How Do I Explain Jesus to a 7-Year-Old?

Lukas, do you know how much your Mommy and Daddy love you?

They love you very much, don’t they? They would do almost anything to protect you, help you, and take care of you. Well, I want you to know something very important: your Heavenly Father loves you even more.

God created you, and He knows you better than anyone else. He knows when you are happy, when you are sad, when you are afraid, and when you need someone to help you. Most importantly, God wants you to know Him and live with Him forever.

But there is something called sin that separates people from God.

Sin is when we choose to do something that God tells us is wrong. When we lie, hurt someone on purpose, disobey God, or choose to do things our own way instead of God’s way, we sin. Every person has sinned. The Bible tells us that sin entered the world through Adam and that sin separates us from God.

But God did not want sin to keep us away from Him.

God loves us too much to leave us separated from Him.

That is why God sent His Son, Jesus.

One of Jesus’ followers, John, wrote these beautiful words:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That means God loved us so much that He sent Jesus into the world so that we could have the opportunity to live with Him forever.

Jesus came to Earth as a baby. He grew up, taught people about God, helped people, healed the sick, forgave sins, and showed everyone what God’s love looks like.

But Jesus came for an even greater reason.

He came to take away our sins.

Long ago, before Jesus came, God gave His people a way to deal with sin. Animals were offered as sacrifices to God. The sacrifice reminded people that sin was serious and that forgiveness came at a great cost.

The bible tells us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). The sacrifices were pointing toward something much greater that God would one day do.

God’s plan was to send the perfect sacrifice.

And that perfect sacrifice was Jesus.

Jesus had never sinned. He was innocent and perfect. Yet He willingly gave His life for us.

Jesus did not die because He had done something wrong. Jesus died because He loved us.

Think about that for a moment, Lukas.

Imagine someone who had done absolutely nothing wrong choosing to take the punishment for something you and I had done because they loved us so much.

That is a very small picture of what Jesus did for us.

When Jesus died on the cross, He became the sacrifice for our sins. He took upon Himself the punishment that sin deserved so that we could be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.

John the Baptist understood who Jesus was. When he saw Jesus, he said:

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
—John 1:29

Why did John call Jesus the Lamb of God?

Because the people of the Old Testament understood that a lamb could be offered as a sacrifice. John was telling everyone that Jesus was the sacrifice God had promised—the perfect sacrifice that would deal with the sin of the world.

And this is where the story gets even more amazing.

Jesus did not stay dead.

Three days after Jesus was crucified, He rose from the dead!

The resurrection is one of the most important parts of the Christian faith. Jesus conquered death, showing that He truly is the Son of God and that death does not have the final word.

But how did people know Jesus was coming?

God had been telling His people about Jesus long before Jesus was born.

Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke through people called prophets. A prophet was someone who received a message from God and shared that message with other people.

The prophets told God’s people that a Savior was coming. They spoke about the Messiah, the One God would send to save His people.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophets wrote about His coming, His suffering, His death, and God’s plan of salvation.

Then, at just the right time, Jesus came.

So, Lukas, if someone asks you, “Who is Jesus?”, you don’t have to give them a complicated answer.

You can simply say:

Jesus is the Son of God. He came to Earth because God loves us. Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead. He did all of this so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life with God.

And there is one more thing I want you to remember.

Jesus doesn’t just want you to know about Him.

He wants you to know Him.

You can talk to Jesus through prayer. You can read what He said in the Bible. You can learn how He treated people and try to follow His example. And you can tell Him that you love Him and want Him to be part of your life.

You may be only seven years old, Lukas, but you are never too young to begin learning about Jesus.

And remember this:

Jesus loves you.
God loves you.
And God’s greatest gift to the world is His Son, Jesus.