What does it mean that Christ is holy?
Scripture calls Jesus "the Holy One of God," and it uses that word of Him from before His birth right through to His place in heaven today. To say Christ is holy is to say more than that He never sinned; commentators press the point that holiness describes what He was in His very nature, and that this is what makes Him fit both to die for us and to make us holy.
Holy Before He Was Born
The angel's word to Mary ties the holiness of Jesus to the way He entered the world. His human life began by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the writers see in that the guarding of His humanity from any trace of sin.
W. H. WestcottHe is here called Son of God as born in time. Though seen in the weakness of infancy, and so truly sharing in humanity, yet He is sinlessly holy... The body in which He appeared was prepared for Him (Heb. 10); and in it He was to carry out all the will of God. It was kept from every taint of sin in the Virgin's womb.
(The older translation these writers quote reads "that holy thing which shall be born of thee"; the ESV renders Luke 1:35, "the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.")
Holy, Not Merely Innocent
Adam came from God's hand good, yet the writers refuse the word "holy" for him. Innocence is the absence of evil; holiness is an active thing, and one commentator defines it as a power in the nature itself.
William KellyWhen Adam came from the hand of God, good as he was, it could not be said that he was holy... There was untainted innocence. But holiness and righteousness are more than creation goodness and innocence. Holiness implies the intrinsic power that rejects evil in separation to God: and righteousness means consistency with the relationship in which one is set. Both these qualities we see not in Adam but in Jesus even as to His humanity.
The difference shows in what each man knew. Adam was untested and unaware; Christ walked through a world of evil with His eyes open.
W. W. FeredayInnocence is simplicity as regards good and evil; holiness implies a knowledge of both, but hatred of the one and love of the other. Such was Christ.
Attested at Every Stage
His holiness is not an inference drawn by later theologians. One writer gathers the witnesses across the whole story of Christ — His birth, His works, His death, His resurrection, and His present dealings with the churches.
F. A. HughesAs coming into manhood He was holy in His conception (Luke 1:35); He was recognised as "the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24); the Spirit of holiness was shown in His works of power; Peter's reference to the resurrection in Acts 2 identifies Christ as God's "Holy One"; in His judicial movements among the churches He is presented as "the holy one, the true one" (Revelation 3:7)... "He knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21); "He committed no sin" (1 Peter 2:22); "in him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). All creation is silenced by His challenge — "Which one of you convicts me of sin?" (John 8:46).
Why the Sacrifice Required It
The offerings of the Old Testament had to be without blemish, and commentators read that requirement as pointing to Christ. A stain anywhere would have ruined everything.
William KellyBecause there could not be the least trace of defilement in the Holy One. The smallest taint of evil would spoil the sacrifice; the lamb for the burnt offering was to be without blemish and without spot... He is called that holy thing, for He was born by the power of the Holy Spirit. So He could take upon Him not merely all our sins, but sin itself.
The High Priest Who Suits Us
Hebrews says such a high priest was fitting for us. One writer takes the four descriptions there and shows they cover every area of a life. (The ESV renders "harmless, undefiled" as "innocent, unstained.")
Leslie M. GrantFirst, in character He must be holy, having unchanging love of good and hatred of evil. Secondly, in conduct He must be harmless, having no element of disregard for the need or welfare of others. Thirdly, in contact He must be undefiled, not in any measure contaminated by circumstances of corruption. Fourthly, His communion must be "separate from sinners," His path one that drew a clear line between Himself and those in a course of sin.
His Holiness Made Ours
In His prayer Jesus says He sets Himself apart for His disciples. Writers are careful about what that cannot mean.
A J PollockSurely the Lord did not need to make Himself holy — it would be blasphemy for such a thought to cross the mind. No, He set Himself apart for a given purpose, namely, to sanctify His own through the truth.
What He is has become what God gives us, and the result is a pull on the heart rather than a rule on paper.
Frederick W GrantChrist is "made of God unto us sanctification," having "sanctified Himself" — set Himself apart in the place He has taken for us in heaven — that we also might be "sanctified through the truth." So as an Object for our hearts in heaven He draws the hearts of His people away from the earth.
Summary
- Holy in origin. His holiness starts at His conception by the Holy Spirit, in a body prepared for Him and kept from every taint of sin.
- Holy in nature. Adam was innocent and fell; Christ knew good and evil, hated the one, loved the other, and had nothing inside that answered to evil outside.
- Holy under testing. The word follows Him through birth, ministry, death, resurrection and glory, and no one has ever answered His challenge, "Which one of you convicts me of sin?"
- Holy as the offering. The smallest blemish would have spoiled the sacrifice; because there was none, He could bear not only our sins but sin itself.
- Holy for us. He set Himself apart in heaven — not to become holy, but so that His people, looking at Him there, would be set apart too.