Why did Jesus die? It’s difficult to answer that question unless we acknowledge that there is something wrong in the world that needs fixing. And it is difficult to identify what needs to be fixed without first acknowledging what needs to be fixed in us personally. And it is difficult to face our own pathologies and sickness without some help. Jesus’ death is that help: a raft tossed out to a drowning swimmer, a tether to hold us and keep us from falling. Jesus’ death reveals us to us that we have a substitute - someone who faced our sickness for us, and gave us his health in return.