Why do we need Jesus?

Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:22)

This question asked by Pilate echoes down through the corridors of history and demands an answer from every individual. What will you do with Jesus? What does Jesus mean to you? Why do we need Him? In our last study, we asked who Jesus is, and we looked at the claims He made to divinity. In this study, we are going to look more at His humanity as we explore humanity’s need for a Saviour in this second part in our series.

In order to come to a correct understanding of the solution, we need to have a correct understanding of the problem. The salvation that Jesus offers to us through His life, death, and resurrection, only makes sense when we understand the problem of sin. What does the Bible have to say about our condition?

The SIN Problem

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). We are born sinners. Just think, do you ever have to teach a child how to steal his friend’s toy? No, he doesn’t need you or anyone else to teach him that, he just does it naturally. “The heart is deceitful above all things  and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9), “”There is no one righteous, not even one… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10, 23). Furthermore, we read that our sins have separated us from God (Is. 59:2). The Bible doesn’t paint a very pretty picture! These are just a small collection of numerous other passages that teach the same thing. There is one thing we learn from this – we are not partially lost, we are totally lost!

If you didn’t think that was bad enough, God still demands from us perfect righteousness. But even when we try to be good and holy, the Bible says that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Is. 64:6). How can we possibly stand a chance? How can this broken relationship between God and humanity healed? How can fallen, sinful, lost man, be restored, sinless, and found once again? It is only when we begin to understand the depths of the sin problem that we can begin to understand heights the Son solution.

The SON Solution

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29). Jesus came to be the sacrificial Lamb that would die in our place. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Here we learn that God loves us so much, that He was willing to even send His Own Son to take upon Himself the punishment that we all deserve – death (Rom. 6:23). Because He has done this, eternal life is ours for the taking. He became what we are – sinful, in order that we must become what He is – sinless (2 Cor. 5:21).

As Christians, we often sing the song “Jesus is the answer.” And you know what, He really is the answer… to everything! He came to restore broken relationships. He came to destroy the power of sin. He came to save you! In John 10:10 we read that Jesus came to give us life, but more than just life, He came to give us a life of abundance.

The US Question

So, why do we need Jesus? The Bible teaches that we are lost in sin and that He is the only way by which we can be found (John 14:6). He came to solve the greatest problem of the universe. But most of all, He came because He loves you so much and will do everything He can to win your love and affection.

Again I ask, why do you need Jesus? Or let’s rephrase the question, why do you love Jesus? Just so you can make it to heaven? So you can live forever? I want you to dig deep in your thinking. Would you still need Jesus when you arrived at the pearly gates? Is it only for subtly selfish reasons that we “need” and “love” Jesus? I believe John helps us out here when he writes in 1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

So what will you do with Jesus who is called Christ?

Advertisement