What Jesus did for you and me...

Jesus lived on Earth for about 33 years. Then He was beaten and crucified and died on a cross. So, “What did Jesus do for me?”, the answer begins with His life and His death which transformed history. But what Jesus did for you can only fully be appreciated when we look at what happened after He died. 

Pastor Kerry Decker of Compass Christian Church developed the Foundations materials to help people establish a firm foundation in the Christian faith. Kerry is a life coach, author, and apologist who works to help people navigate life’s challenges and better understand God. Let's dive into what Jesus did in history and what his work means for us now. (Keep reading or take a moment to watch the video.)

What Jesus did for you through His life

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation, teaching, and miracles. Jesus left Heaven to show people how to live and to offer them forgiveness through Him. Jesus faced temptations and did not sin. He was baptized when He began His ministry. He taught complicated truths. And He demonstrated the love and authority of God by performing many miracles.  

John the Baptist identified Jesus as the one who would take away the world’s sin (John 1:29). Even as Jesus healed people and did good, He did not lose sight of that purpose. He described his mission as service, including giving His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

So, what did Jesus do for me? Beyond leaving us inspiring teachings and examples of how to live to fully understand what Jesus did for us we need to look at the work He came to accomplish.

What Jesus did for you through His death

The Gospels recount the painful events surrounding Jesus’ death. Judas betrayed Him. His disciples deserted Him. Peter denied Him. He was tried, condemned, and crucified at Golgotha between two thieves. Yet the New Testament asks us to look beyond the events themselves and consider what His death achieved.

Paul explains that the sinless Christ took our sin so that, in Him, we might receive a right standing before God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Think of it as an exchange: Jesus bears what belongs to us and offers what we could not obtain for ourselves. What did Jesus do for me? He made a way for me to be fully accepted by God.

That is why the cross cannot be treated as a small detail at the end of an otherwise admirable life. Jesus’ cry of abandonment from the cross (Mark 15:34) draws our attention to the weight He carried. He died so that we might live.

Where holiness and love meet

Sin is not simply a mistake God can overlook. It violates His will and is an offense against His holiness. If God is holy, He cannot pretend sin does not matter. His response to sin is judgment.

Yet God’s response toward sinners is also love. At the cross, His holiness and love meet in Jesus Christ. Jesus bears the judgment sin deserves while offering His righteousness to those who trust Him for salvation. When I ask, “What did Jesus do for me?”, I must not separate the cost of His gift from the love that moved Him to give it.

John closes his Gospel saying that Jesus did many more things than could be written down (John 21:25). We cannot fit all that Jesus did into a short account. But among His many works, none matters more to our salvation than what he accomplished through his death.

What Jesus did for you through His resurrection

Everything in the Christian faith hinges on the fact that Jesus raised from the dead. Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:14). 

When Jesus raised from the dead He laid the groundwork for the church. He repaired relationships. He modeled forgiveness. He provided a plan and a purpose for believers. He gave His followers hope.

And all of that is available to you. You can be part of the church, you can have forgiveness, you have a purpose, and you can follow the plan that Jesus has for believers. "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age." 

He came to seek, save, and give life

Jesus was direct about why he came. He said that the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He also contrasted the destruction brought by the thief with the full life he came to give (John 10:10).

Temptation can make sin look attractive, but what draws us away from God ultimately damages our well-being and our relationship with Him. Life devoted to Christ offers something better: the fullest life available to us on this side of eternity.

So what did Jesus do for me? He sought the lost and offered abundant life rather than ruin.

To see Jesus is to see God’s heart

Hebrews calls the Son the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3). When a disciple asked to see the Father, Jesus answered that seeing Him was seeing the Father. He was not saying that he is the Father. He was showing us that His own life truly reveals what God is like.

Look at Jesus touching and healing a leper, and you see God’s compassion for hurting people. Look at Him calming a storm, and you see His power over frightening circumstances. Look at Him welcoming tax collectors and sinners, and you see His concern for people pushed to the edges.You see Him weep with those who weep. At the cross, you see grace extended even to a dying thief.

What did Jesus do for me? He made God’s heart known in ways I can grasp. I do not have to relate to God as a distant abstraction. I can look to Christ, especially to the love He showed by bearing my sin, and learn whom I am trusting.

Trust His heart when you cannot trace His hand

Jesus does not always act according to my expectations. I have known disappointment in my walk with Him, and John 11 helps me take those feelings seriously without making them the final word about His character.

A friend once put it this way: when you cannot trace God’s hand, you can still trust his heart. What did Jesus do for me? He gave me reason to trust that heart. His compassion is visible in His life, His love is unmistakable at the cross, and His work opens the way to enjoy God’s presence forever. Heaven holds many wonders, but none will be greater than being with God Himself. 

That is what Jesus has done for you. Now what will you do for Him?