I’m not so sure what is so special about Jesus.  I think he just had a message that people of that time wanted or needed to hear.  They were looking for answers about their mortality that other religions of the time were not answering and Jesus was very good at PR.  Tell people what they want to hear and they will blindly follow.  Is Jesus any different than anyone else who tries to sell us something?  We buy “Tide” because we’re told that it cleans our clothes better.  We drive a “BMW” because we’re told that it’s better than the next car.  We buy expensive designer clothes because the advertising tells us they’re better.  Religion is no different.  Jesus was selling something and people bought it because they were told his message was better than the others.