Sinless
Jesus was sinless, or so we are taught. This is a concept that is hard to grasp. Presuming that he existed at all, it would make him an extraordinary human being. As such, if we are to retain the lessons taught in Catéchisme, Vactaion Bible School, Sunday School, or Junior Church, we end up concluding that Jesus was God incarnate ( God becoming a human being). That assumption begs many questions. They are questions which have no easy answers. They are also questions without quantitative answers. Any answer given is arguable at best and often based on feeling rather than fact. Too, it has to be added, that the facts that the facts are subjective at best. The only documents which exist concerning the life of Jesus are spotty. Even documenting how old Jesus was when he was executed by the Romans as a political insurgent is more a matter of Greek tradition than documented fact. As an adult, however, one has to grow up and decided if the teaching of childhood are valid. The idea that Jesus was sinless is one of those ideas. Could Jesus have been sinless? Too, can you or I be sinless?
Let us put Jesus in historic context first. Judaism at that point in time was roughly 500 years old. The best independent, anthropological record we have of that religion dates from about 525 B.C.E. (Before Common Era) give or take 25 years. One of the most common understanding of the Jewish teachings dates from approximately 30 B.C.E. It comes from Hillel a Doctor of Law roughly before the time of Jesus.
Let us put Jesus in historic context first. Judaism at that point in time was roughly 500 years old. The best independent, anthropological record we have of that religion dates from about 525 B.C.E. (Before Common Era) give or take 25 years. One of the most common understanding of the Jewish teachings dates from approximately 30 B.C.E. It comes from Hillel a Doctor of Law roughly before the time of Jesus.
When a heathen who wished to become a Jew asked him for a summary of the Jewish religion in the most concise terms, Hillel said: "What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary" (Shab. 31a).
For the Jew of that day it was a touch bit more complex. There were (and still are) 613 laws by which a Jew lives to please God. Within those laws there are some which applied to a short time, some which applies to certain family divisions ("tribes" for lack of a better term), and those which applied to a specific gender at a specific time. Being sinless was a matter of what one did in life in adherence or rebellion to these laws. Added to this litigious dynamic, no man was responsible before the age of 13. Too, as Jesus is purported to have said in the records we do have:
Over the course of time much has been added to make the idea of living a sinless life impossible. Much of this has to do with the propensity of people to find fault in others. It has much to do with personal power transfer and imposing the will of the group on the individual. If one says he is sinless then others will find ways to fault that person. Too, in order to establish distinctions and collective identity, humans have a tendency to differentiate on minor, petty, nonessential differences to clarify the distinction between "Us" and "them." They are always "sinners." There is another part of the equation, too. If one says that one cannot be sinless it abdicates any spiritual responsibility to live in a way that is responsible to the same teachings that one says one adheres too. Life then is a forgivable chain of irresponsible actions toward others.
Based on what we see in the record, given our understanding of teaching at the time, Jesus probably was sinless. And, if applied today, an individual living in the here and now, can be sinless as well. It is as simple as stop treating others with indifference and disdain.
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (12:29-31).Before moving on, please note two ideas here.
- Hillel never mentioned conversion to Judaism as a prerequisite for "Sinlessness" when addressing the heathen.
- Jesus invokes the Shema Yisrael for his first century Jewish audience, but basically reiterates the same teaching of Hillel a generation before.
Over the course of time much has been added to make the idea of living a sinless life impossible. Much of this has to do with the propensity of people to find fault in others. It has much to do with personal power transfer and imposing the will of the group on the individual. If one says he is sinless then others will find ways to fault that person. Too, in order to establish distinctions and collective identity, humans have a tendency to differentiate on minor, petty, nonessential differences to clarify the distinction between "Us" and "them." They are always "sinners." There is another part of the equation, too. If one says that one cannot be sinless it abdicates any spiritual responsibility to live in a way that is responsible to the same teachings that one says one adheres too. Life then is a forgivable chain of irresponsible actions toward others.
Based on what we see in the record, given our understanding of teaching at the time, Jesus probably was sinless. And, if applied today, an individual living in the here and now, can be sinless as well. It is as simple as stop treating others with indifference and disdain.
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