Why did Jesus never have to repent? The answer is simple. He never sinned. That is true. However, that answer doesn’t really help you, does it? This was a question that was posed by one of the speakers at a youth conference I attended earlier this week. At first, I didn’t think deeply about this question, instead, I only looked at this at the surface level.
Ultimately, the conclusion that was reached was Jesus didn’t sin because he was unashamedly dependent on God. Jesus was knowledgeable about the scriptures and loved them, but so was Saul of Tarsus. Jesus was strong in his faith, but so was King David. Despite Jesus’s spiritual strength and the power of the Holy Spirit within him, at the end of the day, he unashamedly was in need of his Father. We do not often look at Jesus this way when reading the Gospels. We focus in on the miracles, but sometimes we miss the smaller moments.
Before Jesus made the huge decision to select 12 apostles, who did he consult in this decision? We might say, “Well he’s Jesus, He didn’t have to consult with anyone.” Yet Jesus spent the entire night in prayer to God beforehand.
“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…”
Luke 6:12-13
If I told you that I prayed to God the entire night before you read this, your first thought would be of concern. You would probably think something really bad has happened in my life, and you would want to ask me about it. Despite the wisdom and knowledge that Jesus had, when it came to the biggest decisions in his life, he was still dependent on the Father.
Jesus speaks about this dependence on the Father in John 5, but we often overlook it.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel… I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
John 5:19-20, 30
Jesus’s eyes were constantly open and searching for the will of the Father so that he could perform it perfectly. Jesus had his ears always open to the Father so that he could put his will to the side and submit to the Father’s will. If the church is to be the body of Christ, then we have to grow in our dependence on God. We need to realize that dependence on God may look like weakness in the eyes of the world. However, when we are weak and more reliant on God’s strength, God’s power is displayed through us.
Jared Kelly
Dalraida church of Christ is a congregation of Christians that meet in the mid-town area of Montgomery, Alabama. Our goal and purpose is to seek and follow God and His Word in everything that we do in life.