Peter Kirby wrote:What's so natural about a martyred man at Passover generating all the legends and mythology that are on display?
The temple was corrupt, and we had a sharp socioeconomic divide between Hellenistic Jews and traditional peasant Jews.
Passover was always a powder keg waiting to blow.
In Galilee a peasant Jew would know how far he could push it without ending up like JtB in Galilee. In the corrupt temple with the multitude of people it would be easier for a Galilean to loose it and get into trouble over his head. Passover would have been like us going to the state fair and it must have had a circus like atmosphere. A money making event more so then a religious one in the eyes of any pious Jew.
Knowling the Hellenist Jews were working hand in hand with their Roman oppressors, getting filthy rich and living in opulance while the common peasant was barely surviving would have been a tough pill to swallow.
So if viewed by enough of the crowd as committing a selfless act for the common man that caused him the most severe punishment offered, would be enough to generate a legend surrounding the Passover event. With legends comes mythology. And the mythology of a man who died standing up for the common man would have been taken back with the people covering the Empire, when Passover was over and the people went home. Within a few years the mythology and theology grew and it snowballed in the Hellenistic communities. There had been a rift in Hellensitic Judaism with the Proselytes for quite some time, and the timing of this was perfect to seperate the Hellenist from traditional oppressed Jew. This seperation helped to grow and spread the mythology. Monotheism under the one all powerfull god by way of the son who died for your sins was appealing to those who had little faith in worshipping the Emperor and a multitude of gods not as powerful as one.
Converts were stealing the Emperors subjects and its why the scripture is often competing the "Emperor son of god" with the "real son of god" in their eyes.
It is eveident all through the scripture that theuy had a tough time trying to make a peasant Galilean as divine as the Emperor himself.
More then anything the timing was right for monotheism to spread through the empire to a real god [in their eyes] instead of some rich pig sitting in the Emperors seat