The Rise of Early Christianity, A Jewish Perspective
The Rise of Christianity
Nascent Christianity was one of several apocalyptic Jewish sects active during the Second Temple period.
By Lawrence H. Schiffman
The following article is reprinted with permission from From Text to Tradition:
A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Ktav).
Apocalypse Now
Christianity was firmly anchored in the heritage of Second Temple sectarianism. Various documents from the corpus of materials discovered in the Qumran caves tell us of the extreme apocalypticism of some groups of Jews in this period. These groups hoped for the immediate revelation of a messiah who would redeem them from their misfortunes and tribulations. [The Qumran caves, located near the Dead Sea, housed scrolls containing writings of the Dead Sea sect, an apocalyptic sect active during Second Temple times, as well as substantial fragments of Jewish literature from the period.]
As time went on, and political and economic conditions worsened, they became more and more convinced that the messianic delivery would be accompanied by a cataclysm. The forces of evil, usually identified both with Israelite transgressors and with the non-Jewish powers that dominated the Jewish people, would then be totally destroyed. This view took its cue from the prophetic idea of the Day of the Lord. The destruction would be accompanied by a utopian messianism wherein an ideal society would come into existence with the restoration of the Davidic monarchy.
Christians Identified Jesus as the Davidic Messiah
When Christianity came to the fore in the first century C.E., its adherents saw themselves as living in the period of the fulfillment of these visions. They identified Jesus as the Davidic messiah who would usher in the eventual destruction of all evil.
Any study of the career of Jesus and the rise of the Christian church must acknowledge that Palestine in this period gave rise to occasional messianic and prophetic figures. Among these was John the Baptist, who, according to the New Testament, was the teacher and inspiration of Jesus.
MORE- http://www.myjewishlearning.com/hist...stianity.shtml
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Originally Posted by DDutton
Here's what I reckon: GOD DID IT. After all, God and Jesus were the same dude. God wanted himself murdered good and proper, in his Jesus-look-alike-form so that he could instigate the greatest con job of all time: Followers for ever more would be convinced that God died on the cross for all your sins. There... Was that convincing enough for ye of so little faith? Sorry, I really cannot do any better than that. 
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