They Said Jesus Was
Insane. Mad. Crazy. Strange.
The image of Jesus most people hold is wrong and wrung through centuries of:
- ideological whitewashing
- beautified marketing
- sanitized Sunday School summaries.
He’s often pictured as an ethereal peace-giver, universally adored, calmly glowing in a ‘soft sepia light’.
But this wasn’t the Jesus known to his followers. Not even close.
In fact, many who encountered Jesus in the flesh found him either;
- confusing, at best
- mentally unstable, at worst.
He wasn’t simply controversial, he was considered a threat to both religious orthodoxy and social order.
The sanitized version of Christ so many cling to was shaped after the cross, after the church industrial complex took control of his narrative.
Let’s take a scalpel to the original reactions—the raw, unsettling perceptions of Jesus while he was still walking the earth.
His Family Thought He’d Lost His Mind
The Gospel of Mark pulls no punches. In Mark 3:21, we’re told that Jesus’ own family said:
“He is out of his mind.”
Yes, his own bloodline. Not strangers. Not critics. His family. Pause there…
Imagine. Imagine the weight of that.
You’ve awoken to a Divine Knowing, a consciousness that cracks open reality—and the people who know your voice best say:
“You’ve snapped.”
It wasn’t mockery from outsiders that came first; it was internal doubt.
His kin likely feared he’d gone mad with something akin to messianic delusion.
Or perhaps they were embarrassed by his sudden rise as a controversial street-preacher confronting the Government and Church…
He spoke vehemently against both Rome and the temple elite.
Religious Leaders:
“You’re Breaking the Law and Blaspheming“
The religious class didn’t just dislike Jesus—they actively plotted his removal.
The scribes and Pharisees viewed him as a heretic, accusing him of;
- violating the Sabbath
- flouting Mosaic Law
- daring to forgive sins.
—a divine prerogative.
His miracles weren’t applauded; they were denounced as works of Beelzebub.
Let that settle: divine acts being interpreted as demonic.
… this was normal folk… the acceptable people… The community.
This wasn’t petty disagreement.
This was existential threat-level panic from the religious hierarchy.
They saw in Jesus… not just a radical voice—but someone who dismantled their very grip on sacred authority.
Public Whispers: “He Has a Demon and Is Mad“
John 10:20 captures this damning public sentiment:
“He has a demon and is mad; why listen to him?”
These weren’t elite theologians.
These were everyday observers—
- neighbors
- townsfolk
- bystanders.
Jesus’ words, while layered with profound gnosis (wisdom), sounded unhinged to the average ear.
And truthfully, wouldn’t they today? I mean… They do.
Imagine someone saying,
“Before Abraham was, I am.”
Or calling God their literal Father, claiming to bring not peace but a sword.
If spoken in today’s marketplace, they’d be dismissed as spiritually schizophrenic, or worse.
So what’s changed?
Only the power structure that codified his words.
Outside the Bible: Even More Scathing Views
This doubt wasn’t exclusive to Jewish contemporaries.
Roman voices and philosophers took their shots, too.
Talmud
The Talmud contains cryptic but deeply derogatory references to Jesus—branding him a sorcerer who led Israel astray.
He is also said in the Talmud to be swimming in hot excrements.
These weren’t passive critiques.
They were sharp rejections by those who saw his influence as spiritually treacherous.
Roman Philosophers
Roman historian Tacitus referred to Christianity as a “pernicious superstition,” blaming the followers of Christ for corrupting public morals.
To Roman minds, Christ’s followers were:
irrational fanatics clinging to a crucified troublemaker.
Celsus
And then there’s Celsus, the ancient philosopher and intellectual, who reportedly called Jesus
“small, ugly, and undistinguished,”
claiming his father was a Roman soldier—a jab meant to invalidate his divine paternity and tarnish the virgin birth narrative.
Jesus wasn’t revered by the intellectual elite of his time.
He was;
- mocked
- dismissed
- vilified.
Why This Matters
This isn’t about shock value or anti-Christian rhetoric. It’s about truth-telling.
When we sanitize the narrative of Jesus to make him palatable. We also:
- rob Him of the radical edge that threatened anti Christ power
- offended institutions
- deny the painful fact that he alienated his own family.
His teachings were revolutionary because they disrupted—not because they fit neatly within pre-existing paradigms.
So when you feel like your awakening makes others uncomfortable when your truth sounds like madness to the masses take comfort. You’re in excellent company.
Because the real Jesus wasn’t crucified for being nice. He was crucified because he challenged the lies. And many thought he was insane for doing so. Truth rarely sounds sane to those who live comfortably in delusion.
“And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
– Matthew 10:22
