Jesus' Sins
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the seven deadly sins, or what the Catholic Church calls "capital sins" was first formalized by Pope Gregory the Great in 604 and fully developed by Thomas Aquinas in 1274. It has been an accepted doctrine ever since. Terms like "deadly" and "capital" sound awfully strong, as if they are sins that will land you directly in hell. The CE, however, defines them as vices: "It is not then the gravity of the vice in itself that makes it capital but rather the fact that it gives rise to many other sins."
These sins are really very petty. There is hardly a person who can get through life without displaying these traits at various times to various degrees. Even Thomas Aquinas was fat, as were several popes. By definition, people with power have to have a sense of pride in being recognized as an authority. In their zeal to increase their authority by making sin a universal given, they succeeded in tagging themselves and their idol Jesus.
Right believing Christians who have been brainwashed into believing Jesus was perfectly free of sin, might be shocked to know that he succumbed to six of these sins. He was fat and lazy. He didn't work and he hated money, so he was dependant on handouts. When they weren't offered, he stole.
People called him a glutton and a drunkard. Women followed him around like a bunch of groupies eager to service their hero. He didn't wash, so it is a wonder they could stand his smell.
He had such a high opinion of himself that he got frustrated or angry at those who didn't believe him. When he insulted them or threatened to send them to hell, he only made his audience angry at him. Who could blame his skeptics? He wasn't the only miracle man in those days, claiming to be sent by God.
21"Not
every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22On that day many will say
to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out
demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23And then will I declare to
them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matt. 7:21-23)
Pride
Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Out of pride comes arrogance, contempt and vanity.
To call others dogs and swine, suggests arrogance, or more accurately, contempt.
6"Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. (Matt. 7:6)
Whoever does not love him more than their parents is not worthy of him.
37He
who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who
loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38and
he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39He
who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake
will find it. (Matt. 10:37-39)
He was annoyed by the presence of a father of a boy who suffered from seizures.
19"O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." (Mark 9:19)
The luxury of being rubbed with expensive ointment was more important than selling the ointment and giving the money to the poor.
3And
while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at
table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard,
very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
4But there were some who
said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the
ointment thus wasted?
5For this ointment might
have been sold for more than three hundred denarii,
and given to the poor." And they reproached her.
6But Jesus said,
"Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has
done a beautiful thing to me.
7For you always have the
poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do
good to them; but you will not always have me.
8She has done what she could;
she has anointed my body beforehand for burying.
9And truly, I say to you,
wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done
will be told in memory of her." (Mark 14:3-7)
The attention he got from a woman was more important than her duties.
38Now
as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named
Martha received him into her house.
39And
she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to
his teaching.
40But
Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell
her then to help me."
41But
the Lord answered her,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled
about many things;
42one
thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be
taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)
He was frustrated because the Pharisees would not believe he came from God.
42Jesus
said to them,
"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came
forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43Why
do you not understand what I say?
It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. (John 8:42-43)
Envy
Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation. There are no recorded incidences where Jesus was envious. After all, what could a man with a god size ego have to be envious about?
Anger
Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury.
Jesus was angry many times. The following examples are self evident.
20Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. (Matt: 11:20)
21He got angry at several towns for not repenting. He tells them, "But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." (Matt. 11:21-24)
33"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" (Matt. 23:33)
17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? (Matt. 23:17)
5"And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man,"Stretch out your hand." (Mark 3:5)
40You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? (Luke 11:40)
Sloth
Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.
These were the days before running water and the germ theory, so it would be unfair to compare Jesus' hygiene habits by today's standards. But we have to wonder how badly he smelled between baths, or if he ever cleaned himself at all. Jesus justified not washing because theologically, he felt he was always clean.
He justifies not washing by claiming that being unwashed does not defile him,
1Then
Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
2"Why do your
disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash
their hands when they eat." Jesus answered.
19For
out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication,
theft, false witness, slander.
20These
are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a
man." (Matt. 15:1-20)
The Pharisees asked him why he did not wash his hands before eating according to tradition.
