Ask the question, “Why did Jesus die” and you’ll get a bunch of different answers. From the theological side come answers like this:
 He died for my sins.
 He died in order to save the world.
From the historical side come answers like this:
 He died because he made the Jews and Romans mad.
 He died as a martyr.

We are good at coming up with theological and historical reasons why Jesus died. It’s a little harder for us to explain from a theological standpoint why Jesus lived. 

We believe that Jesus came to pay the price for our sins through his death. Why, then, did he live 33 years on earth? Why didn’t God just let Herod kill Jesus when he was a baby? After all, Jesus was perfectly innocent even as a child. Why did Jesus have to live?

The Gospel of Matthew best sums up three main reasons for Jesus’ life and ministry. The first can be seen clearly through Matthew’s inclusion of dozens of Old Testament quotations. Jesus lived…
 1. TO FULFILL OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY

Another reason Jesus lived is seen in Matthew 5:17-18. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus lived…
 2. TO FULFILL THE LAW OF MOSES

 The Laws of Moses are meant for our own good. They express the way that God intended His people to live. They tell you what the universe is like and how to live life to the fullest within the fallen world we live in.

The Law may be a gift, but it’s a gift that actually shows just how bad you are. It’s as if I were to give a terrific book to my two-year-old son. Now my son, I’m sure, would appreciate my giving him a good book to read, as long as it had lots of pictures. But he can’t read! No matter how good the book is, my gift actually shows up his own inability to read.

 God gives us the Law. It’s his standard. It’s the way the world works. It’s the way we are to live with Him as our God. But the Law just shows up our inability to be what God intends. The Law is a light to our path, but it also shines light on the stains in our lives.
 So, because we are unable to keep the Law, Jesus keeps the Law for us. In order for His death to cover our sins, He must live the perfect life. He must be the faithful Israelite. Where Israel failed, Jesus will succeed. Where Adam failed, Jesus will succeed. Where you fail every day, Jesus succeeds. Your failure is replaced by His victory.

Jesus is the one who keeps the Law. He is the one who never sins. He is the one who doesn’t retaliate. He is the one who loves his enemies, praying for those who persecute him. He is the peacemaker, the one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, the one who is pure in heart. He is the light of the world – hanging on a tree on a great hill – a city that cannot be hidden.

When sin creeps up on you, when you feel guilty, despised, shattered before a holy God; when the Law shows you just how far you have fallen, just how unable you are to live the life God intends for you, know then that Jesus has done what you were unable to do. Where you failed to be the person God intended you to be, Jesus succeeded. Where you failed the test of temptation, Jesus endured temptation. Where you sinned, Jesus was righteous.

A third reason for Jesus’ life can be seen all throughout the Gospels. Jesus lived…
 3. TO INAUGURATE GOD’S KINGDOM

Jesus is showing what life is like when God is ruling. Healings, exorcisms, feedings of thousands. God is King and his Kingdom is present in the work of Jesus. Jesus brings the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is all about the Kingdom. All Israel was waiting under the exile of foreign oppression for God to return and establish his kingship. And now, Jesus was doing just that, showing what God is like and what life is like when God is ruling and people are submitting to his reign.

And now, we as human beings, are exiled from God. Just as Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden after their sin, Cain was sent to wander the earth as an exile after he murdered Abel, Israel was exiled from their land and sent to a foreign country… we live in a perpetual state of exile from God. The world is not as it should be. The end of exile comes when the new king is established.

When you become a Christian, you are doing more than just getting a ticket to heaven when you die. You are pledging allegiance to a new king. You are saying, “I am not the king of my life anymore. I am submitting to King Jesus. He is the true Lord of the world and I am following him.”

To be a Christian is to be a citizen of God’s kingdom. It means that you are to be spreading the presence of heaven on earth. You are to be living in such a way that your life mirrors the Kingdom. You show what life is like when you are following the King. Jesus inaugurates the kingdom. He brought the Kingdom of God, and now, we await and anticipate the consummation of his kingdom.