The Bible indicates that since Jesus was a real human being, He could have sinned. But He did not because He had set Himself to always stay close to God the Father, who would give Him the needed spiritual strength to continue in obedience to God's spiritual laws. The Father was the source of Jesus' spiritual works (John 5:19, 30; 14:10).

This question is addressed in our new booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story in the chapter "The God Who Became a Human Being." Here are the pertinent paragraphs: "This brings us to another question about Jesus' humanity. Was it possible for Jesus to sin? The Bible is quite clear that Jesus did not sin. Paul says that Jesus 'knew no sin' (2 Corinthians 5:21). John confirms that 'In Him there is no sin' (1 John 3:5). None of His enemies could convict Him of sin (John 8:46).

"But could He have sinned? Hebrews 4:15 tells us that 'we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.' If it wasn't possible for Jesus to sin, then was His temptation genuine?

"It's more fitting to say that while He could have sinned, it was certain that He would not. He faced genuine struggles and temptations, but refused to give in to the temptation to sin."

And again, it was His constant closeness to the Father that ensured the instant availability of needed help to overcome. That same spiritual help is available to us if we will draw near to God through heartfelt repentance, baptism and receiving God's Spirit (see the next answer).

You can obtain the rest of the story by requesting our free booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story .