Jesus, the Man

April 2026

I think a great deal about Jesus this time of year, even though I’m not a Christian. But he gets a lot of airtime in March and April. More so even than in December. Which from a historical perspective makes good sense, as according to biblical scholars, it is highly unlikely, he was born in that month. Regardless, it’s kind of fun thinking about him, because I know a good dude when I see one. I’m convinced I would have liked him, had I known him when he was alive.

So, I would like to talk about Jesus today.  Jesus the man. Now, I must admit, I am in no way a religious scholar, nor is “religious” a word ever used to describe me. Unless it is in the context of being on time, as I am religiously inclined to be. I’m just a curious person.  Especially about historical matters. Yes, I have read the Bible several times and find it fascinating. It is an amazing historical set of documents.  I also grew up in the Methodist Church, but by the age of 12, my parents no longer pressed me to attend. So, I stopped.  Nowadays, I infrequently go to Christian church services. But generally, I enjoy it when I do.

From all of this, I have enough knowledge about Christian myths to have an informed opinion and a personal perspective on things. For clarities sake, when I say, “Christian Myths”, I mean the legends and narratives that are fundamental to the Christian faith. To put it simply, the stories that make a believer, a believer.  To call them myths may seem sacrilegious, but I am talking about my personal perspective here. If you are not open to contrarian opinions and viewpoints, especially about religious topics, I suggest you stop reading now.

Ok! I feel like it’s good that we got that out of the way.  We can now continue our discussion.  To be clear, I am not talking about God here, or the existence of a deity.  That is almost too deep a topic to contemplate. But for the record, I do believe, in my own spiritual way, that there is a God. Today, I am sticking to more ordinary matters. I am pondering what we really know about Jesus of Nazareth. Or likely “Yeshua” to the friends of his youth or his siblings. Nope, his name wasn’t really Jesus, that’s a translational anomaly, and he indeed had brothers and sisters.  “Son of Joseph” was likely his surname.  “Christ” which is a title and not a name, is a Greek translation of “Mashiach” the Hebrew word for “Chosen”. This appellation was mainly used during his trial and after his death. If he heard “Mashiach” said about him, given the man I think he was, he probably hated it. The scriptures note that he often asked not to be called it, as he knew it would stir up trouble. Particularly as it was used to denote the “Anointed one”. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

Ok, I’ll get to the point. As we proceed, we must agree on one thing, what we know about Jesus, and especially his life, has all been provided to us through interpretations of interpretations of interpretations. Including translations between languages which, even today, creates issues. Our knowledge is based upon stories that have been passed down through nearly a hundred generations and over two thousand years.

Did he live and die? Yes, that is a near certainty. But all the other stuff like miracles and resurrection, who can say with any real confidence? But most of these stories are undoubtedly embellished. This is because the chronicles described about Jesus, suited good storytelling. The authors and narrators were clever and wanted people to be interested in their stories. To be influenced by them. Just like storytellers of today. Some might call it sensationalism, but it worked. It is still working! And these stories and the interpretation of their meaning became central toward having faith.

Let’s think about what “faith” means for a minute. For our purposes, faith is trust and confidence in guiding divine power. Often providing people with the source of an inner conviction and an assurance of their purpose. It can offer justifications for why things happen and make promises of better days. Both in a lifetime as well as providing assurances that there is something more, let’s say, an awaiting afterlife in the glory of heaven. Compelling indeed!

In today’s world, times can be tough and there are many that need faith just to hold it all together and keep going. They cling to the hope that these stories provide. They need Jesus to have lived and died as he did. They need the stories to be true. Now consider the past, centuries ago, even as far back as Jesus’s own times. People certainly needed faith even more then. Seeking to garner some sense of control over their lives and their fates. To explain the unknown. Being able to put this into divine hands is a very comforting thing indeed. Jesus’s story offers answers to the fundamental questions of life, death, and human purpose. His existence, to many, proves that there is a God. So, faith is a powerful thing.

But outside of providing faith, which the stories of Jesus indeed offer, if we just look at the man that Jesus was, it is also a very intriguing story. Sadly, over time, some of the simplest things about him have been manipulated to make the story even better. Some of these things are seemingly superficial but important. Think about it, we have made up how he looked, how he lived, how he felt, and why he did things. Most of what we know is invented, not factual. Almost like AI existed over the centuries to change and keep him relevant and useful. Yes useful. Jesus and his story are often used for controlling people, through fear, obligation and guilt. Propaganda about Jesus is still very powerful to this day. But in the past, it was likely even more so. But from my perspective, that is not what Jesus wanted. 

