people have in them from Adam on, the Lord Jesus never had in them. That is important to note. Because unfortunately there are voices today who claim that Jesus Christ never sinned, but He could have done it in principle. But this is not possible, because He did not have the sinful nature in Him at all. He was perfectly pure, like a lamb without blemish and without spot ( 1. Pet 1:19 ). Unlike Adam before his fall possessed Christ, moreover, not an innocent nature, but a holy nature that rejects sin.
2.) "Who did no sin" ( 1. Pet 2:22 ).
Peter gives us another aspect of the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus. He shows us that the Lord Jesus never performed a sinful act. If we consider this thought more closely, we see that He never had an impure thought, that no foul word came out of His mouth, that He neither lied nor stole, that He did not practice disobedience, and that He did not do anything for a single moment that was not in accordance with the will of the Father. This also distinguishes Him from all other men. Thus He lived day by day to the glory of God in complete conformity with His purity and holiness.
3.) "Him who knew not sin" ( 2. Cor 5:21 ).
The third writer, Paul, again illuminates the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus under a different aspect. He shows that the Lord Jesus knew no sin. This means that sin is something "foreign" to Him was what He had no relation to in His life. As the eternal Son of God, He knew what sin was, of course, but as a man He had no experiential knowledge of what it meant to sin in view of His own life.
Testimonies of the people about his perfection
Now let’s look at some testimonies that came from the side of men. It is noticeable that these were people from very different backgrounds. Thus God also records the perfection of the Lord Jesus in His Word through their sayings.
1.) The testimony of Judas Iscariot
„I have sinned in that I have delivered up guiltless blood" ( Mt 27:4 ).
Judas was one of the twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus. He experienced the Lord Jesus three years at close range. However, he never converted and thus took the position of an enemy of God. As such, however, he could not deny that the Lord Jesus was completely blameless.
2.) The testimony of Pilate’s wife
„But while he sat on the judgment seat, sent his wife to him and let telling him: "Have nothing to do with that righteous one" ( Mt 27,19 ).
Another testimony came from a woman- the wife of Pilate. In this testimony it is remarkable that it was announced to Pilate during the trial in which Jesus was condemned to death. It seems that God wanted to tell Pilate once again that the one who stood before him was a righteous one.
3.) The testimonies of Pilate
„I am guiltless of the blood of this righteous one, you see" ( Mt 27:24 ).
„I find no fault in this man" ( Lk 23:4 ).
„And behold, I have questioned him before you, and have found no fault in this man in the things of which ye accuse him" ( Lk 23:14 ).
„I did not find any guilt of death in him" ( Lk 23:22 ).
Pilate himself testified, caused by the facts known to him and his conscience, that Jesus Christ was blameless. He also called Him the righteous one. Moreover, he had to tell the people again and again that he could not find fault with Him. How often may Pilate have rightly condemned people who had done evil. But here stood one in whom no blame was to be found!
4.) The testimony of Herod
„But neither did Herod, for I sent you to him, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him" ( Lk 23:15 ).
Pilate had Jesus Christ sent to Herod because Jesus was from his sphere of power. But even he came to no other conclusion than this: "Nothing worthy of death was done by Him".
5.) The testimony of the Roman centurion
„But when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God and said, "Truly this man was righteous." ( Lk 23,47 ).
This testimony also bore the seal of the perfection of the Lord Jesus. This centurion had seen many people die on the cross. But a behavior like that of the Lord Jesus he had never experienced before.
6.) The testimony of the transgressor on the cross
„But this one has done nothing improper" ( Lk 23:41 ).
This saying is a little different from the others. The difference is that the culprit did not say that Jesus was blameless or righteous, but that He did "nothing improper" would have done. If someone does something that is not proper, it is not always immediately an injustice, something evil. It is more an action or a word that is inappropriate. But not even that could be found with the Lord Jesus. Every act and word that came out of his mouth were perfect. So the culprit on the cross finally testified that Jesus Christ was hanging there unjustly, because He had not even done anything unseemly- let alone something evil.
Sinlessness as a prerequisite for the sacrifice
Only under the condition of this purity could the Lord Jesus make the perfect sacrifice, otherwise He would have had to die for Himself as a sacrifice ( Heb. 5:1-3; 7:26-28 ). But so He could lead us to God by becoming the sacrifice for God, and suffering for sins as the righteous for us, the unrighteous ( 1. Pet 3:18 ).