Why do we care so much about Jesus?

I overheard my wife reading to my kids from the Jesus Storybook Bible just the other day. She paused to ask the kids a question, and my son Lennon yelled out, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!"

You know how firstborns can be. 

I have my doubts as to whether he thought about the question at all. Instead, I think the kid is picking up on the fact that usually, the answer to every question in Christianity is — "Jesus."

Have you ever wondered why we make such a big deal of this person named Jesus? Is it just that he is God? Is it that he was super wise? Do we need to say thank you to Jesus because he died so that the world could be set free? 

In chapter one of Paul's letter to the Colossians, he shares his gratefulness that the church is actively showing that they have put their faith in — who do you think ________? 

Yeah, you probably guessed it. The Colossians have faith in Jesus. 

Colossians 1:15-23 is a great place to start with understanding why Jesus is such a big deal. Most scholars believe that this passage is one of the earliest creeds or hymns used in teaching and reminding people of why Jesus is so important. 

So what does this creed say about Jesus? Let's explore just a few of the lines here… 

"He is the image of the invisible God" - Jesus is God! He is the full representation of God. When you read about Jesus in the Gospel writings, you read about what God did and said. 


"He is the firstborn of all creation" - In the Jewish world, a firstborn was given full privilege and inheritance from their Father. The universe has been given over to Jesus by his Father. 


"All things were created through him and for him" - Jesus created the universe that we live in, and our world exists for Jesus' purposes. This fact is so helpful when we begin to consider questions like - "What is my purpose in life?" "Why am I here?"


"He is the head of the body, the church" - The body is a frequently used metaphor in the New Testament for describing the church. And if we, the church, are a body, then Jesus is the head of that body. Jesus is the one who is in charge. He is the highest leader and voice and influencer in our church. His authority is even above the senior leader of your church. 


He is "reconciling all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross" -  In the end, Jesus is the one who will heal all things and make everything right. In fact, Jesus has already begun this world restoration project. Jesus' first attack on evil and injustice took place at the cross. I love how Colossians 2:15 puts it; it says that at the cross, Jesus "disarmed the rulers and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them." 

The purpose of this creed from Colossians 1:15-23 was to teach the church why Jesus is so central to everything else. 

Why is Jesus such a big deal? Because the more we know Jesus, and the more we know about Jesus, the more we will begin to understand God. And when we get to know God more, we begin to understand who we are supposed to be. We find our depth of meaning in our pursuit of knowing Jesus. 


It really is — all about Jesus.

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