Why was it necessary for Jesus to die?

Mankind sinned against God by choosing to disobey His commands (which He gave in order to keep us from harming ourselves and others). The Bible declares the the wages (the payment due) for sin is death. Originally God accepted animal sacrifice as the blood payment, but this was just a shadow of the Sacrifice to come because the blood of animals could never truly cleanse mankind from sin. God in His foreknowledge, knowing that mankind would sin and knowing that because He is Just He would have to punish sin (just like a human judge punishes lawbreakers), had a plan to offer His mercy and grace and forgivess justly by having Someone pay the punishment we deserve. Of course, this Person had to be sinless or else it would have no effect. So God allowed His one and only begotten Son to come into the world, be born of a virgin (God in nature is perfect and He cannot be born of human nature which is passed along human lines, ie sexual reproduction). He lived a sinless life and was sacrificed (killed willingly by the Romans and the Jews at the time). But He not only died for us, but rose from the dead by the power of God the Father, thereby defeating sin, death and the devil. By believing in Him, His shed Blood (death) and resurrection, we can receive the forgiveness of God and Eternal Life!