Jesus spoke to people, to individuals. He referred to them by their first names - Simon, Andrew, John, Nathaniel. And, I think we can be quite sure, they called him Jesus.
The problem we have is that after Jesus was killed it took no time at all for this to happen:
The gospel accounts, written some several decades after the facts, are an interpretation of the event - and, in the main, not a very helpful interpretation.
No one would have referred to him as "Lord," or "Master", but after the myth began to take hold it became disrespectful, even inconceivable, to address him by his first name. That was saved for those who disdained him, as was any reference to his former profession.
Consequently, every statement "The Lord" makes becomes something nigh on impossible to trust. He is reduced (or elevated, depending on your point of view) to a superhuman, pontificating holy man, spouting platitudes and sound-bites.
Even the story of his birth is an invention - history written in hindsight. He was being promoted as a prophet "like Moses", and so, like Moses, he had to have just as dramatic a beginning. He is "called out of Egypt"; he is sought after by kings; he becomes the target of an assault upon the first-born - all events lifted directly from the stories of Moses. The end of his life parallels that of Moses, too. Nobody knows where either body is. But, Jesus had to be greater than Moses - he speaks from beyond the grave. Additionally, to give Jesus a royal edge, it is contrived that he somehow ends up in Bethlehem for his birth, David's city.
When it comes to the spoken word, it takes courage and a little bit of inventiveness to re-interpret what Jesus probably said on different occasions. For a start, we can rethink any quote where he focuses attention on himself rather than the message he wants to make known.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.(John 14:6)Far more likely he would have implored people that "This" is the way back to their heavenly father. This is the truth. This is how to have the life that their father wants them to have.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)Surely the "gentle" man, Jesus, would have said something like, "If only people would understand what I'm saying, then their spirits would be lifted, they would be given a new lease of life!"
It works the same way with anything Jesus is reported to have said.
Only by untangling the real Jesus from the interpreted Jesus can we begin to get to the heart of the matter: Jesus had identified and understood the nature of man's self-destruction. He saw it in man's broken relationship with God - the hidden message found buried deep within the Scriptures. He wanted to tell men and women everywhere that their sins were forgiven, and that the way back to God - the way to a close personal relationship with their heavenly Father - was as open to them as it ever was.
After Jesus died, however, