Hi Evan, The first thing to remember about Jesus is that he was a Jew, and since the texts have been changed a myriad of times over the centuries, what he said or didn't say can only be a matter of conjecture. However, if he did indeed tell his disciples to 'keep the law' - and I think it likely he did - he meant Jewish law - the laws of the Old Testament. I don’t believe Jesus ever intended for a new religion to surface in his name.
My conclusions have resulted from stripping away the unlikely - rising from the dead, for example. Dead people don't come back to life. They just don't. But then I ask 'If he wasn't who he is reputed to have been, who was he? I think the clues lie in the genealogies the New Testament presents - those of both his mother Mary, and of Joseph - his alleged step-father. If Joseph wasn't his father why is his family tree there? The Jews were expecting a messiah - a saviour - but they weren't expecting a spiritual saviour - rather one who would lead them in their quest to rid the land of the intruder - and Jesus, with his heritage, fits that bill admirably. Prophecy dictated that the messiah would be born of the House of David - and both family trees lead back to that.
Jesus was sentenced to death for insurgency - he was causing trouble - and for me everything, from the visit of the Wise Men, to Herod's slaughter of the innocents, to Jesus disappearance for years of his life, and what followed, leads me to believe that he fitted the label the Romans attached to the cross - King of the Jews.
Incidentally, I think he was married - and I don't believe he died on the cross but was rescued to live the rest of his life in the safety of exile - possibly in India where to this day a tomb exists allegedly containing his remains.
I hope you find all of that - or even some of it - of interest.