Possibilities of who Jesus was:
- Another preacher of the time who managed to gather enough of a following to start the sect off. After his death, followers deify him and go on to spread elaborate tales about their messiah, etc.
- Jesus was everything that was said in the Bible, or close to that of what is detailed by the Bible.
Now, both scenarios are lacking in factual evidence and historical accounts (outside of the Bible). However, the first scenario is very likely because any lack of evidence would be understandable in the context of the impact the person had (very local, and around a circle of people). The second scenario has Jesus practically causing an uproar amongst the Jews and Romans, and yet there is virtually nothing from the Romans (who were very fastidious at keeping records). If he really caused that much of a stir, then there should be plenty of historical documents from sources in the Roman Empire to verify the claims the Bible is making.
Scenario 2 is highly unlikely considering the claims that are made. Analogy can be compared to this:
- Friend comes over from next town, tells me his house burned down. Though there is nothing on the news or newspapers about it, I would believe him because in the context of the society that we're present in, houses burning down is not a noteworthy occurrence. It may affect the individual gravely, but as the event occurs reasonably often, it isn't significant in the eyes of the media and historians.
- Friend then claims his house and neighbouring houses were not only burned down, but were destroyed by UFOs. Now, though I may have not been there to survey the damage or witness the event, but the fact that such an occurrence is not being reported is suspicious. Such an event would be of very great interest to the media, and would spark a huge furore, so it would be reasonable to expect a lot of attention being drawn to such an occurrence. In the context of the scenario, it is reasonable to be sceptical of such a claim as there is nothing being reported about it.
Hence the scepticism on the existence of Jesus, or at least the validity of the myth around Jesus. More modern examples of the deification of a leader is how Scientology portrays L. Ron. Hubbard. They try to portray him as being an amazing adventurer and discoverer, having done all these things in his life, and being wise beyond words. However, the reality rarely matches up to the elaborations.