This is interesting. I look forward to listening to the rest of them.
I disagree with the theory that the evidence sought in the Old Testament regarding the messiah of the Jews was an afterthought though. This only makes better sense when you assume that the meaning of Jesus’ function of sacrifice was only one of a paschal lamb. In this case, which is the modern adaptation of Jesus to most Christians, appears to have no certain connection with the previous messiah of the Old Testament. So the conclusions drawn is based on assuming that there was no sufficient reason. Therefore, any justification on a previous prediction is an afterthought meant to add legitimacy.
I think that the original Jesus movement meant to convey that Jesus was the Messiah of the Old Testament as predicted from the start. His function was to comfort the potential followers from the devastating conclusion of the Fall of Mankind from the story of Adam and Eve which explained why mankind is cursed to a permanent death. There was no after-life for humanity in the aftermath of this. But to a Roman/Greek audience, this is important and requires something akin to their Tartarus which enabled an afterlife for people to redeem their sins and either move to a heaven or return to Earth. Providing a Messiah even though the end-times are not realized as predicted by the Jewish interpretations allowed the new movement to sell the idea that the ‘end-times’ did indeed occur and that Jesus “saved” mankind by providing the heaven that they can go to when they parish.
I think that the movement was a Jewish idea to incorporate themselves into Roman/Greek society by redressing Judaism to be friendly to everybody. They likely brought pieces of what were real events from a few of the best of the best Jewish heroes of recent times but were characters who were infamous and notorious to the Roman ears and created the one character. It seems reasonable that Jesus was the the redressed heroes and milieu of the Jewish-Roman wars.
Look up: Jewish-Roman Wars, Jewish Revolts, and Bar Kokhba revolt. (I tried to link them but was considered SPAM)
