Jesus is the only person who ever walked the earth and did not sin. Now to be accurate we need to realize that what is meant by “sin” in this context means to sin against God. As far as the Pharisees were concerned Jesus “sinned” all of the time because he did not follow all of their rules. Obviously just because Jesus didn’t sin against God did not mean he did not sin against the Pharisees.
Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?
John 8:46a
Jesus asks if anyone can prove he has sinned. I do not believe he is being rhetorical here, I think he means it very literally. The Pharisees see Jesus breaking their rules and they count that as “sin.” The problem is their definition of sin doesn’t match with God’s definition: They are not loving God above all else and their neighbor as themselves.
Q: How do you define “sin?”
Going against the will of God
Anything we do, say, or think that is against God. Right and Wrong is defined my a person – the power of Jesus statement, “I am Truth”.
What a frustrating irony, the Pharisees accuse Truth, the one who defines good of sinning.
Missing the mark is one way people have defined sin. The Greek word in Romans 3: 23 has the idea of an archer aiming at a bulls-eye and it falling short – in this case of God’s standards. And then James 4: 17 states, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” I like to think of sin as rebellion against God and being my own lord.