Jesus exists in Christianity to fill a fundamental religious need of humans: to feel like good people. Jesus is morally admirable and compassionate, and through moral licensing, Christians transfer those desirable qualities to their own self-image, without actually having to be morally admirable and compassionate themselves. He isn’t really an example to be emulated. But that idea makes the transfer more effective. Just telling oneself that they are TRYING to follow Jesus’s example makes one feel better about themselves, and perversely permits them to act more poorly without negative self-image consequences.