A good quote from John Meier in A Marginal Jew:

A tweedy poetaster who spent his time spinning out parables and Japanese koans, a literary aesthete who toyed with 1st-century deconstructionism, or a bland Jesus who simply told peole to look at the lilies of the field — such a Jesus would threaten no one, just as the university professors who cdreate him threaten no one. The historical Jesus did threaten, disturb, and infuriate people — from interpreters of the Law through the Jerusalem priestly aristocracy to the Roman prefect who finally tried and crucified him…To outsiders like Josephus, Tacitus, and Lucian of Samosata, one of the most striking things about Jesus was his crucifixion or execution by Rome. A Jesus whose words and deeds would not alienate eople, especially powerful people, is not the historical Jesus.

(p. 177)