Brett A. Todd
Today we continue with the question: Did Jesus consider himself sinless? As I have already stated, this is a completely different question then: does the Bible teach that Jesus is sinless? There is no question in my mind that it does. Again, I refer you to 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Hebrews 4:15. For now, however, let’s zero in on the question: Did Jesus consider himself sinless?
There is a Bible story in the Gospel of John that is hotly contested among Bible scholars today as to whether or not it should be in the Bible. Nevertheless, they all agree on this one thing, this story is an ancient Christian story that goes a long way back to Christians who apparently believed this was an authentic story of Jesus.
You know the story, it is one of the most beloved stories of Jesus in the Bible, “The Woman Caught In Adultery” (John 7:53-8:11). The religious leaders brought this woman before Jesus as a test to see whether or not he would have this woman condemned and stoned to death. But Jesus’ unexpected words send these leaders packing, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
What Jesus said to these religious leaders was clear. Unless you are sinless, you don’t have the right to judge anyone. So what did these religious leaders do? They walked away, one by one, leaving Jesus and this woman alone. Then Jesus said these remarkable words, “Neither do I condemn you.” Here, Jesus identified himself with everyone else who were sinners. Why do I say this? Let me give you a couple of reasons to consider.
First, there are no indicators or inferences in this story that suggest Jesus was divine. One might consider the use of the word “Lord” (κύριος) as stating that Jesus is divine, but this is incorrect. The word “Lord” (κύριος) in this passage is best understood as “Sir”. If we are to keep this in context, as stated in verse 4, “they said to him (Jesus), “Teacher…” at most, this woman probably only recognized Jesus as a compassionate teacher.
Lastly, the author of this story grammatically connects Jesus with the others, sinners, by saying, “Neither do I condemn you” (Οὐδὲ ἐγώ σε κατακρίνω). Note the grammatical downward movement in this story, using two similar and related Greek words:
Jesus asked the woman, “Has no one condemned you?” (οὐδείς)
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The woman replies, “No one, sir.” (Οὐδείς)
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Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.” (Οὐδὲ)
Does the Bible teach that Jesus is sinless? Yes. Did Jesus consider himself sinless? More than likely not.
In our next study, we will again look at the Gospel of Mark and see how its earliest Greek manuscripts pose some problems for Bible readers.
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