These miracles only postponed the problem of his legacy, and ultimately the solution was writing. Written accounts of Jesus emerged less than a century after his death, based on oral traditions among his students. Later called the Gospels, they preserved the story of Jesus’ words and deeds as if reported by eyewitnesses. The Gospels were powerful, and not only because Jesus’ words had been powerful. By focusing on their master’s humiliation and death, the authors of the Gospels created an unusual type of hero, a rebel who was also a victim. This was not how a hero was supposed to be
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