Why Does Jesus Matter?
We are in a series called We Are Building Everything on Jesus. This week’s focus is the next logical question: Why does Jesus matter?
Of course, the fact that Jesus is God is enough of an answer. But the real question most of us wrestle with is: What does Jesus have to do with me? What difference does He make in my life right now?
The Gospels tell us what Jesus did. The rest of the New Testament tells us why it matters. Jesus didn’t just die on the cross; He died for you. He wasn’t only born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), went to the cross, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3–4) so that His finished work would transform your life.
To understand this, it helps to see the Bible as a story unfolding across time. Scripture shows us three critical moments that explain why Jesus matters: the Fall, the Law, and the Cross.
The Fall: The Problem That Became Everyone’s Problem
Genesis 2:15–17 ESV
¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:6–8 ESV
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Sin entered the world, and separation began. Adam and Eve were separated from God—and even from each other (Genesis 3:16). That same separation runs through every generation.
Romans 5:12 ESV
¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Every one of us inherits this problem. We sin by choice (Romans 3:23), and we sin by nature (Romans 5:14). Our very DNA is bent toward sin. That’s why even a child quickly learns to argue, resist, and disobey.
This “sin nature” means we are spiritually dead apart from Christ.
Colossians 2:13 ESV
¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
Ephesians 2:1 ESV
¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.
Until we are born again (John 3:3), we live as “dead men walking.” Spiritual death touches every part of life—relationships, identity, and destiny. The Fall is the problem that became everyone’s problem.
The Law: The Opportunity That Became the Revelation
Several thousand years later, God reintroduced Himself to the world through Moses. At Mount Sinai, God gave Israel His Law (Exodus 20:1–17).
Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV
⁴ “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
The Law offered an opportunity. If Israel lived by God’s commands, they would be blessed; if they disobeyed, they would face curses (Deuteronomy 28).
The cornerstone of this covenant was the Ten Commandments. The Law revealed God’s holiness and gave people a way to walk in blessing. But the problem is that it didn’t work—not because the Law was bad, but because human nature was weak.
Joshua 24:19 ESV
¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.”
Paul explained the same truth in his letters.
Romans 8:3 ESV
³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Romans 5:20 ESV
²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
Romans 7:13 ESV
¹³ Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
Instead of producing righteousness, the Law exposed sin. Legalism doesn’t reduce rebellion—it often increases it.
1 Corinthians 15:56 ESV
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
The Law became our guardian, pointing us toward Christ.
Galatians 3:21–26 ESV
²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. ²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
The Law was the opportunity that became the revelation: we cannot save ourselves.
The Cross: The Sufficient Solution
At the cross, Jesus resolved what the Fall created and what the Law revealed.
Colossians 2:13–14 ESV
¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Romans 5 shows us that Adam’s trespass brought condemnation, but Jesus’ obedience brought justification.
Romans 5:15–19 ESV
¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 8:1–4 ESV
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The cross is not just a partial answer—it is the sufficient solution. Hebrews 7 tells us Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant.
Hebrews 7:27 ESV
²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He meant it.
John 19:30 ESV
³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
So how do we receive the benefit of this finished work?
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Faith is the key. When we believe, we receive. By grace, Jesus releases everything that I need. My belief releases His supply.
