Why did Jesus die?

At my english group at the university, I gave everyone an easter egg with candy in it. I asked they what it was and what we do with it. They shared what they knew. I then asked how they celebrate easter. They shared that they don't really have any easter celebrations besides eating with their family and having a special easter cake with an hard-boiled egg in the center of it. I then asked why do we celebrate Easter anyway. Why was it important.

One girl responded, "We celebrate Easter because it is when Jesus was resurrected. But I don't really know how he died besides something to do with a cross or why he died. Do you know?"

Of course I shared with her the basic message of the Bible--of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. How Easter is why we can have redemption and restoration--because of Jesus' victory over death. How we can have eternal life and a relationship with God if we choose to follow Jesus. I then gave them bookmarks in Portuguese with a brief description of this. Pray that they will continue to ask questions and take the next step in the journey to become a Christ follower.

I'll admit that even after a year here, her response shocked me. Most people here have a Catholic background but don't practice their faith in anyway. It's not unheard of for someone to say they are catholic and an atheist. Being Portuguese means you know a little about Christianity--so much of their history is wrapped up in it. But people can know just bits and pieces and miss the entire message or the importance of the message.

That's why we're here. That's why we're hosting Bible discovery groups and sharing with everyone we can. That's why we're working with Portuguese believers here to equip them on how to answer these questions and follow-up.

So people like my student know the answer and choose to respond to what Jesus did and follow him.