Sinlessness

There’s a lot of talk in the Bible about Jesus being ‘without sin.’ (1 Peter 2:22, 2 Cor 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 John 3:5, etc.)

Some draw inspiration from this. They look up to a Jesus of immaculate socio/moral standing. A Jesus who makes no mistakes. In other words (to reveal my true maturity level), a goody-two-shoes Jesus.

But I have to confess to you… If anything, this version of Jesus makes me… Disappointed. This version of Jesus seems superhuman. Like he’s a different species altogether.

Which brings me to the delight I experienced when I read this passage (Mark 10:18)…

The rich man approaches Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replies, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

(I’m getting giddy just typing this, do excuse me.) Here’s what I gather from this…

It’s easy to equate sin with bad deeds. Thusly, it’s easy to equate sinlessness with performing an endless streak of good deeds. Jesus’s sinlessness can make him seem like just a really nice guy who did really great things for people.

But Jesus challenges this notion here. He’s kinda like (allow me to put some words into Jesus’s mouth), “Bro, why are you calling me good — especially by YOUR definition of the word?”

This is why I prefer the word “separation” to the word “sin.” It’s not necessarily a matter of good deeds vs. bad deeds. Or a matter of good people (aka ‘the righteous’) vs. bad people (aka ‘sinners’). Sin is something that every one of us is bogged down by (except for Jesus) and apparently, it has nothing to do with different degrees of ‘goodness’. Because even the things we consider ‘good’ are often twisted and tainted by sinful self-interest.

Here’s how I see Jesus’s sinlessness in light of this passage…

Jesus was sinless because he didn’t live in a state of separation from God. Rather, he lived in a state of perfect Sonship with God. Instead of living in fear of an abstract God, he lived as a Son to a Father-God.

In other words…

Jesus was not superhuman. Rather, he was the only One who could be perfectly human (note: being ‘perfectly human’ is different than being a ‘perfect human’).

Jesus did not live in a perpetual state of goodness (by our definition). He likely cussed, farted while riding the bus, made ignorant statements, hung out with extortionists, and was known to indulge in too much ‘fruit of the vine.’

But he never lost hold of his createdness and belovedness in the arms of the Father. Even when he lamented, “…my God, why have you forsaken me?” from the cross. These are the words of someone who is loved enough to say them. Kids act out the most around their parents because they provide them the safety to do so.

And here’s the good news part…

In Christ, we are all sinless. Though you and I are very seldom truly ‘good’, we find our true identity in Him who is ever-beloved. This belovedness is imputed on us. It cannot be earned or disavowed.

In this, I can release the grip on my contrived ‘goodness’ and receive the love from God, the very ground of my being, that is, was, and forever will be…

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This post was previously published on Jonas Ellison’s blog and is republished here with permission from the author.

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