Does the Historical Jesus really matter?

Very often, great religions have a founder figure. Judaism has Moses, Islam has Mohammed, Buddhism has Gautama, Daoism has Laozi and, of course, Christianity has Jesus Christ.

It is not uncommon for these founders to have biographies surrounded by legends, miracles and wonders. Not only that, but as time goes on, followers start to attribute more and more divine aspects to them.

Look at how in the oldest of the Gospel accounts (The Gospel according to Mark), Jesus is incredibly more human. His story starts at his encounter with John the Baptist, in which he receives power from God and so begins his ministry as an itinerant prophet. In many occasions, he loses temper with his own disciples and seems very reluctant about publicly revealing he is the Messiah (savior).

Now, when we go to the Gospel of John, that came much later, Jesus has a very different personality. The account itself opens with Jesus being introduced, not as a man, but as a divine being that proceeds the creation of our world. Not only this Jesus feel more confident, but he publicly reveals himself to be, not only the savior of the Jews, but to, somehow, be God himself! That’s quite a leap.

Now, for people who want to know more deeply about Jesus, this is quite of a challenge: how to separate History from legend? Even worst, going back to the more human depictions of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, we still have all the stories about miracles and prophecies of end times. Was his message literal and politic? Or was it purely metaphorical and spiritual?

This is something that really disturbed me, because if Jesus is so important, shouldn’t we know all we can about him? Oddly, this question doesn’t bother the big majority of the Christian believers, because they are not very concerned about the historical earthly Jesus of Nazareth, this isn’t their target of devotion. What they really care about is the cosmic Christ.

If we are going to be brutally honest about Christianity, the narratives about Jesus adventures and misfortunes in Israel are the most secondary aspect of the religion. It is not for random reasons that it has always been called “Christianity” and not something like “Jesusism”. The idea of a Christ, a cosmic divine entity, is the very foundation of this faith, the ministry and life of Jesus of Nazareth, a human prophet, is merely a bonus feature.

In fact, the Gospel narratives are only used as a vehicle to preach about an already established idea of Jesus Christ. I find funny that when Christians reunite to talk about Jesus, it is always about his importance as a celestial redeemer that loves, guides and blesses them. Even when they read the Gospels, they are never interested in the stories themselves, instead, they are just using these stories as a tool to validate the existence of this cosmic Christ.

I believe the fact that the stories about Jesus are set in a historical real place and are based on historical people only serves the purpose of giving some “credibility” to it, because I really doubt Christians care about the Historical Jesus or the accuracy of the events described in the Gospels. It just happens that, with the myths being more realistic and grounded, it is easier for the average person to digest and accept them.

I mean, those are stories about fishermen going from city to city, feeling tired, feeling hungry and witnessing miracles and wonders along the journey. They are far more relatable, let’s say, than the Gnostic myths about different mysterious entities that exist in ethereal realms beyond time and space.

Again, the biographical historical value of the Gospels is not of big relevance, because the real point is how this narratives play with the believer’s imagination. He can easily see himself as a disciple and imagine a Christ that is close to him. But even this is a secondary matter.

I really doubt that a big percentage of people converted to Christianity after reading the gospels alone. As I see, the great appeal of Jesus Christ is that he is said to take your burdens, guide you and love you. And people take this assumption before they actually read the Gospels, so, even when they read it, they insert their own ideas and expectations between the lines.

In conclusion, the Historical Jesus isn’t that big of a deal for Christians. The narratives about the prophet of Nazareth have no life of their own outside religious tradition and practice, therefore pointing to any of the Historical inaccuracies, literary tropes or internal contradictions present on them is useless. These stories or myths are but a vehicle for Christianity’s true interest: a cosmic transcendent power they call “the Christ”.