Jesus versus the angry Jewish teachers

Jesus Versus the Angry Jewish Teachers.

Why Jesus had bad PR.  

At one time, Jesus riles the Jewish teachers.

He appears to antagonizes them on purpose.

As the Gospel says--
John 8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear my word? 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. ... 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God. 

They don't thank Jesus. (Who would?)

They reveal how misinformed they are about his hometown. It says--

48 The Jews answered and said to him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”  

They sound pretty miffed.  

Then he makes himself liked even less.

He asserts he knows God, they don't.

It says--

54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;

55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 

One wonders if he announces, "I'm God, by the way" to the non-receptive crowd.

It says--

56 "Your father Abraham [about a millennium and half previously] rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” 58 “I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.  

 I Am, is a name for God.

So, Jesus says he's God, or God lived before Abraham. (It depends on the reader's inference.) 

 

He had a strange way of talking to them.

He says they are in league with the devil, and they say he's in league with the devil.

The argument goes nowhere.   

What good would it do to say "I'm God"? 

It wouldn't help.

 

He didn't try to win them over.

He seemed unable to turn them, anyway.  

Today Christians are no better with atheists.

They argue, "Atheists are immoral" or "Atheists worship the devil."

The Christian approach is as bad as Jesus'.