From what I understand Jesus was just one of many first century messiah claimants in the (seemingly) very minor religion of Judaism, how did a minor sect of a minor religion, following a failed messiah claimant (Not only Jesus didn't inaugurate the messianic age, but he was executed), manage to grow so large?
Hello! Not my area of expertise at all. But you might want to check the FAQ: :)
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/26m72g/why_did_christianity_and_not_another/
Edit: A rather polite bot asked me to include the names of the users responsible for the answers above. /u/Zosim , /u/talondearg ,