Answer # 96

Most people have no idea what perfection is.

Jesus Christ, before He became a man, was God. He was perfect character. When He became flesh, His mind became subject to the pulls and temptations of His flesh. But He never yielded to temptation.

Jesus learned what it meant to become perfect in the flesh by calling upon the power of God for help. By the power of the Holy Spirit He resisted every trial and temptation.

Perfection of character is a day-by-day struggle. It was this experience of maintaining perfection of character that Jesus Christ went through in the human flesh.

Jesus qualified to become our great High Priest through His experiences as a human. In order to effectively minister to our needs in this office, Jesus experienced fiery tests of faith (I Peter 1:7), but He endured and overcame. And Jesus can empathize with us in helping us to overcome. He knows what we are going through (Hebrews 4:14-16)!

Jesus Christ never suffered for His own sins. But He did suffer for sins - ours!

The full penalty of our sins was put upon Him "who committed no sin" (I Peter 2:21-24). Jesus Christ knows what it is like to suffer for sin. He knows what it is like to be forsaken by Almighty God - He was "cut off' in our stead (Matthew 27:46). He paid for our sins so that we can turn to God for forgiveness when we repent of our sins.

Jesus Christ never sinned, never forsook God's commandments, never allowed wrong attitudes to enter His mind. He learned perfection - resisted temptation - no matter what trial or test came His way, even to enduring the brutal death of crucifixion.