Originally Posted by VRPdommy

That was a question I wrestled with as a teen.
And you really have to dig into history to understand it. No quick fix.

All the while, as he was said to be claiming to be the son of GOD, you have to understand what GOD was to some peoples. To much for this post.
Really, he was claiming to be in heir as a blood descendant of Alexander (the great).
Through all the mix-up as folks read into this what they wanted (go figure)
And convincing Greek leaders, he was 'later' declared to be the son of GOD.
Still at the time, most celebrated the 'GODS' (greek).
The term for his name was generated by the Greeks and it means 'HAIL ZEUS' to help the population understand the who and what he was.

So this is why you see a image of the sun behind Jesus, as it was the symbol for Zeus.

So, the history 'you know' is really written by the Greeks. And of course it spread that way.

There is a lot to know for details in the in between of my statements. I suggest you look some up if you really have a interest. Mine is just a quick skinny.
You must take everything in with contrast with the thinking of that time.
Learning more about the culture and laws of the time.
I read up on it almost daily to understand the people of the that time and way before that time. It is very fascinating to connect historical dots.