Did Jesus Have to Die?

i like the when o keith was asking the first questions, i was thinking of all the presuppositions that go into those questions that we have. Would jesus be important if he didn't die such a brutal death? Ah, you know, those kind of questions, i think, are important questions. And too often we too much theology in our questions, not even our answers, but our questions. I want to hear what mats stions has to say about it.