John 8:46

“Which of you convicts me of sin?”

What an amazing challenge. Jesus blatantly throws Himself open to His enemies. He knew that His recent life had been subjected to constant investigation and examination (that was the duty of the religious leaders), and yet He was unafraid to lay down the gauntlet. This demonstrated His supreme confidence that He was without sin. A belief in such a state is sometimes possible to a hardened sinner unaware of his own failings, but the first thing a man does when he comes to know God is admit his sinfulness. Once he sees himself in God's eyes he repents deeply. This is the first test of the genuineness of religious experience. When Isaiah saw himself in God's eyes he declared woe on himself because of his unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). When Job saw God he hated himself and repented deeply (Job 42:6). Yet Jesus, with all His knowledge of, and fellowship with, God, and having ‘seen' God, had no such consciousness of sin. This was remarkable evidence of His uniqueness.

Furthermore not one of His enemies could point a finger at anything in His life, apart from His disagreement with them on theological matters, that even hinted at sin. And He knew that that would be so. All good men are deeply aware of their own faults, yet here was One Who not only claimed to be without fault, but also challenged others to disprove His claim. And He did it without a hint of spiritual pride. In this too Jesus was unique.