2they
saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is,
unwashed.
3(For the
Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands,
observing the tradition of the elders;
4and
when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify
themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the
washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.)
5And
the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"
(Mark 7:2-5)
His answer was that all food is clean.
18And
he said to them, "Then are you also
without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from
outside cannot defile him,
19since it enters, not his
heart but his stomach, and so passes on?"
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
(Mark 7:18-19)
For him, everything is clean, so there is no need to wash.
39And
the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees
cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full
of extortion and wickedness.
40You fools! Did not he who
made the outside make the inside also?
41But give for alms those
things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.
(Luke 11:37)
The lazy man's creed: Don't worry about your basic needs for food and clothing; God will provide.
25"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matt. 6:25)
22And
he said to his disciples, "Therefore I
tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor
about your body, what you shall put on.
23For life is more than food, and the body more than
clothing. (Luke 12.22-23)
Greed
Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness. Jesus distaste for work and wealth was highly impractical. Because he lived on charity, there were times when charity couldn't satisfy his needs, so he stole.
On the Sabbath, he and his disciples helped themselves to a farmer's grains. When asked why he violates Jewish law by eating on the Sabbath, he justified stealing by calling himself lord of the Sabbath.
1On a
sabbath, while he
was going through the grainfields, his
disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their
hands.
2But some of the Pharisees
said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the
sabbath?"
3And Jesus answered,
"Have you not read what David did when he was
hungry, he and those who were with him:
4how he entered the house of
God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful
for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?"
5And he said to them,
"The Son of man is lord of the
sabbath." (Matt. 12:1-8; Mark
2:23-28; Luke 6:1-8)
He sent two disciples to steal an ass and a colt.
1And
when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to
Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2saying
to them, "Go
into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass
tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.
3If
any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of
them,' and he will send them immediately." (Matt. 21:1-3)
Gluttony
Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.
He gets uppity about complaints about him and his followers always eating and drinking.
33And
they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers,
and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."
34And Jesus said to them,
"Can you make wedding guests fast while the
bridegroom is with them?
35The days will come, when
the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those
days." (Matt: 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-19; Luke 5:33-34)
He was known as a glutton and a drunkard.
19the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."'(Matt: 11:18-19; Luke 7:34)
Jesus got cranky when he was hungry. Once he cursed a fig tree for not having any fruit. The tree died.
18In
the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry.
19And seeing a fig tree by
the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And
he said to it, "May no fruit ever come
from you again!" And the fig tree
withered at once. (Matt: 21:18-19; Mark 11:12-14, 20)
Death must consume a lot of energy. When he returned, the first thing he asked for was food. Or perhaps he didn't really die?
36As
they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them.
37But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that
they saw a spirit.
38And he said to them, "Why
are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?
39See my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and
bones as you see that I have."
41And
while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them,
"Have you anything here to eat?"
42They
gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24.36-43
Lust
Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.
Jesus set an awfully high standard for what defines adultery when he defined it as looking at a woman with lust. Male hormones are very powerful.
27"You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28But I say to you that every
one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with
her in his heart. (Matt. 5:27-28)
Jesus celibacy is questionable; readers will have to decide for themselves. Groupie women followed him and his disciples through the cities and villages to "provide for them out of their means;" at least one was married.
1Soon
afterward he went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing
the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,
2and also some women who had
been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene,
from whom seven demons had gone out,
3and Joanna, the wife of
Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, who provided
for them out of their means. (Luke 8:1-3)
Near the end, there is a suggestion that he lost interest in the affections of Mary Magdalene when he told her not to hold him anymore. The Bible is very prudish about using stronger words for sexual contact. Like a mourning lover, Mary Magdalene is the only consistent name in all four Gospels who went first to visit Jesus' tomb (Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10, John 20:1).
16>Jesus said to her,
"Mary." She
turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said to her,
"Do not hold me, for I have not yet
ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am
ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."(John 20:16-17)
We can't say for sure if Jesus committed the sin of lust, but there are grounds for suspicion.