Those who portray Jesus on earth as an ordinary man with ordinary powers, usually say that the Lord’s encounters with the devil were “to see if He could resist the devil’s enticements.”  The Bible tells us that Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness temptation (Matthew 4:1).  This fact alone tells us that Jesus was not tempted for His own benefit.  God does not lead people into temptation.  He “delivers” them from it! (2 Peter 2:9; Matthew 6:13; 1 Corinthians 10:13).  “God does not tempt any man with evil” (James 1:13).  Those who have the Holy Spirit intentionally placing Jesus into a potentially sinful and soul-damning situation, have not considered the consequences of their position.

    Jesus did not meet the devil in order to find out whether or not He could resist the devil’s enticements.  He met the devil for the purpose of demonstrating His complete and total power over the devil.  Every meeting between Jesus and the devil resulted in humiliating defeat for the devil and total victory for the Lord.  The closest the devil ever came to a win had to have been even more humiliating than total defeat.  I am referring to “the suffering of death” that the lord had to endure (Hebrews 2:9; Genesis 3:15).  If we can even call it a loss, it only was so because the Lord “threw in the towel.”  He made it clear, in John 10:17-18, that the power to “lay down” and “take up” His life was His to exercise.  He could have called down more than twelve legions of angels to avoid death, but it was not His will to do so (Matthew 26:53-54).

    Think of how you felt when you played a game with someone and they let you win.  That must have been about how the devil felt when Jesus died on the cross.  Please read the following verses:  “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).  “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). (KJV)   Both of these verses make clear and definitive statements about why the Lord Jesus came to the earth.  He came to “destroy” the works of the devil!  These verses do not say that Jesus came to the earth to try or attempt to destroy the devil’s power and works.  They do not say that Jesus came in the flesh to see if He could destroy the works of the devil.  They plainly state that Jesus came in the flesh for the purpose of destroying the devil (devil’s power) and his works!  The incarnation was not just some type of divine fact-finding mission!  God came to the earth to do for us, what we were unable to do for ourselves.  He came to save us from our sins!

    In  John 14:30, Jesus told the disciples,  “I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.” (ASV)  What did Jesus mean by this statement?  Did He mean that He was vulnerable to the devil, and that He was in constant danger of being destroyed by him?  No, Jesus meant exactly what He said.  He meant that there was no way the devil could deceive Him and thus “get the advantage” over Him in the way he sometimes does ordinary humans (2 Corinthians 2:11).  The devil could not destroy Jesus.  The valuable lesson we learn from every contest between Christ and Satan is that God’s power is greater than the devil’s power.  The scriptures state this fact plainly: “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).

    Jesus did not come to the earth and occupy a physical body in order to find out if He could live a sinless life.  His intrinsic holiness was His reason for being here.  Before He even came to earth, the prophecies had said, “A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom,” and “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity” (Hebrews 1: 8-9; from Psalm 45:6-7).  The Lord’s holy character and nature were what qualified Him to be our perfect sacrifice.   Jesus was able to say,  “I do always those things that please Him” and “Which of you convinces me of sin?” (John 8:29,46).

    As soon as the time was right, Jesus began His mission and announced to the world that He would not commit one single sin.  Notice this bold affirmation in Matthew 5:17-18, “Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.”  (ASV)  In Luke’s account Jesus said, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17).  In that Sermon on the Mount, Jesus announced that His success was the most certain thing in the entire universe.  Had He committed even one sin we would not be here to discuss its consequences, for “heaven and earth” would have “passed away.”  Dear friend, can you accept the plain teaching of the word of God?  Jesus Christ came to earth with the knowledge, ability and determination necessary to perfectly fulfill the Law of Moses.

    The Hebrew writer commented on Psalm 40:6-8, and said these verses applied when Jesus “came into the world.”  Let’s pay special attention to Hebrews 10:9 which says, “Then said he, Lo I come to do thy will, O God.  He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”  Notice the connection between the Lord’s perfect life and the removal of the Law of Moses.  This verse plainly states that Jesus came to the earth in order to live a perfect/sinless life and thus fulfill and remove the Law of Moses.  These clear passages allow no chance of failure.  This was a divine plan and it was divinely executed!

    In this passage, Paul set forth the primary reason for Jesus coming to the earth.  He said, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”  “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!  “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).   “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).  These passages all tell us that Jesus came to save us from the guilt and consequences of sin.  The very combination of Jesus’ names, “Jesus,” meaning “Savior,” and “Emmanuel,” meaning “God with us,” prove that Jesus was a divine Messiah (Matthew 1:21, 23).  The one who “gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity” was “God, our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13-14).  In order for our divine redeemer to serve as our sacrifice and accomplish His saving work, He had to “take part” in a flesh and blood human body (Hebrews 2:14; 10:5, 9).  This explains why the Bible says it was the blood of God that purchased the church (Acts 20:28).

