In his Everlasting Man (1925), GK Chesterton gave expression to something that I have observed in my students, but have not until now had the words to express: the Church makes Jesus palatable (part II, chapter 2).
Often students take my Jesus and the Gospels course because they adore Jesus spiritually, but then find that the Gospels are a problem -- and the problem is canonized in the New Testament!
I have been troubled by this, thinking perhaps this is my fault, that I have veiled the allure of the man who saved the world. Since I am obligated to expose students to the Quest for the Historical Jesus, perhaps this ruins things for the student.
But I am not convinced. The naked Jesus of the Gospels is "a trouble" -- a far cry from the Jesus-is-just-alright world of my '70s youth. The Church clothes him with mercy, compassion and decency -- for better or worse.
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