Did Jesus Sin...I sure hope so!

 

Today I find myself circling back to the idea of a sinless Jesus.  I know that I’m supposed to focus on how Jesus works in my life and on the spirit in me but I often find myself doubling back to the historical man.  Before I can push forward with what he’s doing now for me and in the world, I’m really trying to work through what he did then.

I simply can not wrap my head around the idea that you can be fully human and not sin at all.

The Pharisees of the time obviously thought him a sinner but what about the people of today?  Many Christians feel that the scriptures tell them they can’t have any alcohol.  We know that Jesus drank though so does that mean he was sinning?  

Since we lose about 18-20 years of his life in the Gospels, was he a sinner in those times?  Teenage rebellion, poor decisions and lust are pretty much hallmarks of being human.  We don’t have him recorded as having asked for forgiveness (though one could assume he could just do it himself), but does that mean it never happened?

Did his baptism wipe the slate clean as many denominations attest to?  Perhaps he was a normal dude before then but then presto-change-o turned into the most perfect man.  For those that subscribe to Original Sin, wasn’t Jesus inherently a “wretched sinner” at birth if he was fully human?

I also wonder if the talk of an absolutely sinless man is more of a rose-coloured glasses nostalgic point of view of the gospel writes and Paul himself.

Many people have had times in their life that they would deem as perfect.  Things like “I should have never broken up with that girl; she was perfect” or “my baby didn’t fuss, he was the perfect baby.”  In reality, these situations and people weren’t perfect and were far from it but we don’t remember those parts sometimes even a few months down the road.  How much more possible is it that this rose-coloured view is painting the picture of Jesus during accounts written years and decades after the crucifixion. 

The more I think on the topic the more I question what I want the answer to be.  Do I want a Jesus who was a true human and tripped up sometimes?  Or do I want a Jesus who was perfect in every way and completely sinless. 

A Jesus who sinned is someone I can relate to and I believe could better relate to me.  To be tempted to sin and choose not to is not the same as “missing the mark.”  A Jesus that did mess up sometimes and understood the guilt and consequences of that screw up, but still moved forward is one that I can more closely identify with.  That to me would be a truly human Jesus of Nazareth and worth following.