Without a doubt, there are some readers who agree with the man who said that Jesus is no one special. But let's look at it this way. Suppose anyone, with such a view, decided to deliberately try to become more famous than Jesus. What would it take? How could it be done?
We live in an era that is far more technologically advanced than the time of Jesus' day. Now, more than ever, it's possible to instantly see what is going on in various parts of the world. People can showcase themselves on social media sites, allowing information to be available to anyone in the world who has access to a computer. But even if you were filthy rich and famous, what would you have to do in order to get everyone on the planet to reference all of time to your birth, and to remember you thousands of years from now? Let's be realistic. You'd have to do something pretty awesome, maybe even supernatural.
Jesus lived long before the existence of the Pony Express, let alone the discovery of electricity. There were no newspapers, televisions, internet connections, radios, or telephones. He had a much greater disadvantage than what you would have. He wasn't wealthy and his fame was inadvertent to his primary cause. So what could he have possibly done to become so famous?
The Bible says that Jesus supernaturally healed lots of people -- hundreds of people, maybe even thousands. The fact that Jesus performed many supernatural miracles easily explains his fame. But don't tell that to a person who wants to say that Jesus did nothing great. They're likely to say something like "The world was smaller back then.", or "Ruler so-and-so declared such-and-such, which is why Jesus is so famous today." But let's be honest. That's like saying that the little girl made billions selling lemonade because she had lots of advertising and the lemonade tasted really good. It's just not a realistic response -- Not when you know how people are and the way the world works.
Kings and emperors had lots of power. A King, or emperor, had the power to force his own people to worship him, or reference all of time to his rule because of his ego -- as in the case of Caesar. However, this is something that a ruler would have FORCED his people to accept -- possibly out of fear. People who weren't under his rule never would have done it willingly. But no one was ever forced to reference all of time to the birth of Jesus by some dictator. Even if they had been forced, the practice certainly would have stopped once the dictator was out of power.
I read an article which explains that "B.C." originally stood for "Before Caesar", and that it was changed, due to the Christian movement, to mean "Before Christ". I'm no history buff. I just read a quick article online. But even if this is so, it goes exactly back to my point. Why would the world accept a global reference to Christ's birth instead of the rule of Caesar? Caesar, at least, had great power in his day as a ruler. And he's not the first man, with extreme power, who ever wanted to be worshipped due to his power. So it doesn't surprise me that such a man would declare everyone to reference all of time to his rule. But why is it that, to this day, thousands of years later, it is the birth of Jesus Christ to which we all reference all of time? Jesus never forced anyone to worship him. He was born in a barn and never had a throne here on Earth. He certainly wasn't financially wealthy and was as humble of a person as anyone could find. Why would it be that everyone would reference all of time to his birth? Why would that ever stick unless he performed all of those miracles?
To suggest that it's all a result of a well-oiled campaign by his followers is like saying that the little girl generated billions in sales because her lemonade tasted really good. It's ludicrous.
The topic, of the staying power of Jesus' fame, isn't new. Here's what the Bible says about it:
"When the members of the Council heard this, they were so furious that they wanted to have the apostles put to death. But one of them, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the Law and was highly respected by all the people, stood up in the Council. He ordered the apostles to be taken out for a while, and then he said to the Council, 'Fellow Israelites, be careful what you do to these men. You remember that Theudas appeared some time ago, claiming to be somebody great, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, all his followers were scattered, and his movement died out. After that, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census; he drew a crowd after him, but he also was killed, and all his followers were scattered. And so in this case, I tell you, do not take any action against these men. Leave them alone! If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear, but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!'
The Council followed Gamaliel's advice."
-Acts 5:33-39
And so here we are, thousands of years later. Not only has the message of Jesus persisted, but the entire world knows who he is and has chosen to reference all of time to his birth.