Let’s look at it from what we do know about Jesus. He was not a gentle, white robe wearing, polite, white guy, sporting a perpetual halo. He certainly wore a working man’s tunic, a belt and sandals, like his contemporaries.  He was often filthy. He was a working man for goodness' sake. Physically he was likely short by modern standards, as 5’5 was the average height at the time. It’s unlikely he had the long, flowing locks we see depicted. He probably had short, curly hair and a beard, also the period norm. He was a Hebrew and a Jew. He was born to a Jewish mother in Galilee, raised in a Jewish home, attended synagogues, read the Tanakh, and was inevitably recognized as a rabbi. He lived in a thoroughly Jewish culture and society and preached from Hebrew scriptures. His whole 30–40-year life was spent under the political structure of the Roman empire. And he was a rebel.

Yes, he was a troublemaker, one subject to significant legal proceedings. He had trials for blasphemy within his church and sedition within the Roman legal system. His accusers, in both instances, being from his own church. Basically, they threw him under the proverbial bus. The Roman judges of the time found no reason to convict him.  But they did anyway, just to appease his accusers, the powerful local Jewish leaders of the times. These men were afraid of Jesus’s spreading influence, because he had a growing following among the Jewish masses, who felt like his teachings were a breath of fresh air. Some, truly worshipped Jesus, likely even as the son of God. However, it stands to reason that most of his followers believed he was a prophet, chosen by God to speak to them, rather than being his son.

Regardless, Jesus was also honest and courageous. Willing to challenge the authority of his church. He was one of the first to see how religion could exploit people, and he had the guts to challenge this.  He saw how his own religion profited from dividing people and controlling them. Not lifting them and enlightening them, which he saw as the true nature of God’s message. His audacity and integrity made him willing to stand up to his church and inevitably, the power of the Roman Empire. And he never backed down. Even when he realized that not doing so would lead to his demise. 

So, contrary to the current belief, he did not push religion on the people he preached to, he tried to expose it. He challenged his followers to confront a religion that used God as leverage to control them. He asserted that every human being was in touch with God and that having faith in oneself was a power in and of itself. He also asserted that life on earth was not a waiting game, but a time to work on being the best you can be and making each individual life worth something.

He pushed people to take responsibility for their own actions and to be honest, even when it might cost them dearly. The themes of his preachings encouraged people to freely express love, push for justice, and to have compassion for others. Not to just sit around and wait for God to make things better.  “Love your enemies”, “Do unto others what you would have them do to you”, and “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” were some of his many mantras.

Finally, he did not do this to deify himself.  That is very clear. When people tried to worship him, to give him the ultimate title of “Christ”, or as we have discussed, “Mashiach”, he pleaded with them not to. I am fairly sure he enjoyed the admiration; how couldn’t he have? But esteem and praise were not his primary goals.  He wanted followers. Participants that would partake in what he was preaching about. A groundswell for change.

His challenges were not comfortable. They weren’t for everyone. His questions and ideas were fracturing the foundation of the established Jewish faith and hierarchy of the times. He confronted power and accepted the consequences, becoming an example for all on how to challenge the status quo and stand up for what you believe in. And inevitably, that’s why he was executed. Albeit unjustly. And in that execution, he became even more powerful. A martyr.

It's hard to live like Jesus lived. Maybe impossible. So instead of listening to and following his teachings, over centuries people turned his martyrdom into the belief system we like to call Christianity. But this is not a singularity, it has a few varied formats for you to choose from. Each with a slightly different perspective on Jesus’s messages. Some of these different viewpoints have caused fratricidal conflicts, massive wars and upheavals, even in the present day. Certainly not Jesus’s intent. In fact, almost in direct opposition to his true messages.

But generally, I like to think of the gentler version of Christianity of my youth. Yet, not out of fondness. One where, once a week, we just had to sit in a room and stare up at his inaccurate depiction nailed to a cross and bleeding, hearing stories and singing about him. To wear a crucifix around our necks and faithfully celebrate Christmas and Easter. Then we could call it good. It was much easier and safer to act this way.  It didn’t take a whole lot of effort, yet you were protected.  Like having an insurance policy that no matter how you lived, you were assured your ticket to heaven. Because Jesus died for our sins, so there was no need to confront your own complicity with a system he had tried to burn down. You just had to believe.  That was all.  Once I reached early adulthood, I realized how ridiculous this was. Especially for me personally.

Yes, Jesus knew he was playing a significant role in creating change. He, without much doubt, even believed he represented God’s will. He certainly felt he was on a divine mission. He acted as a prophet and felt confident delivering messages on God’s behalf. But it is clear to me that the uprising that Jesus began so long ago was never about worshiping him. It was never about making him the “Anointed one”.  It was about setting an example. Hoping people would follow his lead. Sponsoring change within our situation while living in this world.  Not to do it just to get ready for the next one, but to make this one a better place for all.

This message still translates even into modern times.  But, to me, it doesn’t need all the puffery.  It doesn’t require all the ritualistic pomp and circumstance. Just looking at the man himself, in times of indecision and saying, “What would Jesus have done”, is extremely powerful.  He left a great legacy.  And yes, I know I would have like the man. So much so, that I work hard to try to be a man that he would have liked too.