What were Jesus and early Christians like?

[Mudhammam]

But if there was no historical Jesus story to put this spin on, why did they invent a Messiah who dies? That was not in the Messianic tradition? And why crucified? That put him under a curse according to Jewish tradition. And it made the whole idea that he was some kind of exalted uber-man absurd to non-Jews.

So if these things aren't in the story because they happened, where did they come from? Why would someone make up a Messiah like that?

The story of Jesus contains all of the elements of any great tale: The hero begins poor, works his way up and gains popularity and power, some evil force knocks him down and it looks like he will not get back up... until lo and behold that's exactly what happens, tenfold. It's the most overused plot of all time. Even the Old Testament contains numerous versions.