Whether or not Jesus claimed to be the Son of God misses the point. Why would Jesus, the man, allow himself to be horribly tortured and crucified when he could have left Jerusalem, never to be seen or heard from again?

Jerusalem during Passover was a tinderbox of rebellion against Rome. Pilate wanted no trouble from the Jews; Pilate would have had to answer to Agustus as to why he couldn’t control a small province of Rome when the mighty Ceasar controlled the whole world. Not a good look in an empire where power over others was everything.

Pilate washed his hands; the Sanhedrin wanted Jesus dead for blasphemy and the temple riot of Palm Sunday was the proximate excuse. Pilate acquiesced to the Sanhedrin and let the crucifixion proceed in hopes of quelling the city.

Was Jesus either a madman or actually the Son of God? I say neither. Jesus was a man, arguably one of the greatest spiritual geniuses in human history, who taught a new way of living: Love all, not only love your neighbors, but love your enemies as well. Read the Beatitudes for the essence of Jesus’s teachings. Jesusianism is not easy to follow as a way of life. Jesus lived the life he taught.

Jesus so thoroughly believed in his own message of love that he willingly gave his life for his belief, rather than betray himself – to himself. Some might call it madness to die for a principle, but Jesus died, and the principle lives on.

Madness and genius are often conflated, not because we have a difficult time understanding madness, but because we have a difficult time understanding genius.