Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
The teacher quoted 1 John 2 (“we have an advocate…Jesus Christ the righteous”) and pushed back against the claim “Jesus doesn’t know what it’s like” because He never sinned, using C.S. Lewis’s argument that only those who resist know temptation’s full strength; where do you see that modern objection functioning as an excuse, and what repentance would it demand if it’s really “a lie”?
Another way to ask: Some people say, “Jesus doesn’t know what it’s like,” because He never sinned, but Lewis says only those who resist feel temptation’s full force. Where do you see that excuse being used today, and what repentance would it require if it’s really a lie?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests the objection functions as an excuse when people use it to dismiss Christ’s sympathy and avoid honest confrontation with their sin—basically saying, “He can’t relate, so I don’t have to listen.” If it is “a lie,” repentance would mean dropping that defense, admitting Jesus understands temptation fully, and turning to Him as advocate rather than justifying continued yielding.
- The speaker quotes 1 John 2: if anyone sins, “we have an advocate…Jesus Christ the righteous.”
- He states the objection plainly: “Jesus never really gave in…so He doesn’t really know…like us.”
- He calls it directly: “But this is a lie.”
- C.S. Lewis’s reasoning: “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.”
- Lewis’s conclusion applied to Christ: because He “never yielded,” He “knows to the fullest extent what temptation actually means.”