Recently, one of CNN’s
main anchors, Don Lemon, made a statement challenging the moral character of
Jesus. Lemon said to another CNN host, “Jesus Christ — if that's who you
believe in, Jesus Christ — admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this
earth!”[1]
Lemon’s remark may seem
shocking to Bible believers, but in reality, he was just voicing the opinion of
many people in our country. According to the American Worldview Inventory 2020,
vast numbers of people who claim to be “Christians” have expressed shockingly
unbiblical beliefs to pollsters. For example, 44% of self-described “Christians”
in America believe that Jesus sinned like any other human being; just 41%
believe (as the Bible declares) that He lived a sinless life.[2]
One must wonder how Jesus
got such a less-than-stellar track record in the minds of so many people,
especially since everything that we about Him in the Bible shows Him to be
perfect.
·
The testimony of Christ’s friends
American’s have become
accustomed to presidential scandal. Whether it’s Richard Nixon and Watergate or
the sexual affairs of JFK and Bill Clinton, even the men who hold the highest
office in the land are not what they seem. Several presidents have tainted
their legacies with sin. In an era of media saturation, it’s difficult for
presidents to hide unsavory facts from the constant presence of reporters.
Eventually, some defect in their character leaks.
Now apply this principle
to Jesus. For three years he was followed by twelve disciples that observed
everything about Him. They were given complete access to His life. They ate
with him, traveled with Him and watched how He interacted with the crowds. Yet,
even with that level of intimacy not one of His closest followers could ever
report any blight upon His character.
·
When John the
Baptist saw Jesus coming to be baptized he declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”
(John 1:29). The implication is that Jesus was sinless or else He could not
remove the sins of humanity if He was a sinner Himself. (By the way, John was
Jesus’ cousin. Usually, family knows us better than anyone. Could you imagine
declaring your cousin the Son of God?)
·
Peter would
record in his first letter, “18 . . . you were ransomed from the futile ways
inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or
gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1:18-19). Later on
in that same epistle he said, “22 He
committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (2:22).
·
The Apostle John
would also attest to the perfect character of Jesus by writing, “5 You know
that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).
·
After Paul met
the risen Christ he said in 2 Cor. 5:21 of Christ’s atonement, “For our sake he
made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Josh McDowell writes,
“Throughout the Bible, the inconsistencies of all persons are revealed. None of
the great Jewish heroes is presented without blemish, not even David, Israel’s
greatest king or Moses, the Hebrew’s greatest deliverer. Even in the New
Testament the shortcomings of the apostles are written about in almost every
book, and yet in their close contact with Jesus for three years, they never saw
in him the sins they saw in themselves. They got on one another’s nerves, they
grumbled and argued, doubted and denied, but they never did see these things in
Jesus. Try spending three days with someone, much less three years, and having
nothing negative to report about their character. The fact that all of Jesus
inner circle, those who knew Him best, came away with the same conclusion of
sinless is astonishing.”[3]
·
The testimony of Christ's foes
What’s even more amazing
is that the people who wanted to see Christ’s demise and were out to find
skeletons in His closet could not dig up anything on Him.
·
After
interviewing Jesus, Pilate the Roman procurator said, “4 See, I am bringing him
out to you that you may know that I find
no guilt in him” (John 19:4).
·
The Roman soldier
who was there at the foot of Jesus’ cross declared, “Truly, this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47).
·
Judas who
betrayed the Lord, recanted his actions and said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4).
·
As Jesus stood
before the Pharisees He challenged them, “46 Which one of you convicts me of
sin?” (John 8:46). But none of His detractors could bring a charge against
Jesus.
In 2009 Mark Buerhle, a
pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, accomplished something that only 18 other
pitchers had accomplished in the history of Major League Baseball since 1871—he
pitched a perfect game. For those of you who aren’t baseball fans allow me to
explain, a perfect game occurs when all 27 hitters are prevented from getting a
hit, also the pitcher cannot allow a single walk, and his team cannot commit
any errors.
The baseball world was
buzz, especially when it looked like Buerhle might repeat the amazing feat
again. His very next start he pitched another perfect game for the first five
and two thirds innings. He set the record for consecutive batters retired over
a several-game stretch—45 batters up and down—but then, as it inevitably does,
human limitation took hold. In the sixth inning, with two outs, Buerhle walked
a batter. Hits followed. He got out of that inning, but in the seventh he gave
up more hits and was pulled from the game. He had given up five runs on five
hits, and the White Sox lost the game 5 to 3.[4]
Among human beings, if
perfection is possible, it is only temporary. Eventually, we will strike out in
some way. We will have an impure thought. We will say a cross word to our
spouse. We will be tempted and succumb to it. As C.S. Lewis commented, “No man
knows how bad he really is until he’s tried to be good.”[5]
Our sins should cause us to bow in humility to Christ and it should highlight
the spotless life He lived pleasing His Father in every thought, word and deed.
Jesus’ sinless sacrifice on the cross should cause us to worship Him realizing
that He did what we could never do. -DM
[1]
Adam Ford, “CNN's Don Lemon: "Jesus Christ admittedly was not perfect when
he was here on this earth,” DISRN, July 9, 2020 <https://disrn.com/news/cnns-don-lemon-jesus-christ-admittedly-was-not-perfect-while-he-was-here-on-this-earth>
[2]
Michael Youssef, “Are We Prepared for Pandemic-Triggered Revival?” Decision,
June 2020, p.22.
[3]
Josh McDowell, Evidence for Christianity (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 2006), 412.
[4]
Craig Brian Larson, “Mark Buerlhe is Perfect Temporarily,” Preaching Today <http://www.preachingtoday.com/ illustrations/2009/august/3081009.html>
[5]
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (San
Francisco: Harper One, 1952), 142.
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