Words have a tendency to change their meaning over time. This can happen spontaneously, or it can be done deliberately for subversive reasons. Either way, things can get confusing when this happens. Instructions, once clear and easy to understand, can turn into nonsense, or something very different from what was originally intended.
One way to lessen the sort of damage that can be done to a message by way of changing the meaning of words is to present multiple stories that all convey the intended message. That way, entire stories need to be changed, rather than a few words, if the message is to be properly subverted. If that isn't done, the original meaning of the story can be recovered through logic and analysis. The changed words can be identified, and everything can be put back into order.
This may be one of the reasons religions present multiple stories. The intended message is best preserved and conveyed that way. However, messages can still end up corrupted, especially if told in a superficial manner, with little context. For example, our understanding of the word sin is quite different from what it was originally. The word used to mean an error in behaviour. To sin was to miss the mark, the result of which would be suboptimal or counterproductive. Today, sin is something shameful and bad. The concept of original sin is therefore understood by many as something very different from what was originally intended. Original sin doesn't mean that babies are born shameful and bad. Rather, it means that we are born imperfect, and that no-one can expect to live a long life without ever making an error.
Some words are confusing, not so much because they have changed their meaning, but because they always had a somewhat nebulous character. Love is such a word. It's often confused with being nice, polite, friendly, generous, passionate and so on. However, in a religious context, the word is best characterized as a type of courage. Love is a will to live life with enthusiasm and joy in the face of dangers and oppression.
Seen in this context, Jesus comes out looking quite a lot more determined than what we are generally led to believe. He's not some cuddly do good guy. Rather, he's a radical who refuses to bow down to political power. But perhaps more surprisingly, he tells us not to emulate his last deeds. We are not to challenge authority in the way he did. Rather, we are to live our lives to the fullest. We are to spread his message of love.
The reason we can be fairly sure Jesus doesn't want us to go directly up against authority is that he tells us that he is going to take our sins on his shoulders. He makes a deliberate error so that we don't have to do it ourselves, and that deliberate error is to challenge authority directly.
Crucifixion, death and resurrection, was for Jesus to do alone. Our job is to spread his message of love, hope and faith, which we do by living our lives courageously, hoping for the best, and trusting in the network effect that comes from being an example for others to follow.
There's no point in being a martyr. Jesus did that for us. The idea is that we will benefit immediately in our own lives if we simply start living courageously. There will also be a great reward in the future when the network effect kicks in in earnest.
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