    Some are teaching that the act of the incarnation made Jesus fallible.  Such a doctrine is either rank Calvinism or pure blasphemy!  It is Calvinism for the person who believes that the fleshly body somehow tainted our Lord's perfect and holy divine spirit.  It is blasphemy for the one who believes that the act of the incarnation changed Jesus’ spirit into something other than unabridged deity!  God does not change (Malachi 3:6), and Jesus has never changed (Hebrews 13:8).  When people teach that Jesus became a potential sinner and unbeliever as a result of His incarnation, they defy scripture and rob us of our Savior.  The above passages do not teach that Jesus came to earth to see if He could avoid being a sinner.  They teach that He came to earth to help us, because all men are sinners who stand in need of a sinless Savior (Romans 3:9-19,23).

    Hebrews 1:9 tells us that Christ was qualified as our Savior on the basis of His love for righteousness and hatred of iniquity.  His holy and sinless life on earth identified Him as the Passover lamb of Old Testament promise and prophecy (Isaiah 53: 7-12).  We should remember that the animal for the Passover sacrifice was to be a year old male sheep or goat, and it was to be “without blemish” (“perfect”)(Exodus 12:5).  It was selected on the tenth day of the first month, and it was carefully inspected every day until the fourteenth day, on which day it was killed (Exodus 12:3,6).  The animal was selected because of its perfection.  Paul said, “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:7).  The Passover lamb of the Old Testament was selected because of its physical superiority and perfection.  Similarly, Christ our Passover was selected because of His spiritual and moral perfection.  Zechariah prophesied that it was the Lord Jehovah who would be “pierced” (Zechariah 12:10).  Paul told the Ephesian Elders that it was the blood of God that was shed on the cross (Acts 20:28).  The Holy Spirit revealed that the personal name of Christ would be “Joshua” (Matthew 1:21).  This word means “Jehovah is the Savior.”  Our Savior was not just a perfect man who had managed to live a sinless life.  He was the all-powerful person of “God with us” (Matthew 1: 23).  He was the divine person of God incarnated into a physical human body of “flesh and blood” (Hebrews 2:14; John 1:14).

    In this passage Jesus said to Pilate, “To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (ASV)  The first argument that the Hebrew writer made for the superiority of the new covenant over the old was the fact that the person of God was directly and actively involved in New Testament revelation.  The divine person of “Logos,” was not only the eternal person of “the Word” (John 1:1; 14:6), He also taught and demonstrated the word (John 1:17-18).  The Hebrew writer said,  “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”  (Hebrews 1:1-3, KJV).  Being God perfectly qualified Jesus to reveal the will of God.  Jesus spoke that which He had actually seen with His Father (John 8:38).  When Jesus spoke these words, He spoke from His own intrinsic authority (Matthew 7:29; John 7:46).

    In John 3:22-34, John the apostle, compares Jesus and His work with that of John the baptist.  Jesus spoke of things He had “seen and heard” (John 3:11,32).  He later said, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going” (John 8:14). John the baptist spoke as a result of the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 3:28,34).  The immediate context tells us that John was “sent” by the Father to prepare the way for Christ (John 3:28).  Verse 34 says, “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”   The Holy Spirit so guided John that he was totally qualified to be a witness of Christ (John 5:33).  The apostle is saying that since the Holy Spirit guided John, he was adequately equipped to completely fulfill his mission.  The statement that John had begun to “decrease” while Jesus was beginning to “increase” tells us that John had been sufficiently equipped by the Spirit to accomplish his job (John 3:30).

    Some try to make John 3:34 apply to Christ.  Their argument turns Christ into a super-apostle who had no intrinsic powers of His own so “He had to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.”  Their argument on “the Spirit by measure” suggests various levels of ability by the Spirit.  Their argument has Christ with great ability, the Apostles with a little less ability, and those on whom the Apostles laid their hands with less ability than the apostles!  Their conclusion states the exact opposite of what is actually taught in John 3:34.  John is trying to tell us that every time the Spirit is involved in any activity, the people involved were completely qualified to accomplish whatever task was before them.  The Spirit’s work was to reveal and confirm the word (John 16:13; Hebrews 2:4).  We do not read about variations in the Spirit’s success. We do not see where the Spirit did a “great” job in one case, a “pretty good” job in another and then a “fair” job somewhere else.  We do read that every time someone was guided by the Spirit to do anything, they were sufficiently guided to completely finish their mission (John 3:34).  This was true of John the baptizer, as well as every other Spirit guided person of the first century.  Just a few verses earlier, in verse 28, John affirmed that he was the one whom God had “sent.”  Verse 34 has reference to the Spirit-guided, capable work of John the baptizer.  It does not refer to Jesus and should not be used to prove that Jesus worked miracles “just like the Apostles did.”