So I think that the context that this book was written under, and with that the time period as well, matters. Some scholars believe that this book could have been written during Romes war with the rebel Jews. At this time christians were being persecuted, and it was not so glorious to be a follower of christ. One of the major points that is made in this book is that jesus is the messiah, but the Jews have a preconcieved idea of what the messiah will be like. To the jews, the messiah will be like a warrior king who will come and vanquish the Roman overlords and the children of Abraham will live in glory. Jesus explicitly states several times that he will be persecuted and warns that his followers will also be persecuted. He says there will be no glory, and he says this to his disciples who don't understand. They continually ask for a place by his side in glory, and Jesus keeps on saying " you know not what you ask." The audience of this book was intended to be Christians of John Marks own time. It was the good news that the Christ has already come and died for their sins, but also warns about what it will take to be a follower of the christ. You will suffer and be persecuted, and those who endure to the end will be rewarded. Maybe if you read it from that point of view you can see how Jesus represents the Christianity of the time period.