What if Jesus was like a modern day cult leader?
That depends on whether you have any preconceived ideas about Jesus or cult leaders. Option A) Cult leaders are irrelevant so Jesus’s teachings are interesting only in that they became very popular, but otherwise irrelevant. Option B) Cult leaders like Jesus are sometimes legitamate. In that case, join a cult and get in on the ground floor. Maybe you will be mentioned in historical texts as an apostle or something. Option C) Feel strongly that Jesus is not the same as cult leader and take offense to your question. Most boring option in my opinion.