The philosopher Diogenes carried a lamp wherever he went, looking for an honest person. In the Bible, God conducts a similar search, looking for a good person.

First up, Noah. He is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time” (Genesis 6:9). But Noah turns out to be pretty much like everyone else, with a heart that inclines to evil. Another candidate is David. He is described as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). But David behaves pretty much like every other king, with a string of crimes on his record.

It’s a frustrating search, leading Psalm 53 to conclude: “There is no one who does good, not even one” (v. 3). And that conclusion never changes. Not until God looks down from heaven and sees Jesus.

Jesus is truly righteous, blameless even. Jesus shares God’s heart, and he lives a life that pleases God from beginning to end. We all sin every day, doing things we shouldn’t do—sometimes things we don’t even want to do. But Jesus did not sin. Not once. Not ever.

Diogenes carried his lamp in the fourth century B.C. If only he could have waited about 400 years. He would have found what he was looking for—and what God was looking for too.