was Jesus aware that he was sinless?

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Was Jesus aware that he was sinless? Did it ever occur to him?

Jesus was after all, supremely human. Although he was the son of God, he was still human. As such, he was, as Hebrews 4 says, subject to sin as we are. Yet he didn’t sin.

1 Peter 2:22 says He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. He lived as a human, subject to the same temptations and problems as we are, yet he never even told a lie. He never sinned. He was sinless.

He had to be sinless in order to be the perfect sacrifice. But in order to be sinless, he had to have the capability to sin, or it would have been worthless. The whole incarnation would have been worthless if he could not have sinned or if it was easy to not sin.

After all, Hebrews says, he is like us, tempted in every way, yet without sin. If it were easy, that statement would have no power. If being sinless was something so easy, he yawned at it, it would be worthless.

But did he know he was sinless? As he started each day, did he say to himself, Well, I better be careful today. I don’t want to blow all the stuff God has given me to do.

Did it even occur to him that he had not sinned? I believe he found out the mission God had given him when he was baptized by John the Baptizer. It was that realization, I believe, that drove him to the wilderness for 40 days.

In the wilderness he came to grips with what he had come to earth to do. but I believe he didn’t know when he would die or necessarily many of the events surrounding his death, or even, at first, that he would die.

It became apparent that he would. He began to mention it as he goes on, especially after he has gotten a couple of years under his belt. But that wouldn’t take divine knowledge. He knew the religious people hated him and murder was their modus operandi.  So that wasn’t out of the question.

But did he know he was sinless? Was it a conscious effort? Or did he have such a relationship with God that he remained sinless?

I read a book in which a man went to heaven. After a bit, he found out he was a saint. He said, I never wanted to be a saint. The angel near him said, Oh, we never let people be saints who want to be. Nobody campaigns to be a saint. You are because of your life.

The same goes for people who campaign to be leaders in a church. Paul says for one to desire to be a bishop is good, but not necessarily that he campaigns to be. Those people are position junkies, not leaders.

I don’t think Jesus knew he was. If someone had told him, he probably would have been surprised. He did all the things humans do, yet never sinned. He had the perfect fusion of God and man and it all worked together well.

It may have been easy, or that might explain the long periods of time he spent in prayer. I don’t know.

But he was sinless and because of that has the mandate from God to make us sinless. That’s good enough.