Did Jesus Have to Die?

　　"Why did Jesus die?"

　　As the season of Easter approaches and we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is important to remember that there are many people around us today who need to hear the message of the Gospel. Maybe you are one of those people who has never really understood why Easter is celebrated? I want to invite you to continue reading and learn of the greatest joy in life, salvation through Jesus. An important question to ask as we remember this holiday season is, “Why did Jesus die?” When we research this question, we will discover the amazing redemptive plan that God had set out for us from the beginning.

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When Did Jesus Tell His Disciples He Had to Die?

　　“When we think of Jesus coming to earth, we think of it as coming to die. Amen and amen. But you need to file this away: It is not until three years into a three-and-a-half year ministry that Jesus for the first time talks about dying. And when he does, it’s in Matthew 16. Matthew 16:21. It's that Caesarea Philippi thing. It’s almost three years in. Look, for two and a half years, public presentation, then for about a year, private preparation. But Jesus spends months just trying to get alone with his disciples. He has become such a celebrity that everywhere he goes, he excites crowds and he finally has to go off to a place called Caesarea Philippi.

　　And there in the foothills of Mount Hermon, he gets alone with his apostles and he gives them their final exam and says, ‘whom do you say that I am?’ And Peter says, ‘thou art the Christ the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus exalted, he said, ‘blessed art thou.’ [In other words,] You got it. Now I've got something more for you. Now we're moving on to the graduate course.

　　In verse 21 of Matthew 16, it says, ‘from that time forth began Jesus to tell his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things of the chief priest, scribes be killed. And on the third day, he would rise again.’ ”