Not even as an ordinary person
Much blood, sweat and many tears have been shed arguing over whether Jesus was just a man, a man and a prophet, or an incarnation of God Himself. I put it to you all that such (often fatal) arguments are entirely missing the point, which is: Jesus Christ was only ever a mythical character, right from the off.
Why do I speak with such confidence, saying that Jesus Christ was only ever a mythical character? Many reasons, but I suppose I really ought to justify the position clearly here to give us all something to fight about.
Point the first:
We have evidence going back to the timeframe for any possible real-life personhood suggesting that Jews of the day were already identifying a character from the Old Testament as the Divine Logos, the pre-existent agent of God’s great creation, long before the Roman “gospels” started showing up.
Point the second:
We have evidence of Zealots, and of a Petrine and a Pauline cult. Whilst we do… what we don’t have is evidence of any of them incontrovertibly talking about a real-life Jesus… certainly nothing much to speak of by way of his having been any places in life, having said any things in life, having performed any miracles in life.
Point the third:
At the dawn of modern Christianity the gospels were being composed… the first of which shows up in 70AD following Vespasian’s ascension to power as the ruler of the mightiest empire on Earth. It is written in Rome in a Roman language for a Roman audience and says a lot of pro-Roman things. Whether or not there was some roaming Rabbi called “Jesus” (there may well have been dozens) it beggars belief to suggest that these Roman fictions (two of which were direct copies of “Mark” with [contradictory] pieces added) were in any way recording the life-events and sayings of a real-life person.
Point the fourth:
The reading of Mark 13 which makes the most sense at a plain reading (and given the known context of its writing) is that Vespasian is the Son of Man. Indeed, this is exactly the interpretation that Vespasian’s former slave wants us to adopt when he writes this:
Now if any one consider these things, he will find that God takes care of mankind; and by all ways possible foreshews to our race what is for their preservation: but that men perish by those miseries which they madly and voluntarily bring upon themselves. For the Jews, by demolishing the tower of Antonia, had made their temple four square: while at the same time they had it written in their sacred oracles, that “then should their city be taken, as well as their holy house, when once their temple should become four square.” But now what did the most elevate them in undertaking this war, was an ambiguous oracle, that was also found in their sacred writings; how “About that time one, from their country, should become governor of the habitable earth.” The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular: and many of the wise men were thereby deceived in their determination. Now this oracle certainly denoted the government of Vespasian: who was appointed emperor in Judea. However, it is not possible for men to avoid fate: although they see it beforehand. But these men interpreted some of these signals according to their own pleasure; and some of them they utterly despised: until their madness was demonstrated, both by the taking of their city, and their own destruction.
The questions for discussion, then, are these:
1. How far can you go along with me?
2. What good reasons do you have for rejecting any point I make here today?