Why did Jesus have to come in the first place?
Simply, because God always works through people.
God made the earth as a habitat for us, a playground where we could work together, and God remains curious about what we will create.
God intended people to assume the administration and government of the world. But people had corrupted Creation and God intends that people will set it right. But we needed an example—someone to show us how good a person could be—and we needed to know God had not abandoned us in our weakness. God became like us, so we might become like God.
Jesus came into the world as a person for two reasons: to identify with us, thus honoring our humanity; and to provide an example for us, thus showing us how good a human being could become.
Too many people imagine that being human is a poor substitute for being spiritual. But if we truly understand the glory our humanity entails, we would rise above our baser instincts. That’s why God became human: to demonstrate that being human is not something we should escape, but something we should enjoy.
God identifies with us as a means of divine-human reconciliation, and our task is to glorify God with the fullest expression of who we are.
Adapted from Why God Died