Christ had freedom of choice, therefore, He could have chosen to sin at any time. But He did not. At the beginning of His ministry after He fasted forty days, He was tempted by the devil (Mark 1:13). Again, He was severely tempted especially at the end of His life form Gethsemane to the Cross (Matthew 26:36–44; 27:46; Mark 14:32–41; 15:34; Luke 22:39–44; 23:46; Hebrews 5:7).
Through His life and in some mysterious way that we cannot understand, Jesus experienced the full weight of every imaginable temptation the “prince of this world” (John 12:31) could push upon Him, but without in any way, even by a thought, yielding to any of them ( John 14:30). The devil found nothing in Jesus that submitted to his lies.
Paul wrote that Christ was tested “as we are” as an encouraging model for Christians facing trials and tests “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
And because of Christ’s victory over sin, “He condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). He condemned sin by resisting its attractions in His everyday life. He showed Christians how to succeed. And now the believers have the power to resist sin through the indwelling of the Spirit of God. John stated, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Christ’s life in the flesh was a perfect example of how to live and not commit sin by the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives all the necessary strength for victory (Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). And Christ’s victory is promised to all who by faith hold onto God “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team