As we go through life, there are basic needs. Food, shelter and clothing are all basic needs. Other needs include social, emotional needs like a sense of belonging, nurturing environment and basic instruction. In the spiritual context, we need God, His word and Jesus.
We need Jesus because He is our mediator who reconciles us to God. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). God sent His Son to reconcile the sinful. “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19). God did this by offering Christ as a sacrifice for our sins. “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). “We now have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Eph 1:7). Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6, 21-23). We need Jesus because He is the only may a sinner can be reconciled to God.
It is Jesus who intercedes for us. Now at God’s right hand, Jesus makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:34). He serves as our Advocate with the Father. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). By coming to earth, He has become our perfect high priest. “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:17-18). He enables us to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and help (Heb. 4:16). He now “always lives” to intercede on our behalf (Heb. 7:25). We need Jesus, for He is the only way a Christian can remain in fellowship with God. “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:6-10).
There are many other reasons why we need Jesus. Chief among them is the forgiveness He offers through the new covenant. Without what He did we would not have hope.