re: who is the most fascinating individual in history in your eyes?

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I think it would be very interesting to know the whole story of Jesus. How much is true, how much is myth, etc. Not for a moment do I think he was anything more than a man, but it would be interesting to know the details of his life.

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Think of this. He was a carpenter from a small town in a backwater of the Roman Empire over 2,000 years ago. It’s estimated other than when he was a toddler he never traveled more than 30 miles from where he was born and he only lived a little over 30 years. But he’s had a bigger impact on human history than anyone before or since. That in and of itself is miraculous.

Another thing to consider is His disciples. When the Romans came to arrest and later crucify Him, everyone one of them abandoned Him and fled. But then following that, what we know as the resurrection and 40 days happened. Did that really happen? Did the disciples make it up? Well consider this, those same disciples who had abandoned and fled from Jesus fanned out spreading his gospel across Asia, Africa, and Europe. They suffered terribly, they were imprisoned, they were beaten, they were tortured. Of the 11 disciples who were still alive (Judas having killed himself) 10 of them died horrible deaths for their work spreading the Gospel.

So what changed? What made these 11 men who fled from Jesus to just weeks after his crucifixion, to suddenly dedicate their lives to spreading his message? They didn’t have to do it. They could have gone back to the lives they had before. Jesus was dead after all, right? But they didn’t go back. Instead they dedicated their lives to this radical Jewish carpenter who’s been executed on the cross by the Romans. And what made these same men be so dedicated to this message they willingly died rather than stop spreading it?

What changed for these men from the time of the crucifixion of Christ when they all proved cowards to just weeks later when they all began spreading His message, knowing they’d suffer for doing so, even to the point of torture and death?