IT IS ONE THING TO TELL OTHERS how to live, and another thing to live up to that teaching yourself. The selfless life of Jesus, and His amazing love for those who hated Him, is a further proof of His divinity. It is also a proof of the divine nature of His mission. Such qualities in the messenger, should make us sit up and take note of the message that He brings!
Think of those sins that we are all prone to: bickering, spite, malice, backbiting, hatred, resentment, envy, etc. The list soon reveals the extent of the gulf that exist between Christ’s holy nature and our own.
Christ’s life is a practical standard to compare ours with. Peter’s response to Christ’s holiness is not surprising. He felt unclean in His holy presence. We are indeed unclean, and totally unfit to live in Heaven with Christ when we die. We need the washing of Christ’s blood to fit us for Heaven. More of this later.
SUMMARY: Though Jesus was tempted, He never “gave in” to temptation. His sheer perfection made others deeply conscious of their sin.
What Jesus taught, He practiced. He loved God, His Father, with all His heart, soul, mind and strength. And He loved others as much as He loved Himself. He denied Himself life, that He might spare others the pains of eternal death (see later).
The love of Jesus for His enemies was truly remarkable. The best of us find it hard to love our friends at times! Jesus showed His perfection by seeking the salvation of His enemies, and at the very moment that He was being tormented by them.