There are lots of people who believe that Jesus was a key historical figure, and that what makes Him unique is His wisdom in teaching. Jesus is so understood as a “Good Teacher”.
This is based primarily on His affirmation of “The Golden Rule”: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’ [Matthew 7:12]. Jesus also said it in the way of the Hebrew Scriptures: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’ [Leviticus 19:18].
This Golden Rule is held up by most cultures and peoples as the highest ethic, the foundation for “good” society, and therefore Jesus is esteemed by believers and unbelievers alike for His emphatic teaching on this.
But here is the issue… Jesus called this ethic the ‘second’ commandment, which is “like the first”. What is the first commandment?
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” [Deuteronomy 6:5]
If “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” is the ‘Golden Rule’, here is the ‘Platinum Rule’ in Jesus’ teaching. But it’s not popular or considered worthy by a world that values other gods and idols as worthier (and therefore worshipful) than the LORD God.
“One thing is needed” [Luke 10:42] Jesus told Martha as Mary sat listening intently to Him. What is this one thing? Luke goes on to record Jesus teaching His disciples about prayer, about being in living relationship with the living LORD – listening intently as the feet of our LORD.
If Jesus is esteemed as a Good Teacher, then we should also heed His teaching on loving our enemies. This radical ethic is emphasised as Jesus told a Jewish scholar the story of the Good Samaritan. The Jewish scholar had asked “Who is my neighbour?” [Luke 10:29]. Jesus showed him how even his enemy was his neighbour – and that he should go and do likewise. This is radical love – then and now.
If we understand Jesus to be a Good Teacher, let us take heed of the words of Paul in Philippians 2:1-11. If we find anything good in Jesus, then why aren’t we following Him, and more so, His example? He is the highest example of humility, obedience to the LORD, even to death on a cross. His teaching was a reflection of His love of the LORD, and His earthly life was lived in whole and holy obedience to the mission He came here for – to open the way for you and I to follow Him, to live out the “one thing”, and then to love our neighbour as ourselves – even if they are in opposition to us, hate us, and especially if we are moved with anger toward them. Let us love them, as Jesus spoke and prayed on the cross about those who hated Him.
Jesus’ teaching doesn’t endorse or elevate teaching from human experience or desire as being “good”, and does not validate the beliefs of other religions or spiritual paths. He explicitly warns His followers to beware of all that ensnares and threatens our love for the LORD our God with all we have. For our love for others springs from our love for God, especially when we are mindful of disagreement and antipathy towards “them”.
In Jesus’ teaching, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” follows “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

A revolutionary is a proponent of change. Sometimes revolutionaries will push for action no matter what the cost. In their way of thinking, the end justifies the means.
Since Jesus’ incarnation, activists and revolutionaries at various times have used Jesus as a figure-head for their cause – some good, some definitely not. In the last century, there has been a number of attempts to colour Jesus “red” in the socialist cause. His blessing of the poor and woes for the rich, His challenge to the tax collectors and the powerful elite, His cleansing of the Temple and His teaching about the “kingdom” which they have understood as a revolutionary, ‘equal’, utopian society in this world have all been put forward.
However there are other revolutionary streams of teaching of Jesus that are not embraced by modern revolutionaries. These include ‘loving your enemies’ and ‘taking up your cross daily’, or dying to your own desires and dreams of power. Jesus calls us to acknowledge God’s existing authority and power, and receive from Him the abundant blessings He provides in this life – and to an unimaginable degree – in the next [2 Corinthians  4:16-18, Romans 8:18-25].
Then there is the great scandal of Jerusalem when the innocence of Jesus is confirmed by Pontius Pilate before the revolutionary crowd, and yet convicted and crucified on the Roman cross. Meanwhile, the crowd cries out for the release of the revolutionary Barabbas, well-known to be a leader of chaos and murder in the cause of Jewish independence against the Romans.
Jesus’ revolutionary teaching cost Him His life. He managed to offend just about everyone. But no one could accuse Him of an actual crime.
Should we follow this revolutionary teacher? Are the poor blessed and the rich evil? Not necessarily, but we should be alert to the entrapment of loving wealth and recognise how much we do have, rather than live for more. Should we follow Jesus to the cross? Here, in Australia in 2017, it’s not really an issue. Or is it? It is becoming an issue, and will continue to do so. I can see a time when Christians in Australia will be punitively punished for speaking the words of Jesus, for following Him in defiance of the world. In many places in our world, this is already happening, and many innocent Christians are victims of evil and hatred in dreadful ways.
By the way, over many centuries many innocent people have been the victim of the Church too, in ways of evil and hatred that should bring us to our knees in confession, and tears to our eyes in shame.
So we should follow the revolutionary Jesus who was a proponent of change, who knew that the end justified the means. In His case, ‘the means’ was His own death by crucifixion was for the guilty (you and I), and ‘the end’ is our justification with God. Jesus opened the way for our souls to be saved by faith through grace. The revolution of Jesus is His sacrifice for the life of many.
It’s revolutionary grace, and it defies imagination and understanding in its beauty, simplicity and complexity. Jesus’ revolution is not of this world, but will end with the destruction of all power structures opposed to His kingdom, including those inside of us that still demand that we be the sovereign of our own soul.

Luke's research and writing of the story of Jesus is detailed and knowledgeable - as opposed to most 'information' that is quickly available on electronic devices today.
His account of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2 is rooted in history, in time and place, and people. If Theophilus or any other hearer/reader wanted to get on their horse or donkey and go to where Jesus was born, they could. They would undoubtedly meet some who knew of the events. Members of Jesus' earthly family were still around and could be approached and questioned about what Luke had written.
Today, much scholarly work has gone into determining the truth of the 'historical' Jesus, and the evidence is compelling that Jesus of Nazareth was a real person who lived, taught and moved around Palestine in the early first century - and was crucified by the Romans around AD 33. Such scholars, Christian and non-christian, agree that there is a "Jesus-shaped bump" in history since that time. It is a ripple that has become a global tsunami of the Christian movement.
We believe Jesus was so much more than "just" a historical figure. We follow Jesus because He is so much more, and not just because of what He taught and did, but because He is risen and has overcome the grave, He has ascended and will return.
Peter wrote of his experience, and that of his friends James and John, on the mount of Transfiguration. "We did not follow cleverly designed stories" he wrote to the persecuted Church. "We were eyewitnesses to His majestic glory..", "we heard the voice of God in the cloud...", and "we have this prophetic message for you, the Church, to pass on..."
The Church does not worship or follow an historical figure, but the living Lord Jesus who reigns over all creation.
We worship Him because He is full of grace and truth. In an age of information, knowledge is a valuable treasure.

Luke's Gospel provides knowledge about who Jesus was - and in the sequel "The Acts of the Apostles" Luke provides knowledge about who Jesus is.
If you want to know who Jesus was, and is, read through the Gospel of Luke. Even if you don't believe, at least you can seek to understand. It's better than relying on "information" that could be as useless as it is abundant.