Jesus may have been the worst salesman ever.
And the good news he announced is definitely the worst sales pitch ever. It could be lampooned like this:
“Repent and surrender everything you have and everything you hope to be to me. Do this, and your life might be worse—maybe a lot worse. Eventually, I’ll give you something far better. But you can’t see it or have it until you die. Just trust me.”
This portrayal of the gospel doesn’t sound very appealing, but it is the way most ears hear the gospel: foolish, offensive, insulting, a turn off. Certainly, that’s how Jesus’ audience heard it.