Sins of Jesus

The Bible claims that Jesus was sinless:
[Jesus] did not sin. Hebrews 4:15z
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However, I found at least five places in the Bible that record Jesus committing sins. The first was when he was a child.
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts… When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. Luke 2:41-46x,48-49,51
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If you’re a parent, can you imagine how you would feel if your child ran away for three days? Wouldn’t you consider that to be a violation of the fifth commandment, honor your parents [Exodus 20:12]? And then, when Jesus went home with his parents, wasn’t he admitting that what he did was wrong?

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. Matthew 21:12
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Now, I’m not saying that righteous anger is a sin. But when he overturned the money changers’ tables, surely all of their coins went rolling around on the ground, and surely people picked them up. And when he overturned the benches, the cages probably broke and the doves flew away. So, didn’t Jesus indirectly violate the eighth commandment, do not steal [Exodus 20:15]? If he did this to you, wouldn’t you think so? If his behavior wasn’t sinful, then should we take it as an example for how to live our lives? Whenever we see anybody doing something we don’t approve of, is it appropriate to disrupt their activity physically? If you don’t like what I’m writing here, is it okay for you to barge into my home and destroy my computer?

Before I present the other three examples of Jesus’ sins, you must understand that it is a sin to make a mistake. Consider that the word “sin” is an archery term that means “missing the mark”, and with God, the mark is absolute perfection. So, if you unintentionally drop a pencil, that’s a sin.
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to [Jesus], crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” … He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel…. It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:22,24,26z-28
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When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” … Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. John 2:3-4,7-9x
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[Jesus] told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. John 4:16-17
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Oops. So Jesus made mistakes. And he even implied that he was not good:
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone.” Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19
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References
NIV New International Version. 1984. International Bible Society. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/

Notes
x The quote includes the beginning of the verse but does not continue to the end of that verse.
z The quote does not start at the beginning of the verse, but it includes the end of the verse.
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Last updated: 2/17/25
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