Creator, Father, King #234

Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL history, few players are more legendary than Denton True “Cy” Young.

Young played from 1890 to 1911—long before TV, radio, and Internet coverage—when myths surrounding the players often grew far larger than the men themselves. But Young was a legitimate superstar. In his Hall of Fame career, he won an astounding 511 games and threw 749 complete games—still records.

On May 5, 1904, Young, then thirty-seven years old, pitched what many regard as his greatest performance—the first perfect game under baseball’s modern rules. A perfect game in baseball, or a perfecto, is when a pitcher retires all 27 batters he faces (three batters per nine innings) without allowing anyone to reach base by any means—a hit, walk, hit batsman, or error.

Young’s perfecto came against his nemesis, Rube Waddell, the Philadelphia Athletics ace who had beaten Young and taunted him when Young’s Boston Americans faced Philadelphia ten days earlier. When Young retired Waddell for the final out, Young allegedly shouted, “How do you like that, you hayseed?”

Young was perfect on the mound that day, even if he was not a perfect sportsman!

What’s It Mean?

Perfection is hard to come by in sports, but it’s impossible for humans to achieve moral perfection. The Bible says everyone has fallen far short of God’s holy standard (Romans 3:23).

But not Jesus. God’s Son lived a completely perfect life. He never sinned in word, deed, or thought (Hebrews 4:15).

This has great bearing on our study of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. To atone for our sins, we needed someone who had no sin of their own. A sinner can’t remove another’s sins. Someone who has offended God’s laws can’t plead another offender’s case before God.

To propitiate God’s wrath (appease it and turn it to favor), we needed someone who had never sinned. We needed a perfect, spotless Lamb. We needed Jesus!

Thanks to his divine nature (John 1:1), virgin birth (Matthew 1:23), and sinless life (today’s verse), Jesus qualified as our “perfect High Priest forever” (Hebrews 7:28) and God gladly accepted his sacrifice on our behalf.

No one but Jesus could die for your sins. Aren’t you glad he did?

Now What?

When tempted, Jesus remained sinless by staying true to God’s Word (Matthew 4:1-11). Memorize key Scriptures—such as 1 Corinthians 10:12-13; Ephesians 6:10-11; and James 1:13-15—so that you also can stand firm against sin’s temptations.

Did You Know?

Major League Baseball’s annual award for the top pitchers in each league is called the Cy Young Award.