The question is "who Jesus was not?" because there is a whole plethora of Jesuses made by scholars who are trying to figure out who was the man behind the myths. So there is no single “Jesus of History.”
Cynic philosopher — The many borrowings from Greek philosophy in Jesus’ teachings would make sense if Jesus had actually been a wandering Cynic or a Stoic sage, or the Galilean equivalent. Leif Vaage, Burton L. Mack, John Dominic Crossan, Gerald Downing and others have strongly defended this view, citing plenty of Cynic statements.
Liberal Pharisee — In the book "Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus" (2003), historian Harvey Falk argues that virtually all of Jesus’ judgments on the Halakha, the Jewish law, are paralleled in the Pharisaic thought of that time, as well as later rabbinic thought.
Charismatic Hasid — Geza Vermes, author of "Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s View of the Gospels" (1981), sees Jesus as one of the popular freewheeling Galilean holy men, unorthodox figures like Hanina Ben-Dosa or Honi the Circle-Drawer who had little respect for the niceties of Jewish law, which of course ticked off the religious establishment.
Essene Heretic — J.M. Allegro has pointed to parallels between early Christians, John the Baptist’s sect and the Therapeutae/Essenes of Qumran who gave us the Dead Sea scrolls, wondering if Jesus and John the Baptist were members of that radical community.
Conservative Rabbi — Jesus upholds the Torah, insisting, “not one jot or stroke of the Law will pass away”. He wears a prayer shawl tasseled with tzitzit (Matt. 9:20–22), observes the Sabbath, and worships in synagogues as well as the Temple.
Magician/Exorcist/Faith Healer — Helmut Koester has said that Jesus must have been a combination prophet/miracle worker/exorcist. Morton Smith wrote a book "Jesus the Magician" claiming that.
Violent Zealot Revolutionary — a political messiah, inciting a revolt against the Romans, like Theudas or “the Egyptian,” the unnamed Messianic figure Josephus describes, or the two “robbers” crucified with Jesus (since rebel bandits were commonly referred to as robbers). Many scholars like Robert Eisler, S. G. F. Brandon, Hugh J. Schonfield, Hyam Maccoby, and Robert Eisenman think this.
Nonviolent Pacifist Resister — Bruce Malina and others have argued, Jesus isn’t called the Prince of Peace for nothing.
Apocalyptic Prophet — This is the Jesus that Albert Schweitzer and many subsequent historians have thought was the real thing: A fearless, fiery Judgment Day preacher announcing that the end was nigh and the Kingdom of God was coming fast. Like many other first century Jewish apocalypts, this Jesus did not expect the world to survive his own lifetime. Bart Ehrman makes the case for such a figure in "Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium" (1999).
Proto-Communist — Was Jesus the first Marxist? Milan Machoveč and other leftists have thought so. You have to admit Jesus has nothing good to say about the capitalist pigs of his day.
Feminist — Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Kathleen Corley point to his role as a prophet of Sophia, the feminine personification of divine wisdom in Jewish tradition. They also point out his unusual attitudes towards women, some of which seem remarkably progressive for the first century.
Radical Social Reformer — John Dominic Crossan, Gerd Theissen and Richard Horsley see Jesus as a champion for the Jewish peasants suffering under the yoke of the Roman Empire and its rapacious tax collectors; a Jesus in the lines of Gandhi and his struggle against the British Empire.
And on and on and on and on.... And who can say who got it right?
Cynic philosopher — The many borrowings from Greek philosophy in Jesus’ teachings would make sense if Jesus had actually been a wandering Cynic or a Stoic sage, or the Galilean equivalent. Leif Vaage, Burton L. Mack, John Dominic Crossan, Gerald Downing and others have strongly defended this view, citing plenty of Cynic statements.
Liberal Pharisee — In the book "Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus" (2003), historian Harvey Falk argues that virtually all of Jesus’ judgments on the Halakha, the Jewish law, are paralleled in the Pharisaic thought of that time, as well as later rabbinic thought.
Charismatic Hasid — Geza Vermes, author of "Jesus the Jew: A Historian’s View of the Gospels" (1981), sees Jesus as one of the popular freewheeling Galilean holy men, unorthodox figures like Hanina Ben-Dosa or Honi the Circle-Drawer who had little respect for the niceties of Jewish law, which of course ticked off the religious establishment.
Essene Heretic — J.M. Allegro has pointed to parallels between early Christians, John the Baptist’s sect and the Therapeutae/Essenes of Qumran who gave us the Dead Sea scrolls, wondering if Jesus and John the Baptist were members of that radical community.
Conservative Rabbi — Jesus upholds the Torah, insisting, “not one jot or stroke of the Law will pass away”. He wears a prayer shawl tasseled with tzitzit (Matt. 9:20–22), observes the Sabbath, and worships in synagogues as well as the Temple.
Magician/Exorcist/Faith Healer — Helmut Koester has said that Jesus must have been a combination prophet/miracle worker/exorcist. Morton Smith wrote a book "Jesus the Magician" claiming that.
Violent Zealot Revolutionary — a political messiah, inciting a revolt against the Romans, like Theudas or “the Egyptian,” the unnamed Messianic figure Josephus describes, or the two “robbers” crucified with Jesus (since rebel bandits were commonly referred to as robbers). Many scholars like Robert Eisler, S. G. F. Brandon, Hugh J. Schonfield, Hyam Maccoby, and Robert Eisenman think this.
Nonviolent Pacifist Resister — Bruce Malina and others have argued, Jesus isn’t called the Prince of Peace for nothing.
Apocalyptic Prophet — This is the Jesus that Albert Schweitzer and many subsequent historians have thought was the real thing: A fearless, fiery Judgment Day preacher announcing that the end was nigh and the Kingdom of God was coming fast. Like many other first century Jewish apocalypts, this Jesus did not expect the world to survive his own lifetime. Bart Ehrman makes the case for such a figure in "Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium" (1999).
Proto-Communist — Was Jesus the first Marxist? Milan Machoveč and other leftists have thought so. You have to admit Jesus has nothing good to say about the capitalist pigs of his day.
Feminist — Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza and Kathleen Corley point to his role as a prophet of Sophia, the feminine personification of divine wisdom in Jewish tradition. They also point out his unusual attitudes towards women, some of which seem remarkably progressive for the first century.
Radical Social Reformer — John Dominic Crossan, Gerd Theissen and Richard Horsley see Jesus as a champion for the Jewish peasants suffering under the yoke of the Roman Empire and its rapacious tax collectors; a Jesus in the lines of Gandhi and his struggle against the British Empire.
And on and on and on and on.... And who can say who got it right?
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
