The question invariably arises, “If Jesus could be tempted then could he sin?”
Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’” Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time. (Luke 4:1-13)
There are some critics so desperate to humanize Christ that they will deny the definition of Chalcedon about Jesus as a divine Person with both a human and divine nature. They contend that in his humanity our Lord could sin. Nuts! Let’s be blunt— if Jesus could sin then he is not God. If Jesus is not God, then he cannot save us, and we are still in our sins.
At work here is nonsensical reasoning. It is like the false logic behind the old question, “Given that God is all powerful, can he make a rock too heavy for him to pick up?” There is an inner contradiction. If God can fashion such a rock, then he is not omnipotent in failing to lift it. If God cannot make this rock, then again, he cannot be all-powerful either. But it is a silly and flawed syllogism. Similarly, critics will argue, “If Jesus were truly tempted by the devil, then he must be liable to falling into temptation and sinning. But they are wrong. While one might be tempted by hunger and thirst, power, or worldly acceptance and glory; we do not necessarily have to succumb to such allurements. Indeed, for Jesus while the temptations are real, he is incapable of sin. How is this? Sin is a violation against God. There is no way that God can wrong himself. The humanity of Jesus can never be severed through sin from his divinity. Such would be a twisted version of the heresy of Nestorianism. There can be no fracturing of the holy Trinity. There is one deity, not two or three. God is perfect holiness. There is no defect in God that would permit a wrongful act. He is all good and there is no space in him for evil. He is the LIGHT that cannot be dimmed by the darkness.
Hebrews 4:15 leaves no room for doubt. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.” The moral test was real, but the test was fixed. The new Adam was not liable to fall as was the old Adam.
While not God, the angels of heaven can no longer sin either as they share the beatific vision. This is another reason why sin for Jesus is impossible. We must accept that while our Lord entered the human family, he is not entirely like us. After the incarnation of the eternal Word, his hypostatic union ensures the unity of his two natures. Jesus has a complete human nature (body and soul) and a divine nature. But he is not a human person but the divine Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Our Lord’s human soul, including its mind and will, were sanctified by the divine presence and heavenly vision. The beatific vision means that he both saw the Father and also all those joined with him in his mystical body. That is why he conquers our sin on the Cross and does not falter as we often do. He lovingly sacrifices himself, intimately knowing by name all those for whom he surrenders his mortal life.
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