...Couldn't He have taken the wrath upon Himself?
Actually, God did take on the wrath Himself.
When Jesus died on the cross, that WAS God dying for us. It's often confusing to think about God as three persons (this is what is known as the Trinity; God in 3 persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). This means that Jesus and the Father are one in the same. You can find out more by reading this post here about the Trinity, answered by Pastor HM.
When Christ came down to earth, He came as a human being. This was the only way in which Jesus could have taken the sin for us. Jesus was a SINLESS man that died for SINFUL people. He died on the cross, in our place, for our sin, thereby taking the wrath of God away from us.
[answered by Pastor KJT]
