Wasn't Jesus Always Perfect?

Hebrews 2:10 tells us God made Jesus "perfect through suffering."

But wasn't Jesus always perfect? Why did God need to perfect him?

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Here's a snippet of the article:


We can answer this question fairly easily when we recognize we might be thinking of the word "perfect" in a different way than the author of Hebrews presents it here.

When I hear or read perfect I understand it as flawless or without fault. As one definition reads:

Being entirely without fault or defect; corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept. [2]

From a Christian perspective we might speak of moral perfection, of being sinless.

In all of these regards, yes, Jesus was perfect. He never sinned. He was never at fault. And, being the incarnation of God, he corresponded in every way to the ideal standard.

In New Testament Greek, the word which most closely equates to this concept is probably amomos. The word is a compound one beginning with a which means not or without, and mómos meaning blame or blemish.

So this combination yields blameless or spotless.

Such is a great descriptor of Jesus, and, in fact, Peter uses the word to compare Jesus's death with that of a spotless lamb. Just as Mosaic Law dictated the sacrifice of an unblemished lamb, Jesus lived a perfect (amomos) life and therefore could serve as the final sacrifice for sins.[3]

Nevertheless Hebrews 2:10 does not use amomos when discussing how God made Jesus perfect. Instead, the passage uses a different word.


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No, Moses Wasn't Jewish: One Thing All Christians Should Know about God's Plan for Humanity

The mountain, Ararat, on which Noah's Ark came to rest after the flood. Photo by Mariam Grigoryan.

At the risk of seeming prideful and petty (mostly because I am both of these things, and I fear you'll learn the truth about me), I will tell the following story.

At the office some time ago my boss told a tale of a near-unbelievable construction feat, namely a crew building an entire house from slab to gable in mere hours. Being myself quite ignorant of the construction process (as such is not my specialty) I asked a question.

"How long does it take for the foundation to dry once it's poured?"