Most people would say Jesus was a good man. The Bible says that he was sinless. More than a good man, Jesus was a perfectly righteous man.

Not the rest of us, however. No matter how good we are even according to our own definition, we have to admit we have a problem. We are neither perfect nor sinless. We can’t help but do wrong, hurt others and ourselves, and disobey God’s rules. The Bible calls that sin.

The Bible tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). It tells us, “there is no one righteous (perfect and sinless), no not one” (Romans 3:10). The Bible even presents a stiking contrast, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23).

Sin, what we all do, earns us eternal death and separation from God in Hell. But God offers us all the gift of eternal life in Heaven and abundant life on Earth. How did God that? Why would God do that? These questions bring us back to our first question: Why did Jesus have to die?

One verse, 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV, clearly answers our question.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Let’s walk through it together:

“God made…” that’s His choice, God’s sovereign work.
“him who had no sin…” only be perfectly righteous Jesus, God’s sinless solution.
“to be sin for us…” we could never do it on our own, God’s merciful offer.
“so that in him we might become righteousness of God.” God’s gracious purpose.

God chose. To do what we couldn’t do for ourselves. To save us from ourselves.

Sinless Jesus became sin for us so that we could be made right with God. Wow!

Hang on though. It gets better. We haven’t really answered our question: Why did Jesus have to die? The answer follows the “so that” in our verse.

“So that” translates the Greek word hina which speaks of purpose, definition or results. It’s about motivation. It answers the question why. You wanna know the “why,” read the “so that.”

Read our verse again, 2 Corinthians 5:21, this time the ESV translation:

For oursake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Why did Jesus have to die? Because God loves you so much that He would sacrifice His one and only son to make you, unable on your own, into the very righteousness of God.

Why did Jesus have to die? Because God loves you. God's purpose in Jesus' sacrificial death was to save you because He loves you. God's motivation is His love for you!

You matter that much to Him. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you. God loves you. You deserve death, but Jesus took it. He didn't have to die. Jesus loves you so much, that he chose to take the punishment for your sin. Love is sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed himself for you.

It is God’s sovereign work to present you the merciful offer of Jesus as a sinless solution. It is God’s gracious purpose to save you.

Which leads us to one more most important question: What are you going to do about God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal salvation for you?

The Bible provides your instructions in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Say it and believe it. That’s it.

Why did Jesus have to die? Because God loves you and wanted to save you from your own sins.

To learn more, talk to a Christ following friend today or contact me through this site.

(This post is verbatim from my Gospel presentation following our Easter drama, This Day of Resurrection.)