Why does what Jesus did 2,000 years ago matter to us today?
The person who died 2,000 years ago still has everything to do with us because He was not merely a man, prophet, or martyr. He was the Creator God, the only One who could purchase man's salvation, and people must be made aware of that.
Les explains that the question is why someone who died 2,000 years ago still has everything to do with us. Many people do not know why. If they think He was just another man, then of course He cannot. But they must be brought to understand that He was not just a prophet, not just another individual, and not just a martyr. He was the Creator God, the One who alone could purchase man's salvation. That is why people have to be made aware of it. In the account of Philip and the eunuch, Philip preached Jesus from the Old Testament because the New Testament was not yet written. He could not read from Romans or take him to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. From the Old Testament he preached Jesus, and the eunuch's response shows Philip had told him that Isaiah 53 spoke of Jesus, who had walked three years in Palestine, had been put to death, had been raised from the dead, and God was still ready to let him be King of Israel. Israel's responsibility under the law was to repent especially of the sin of crucifixion.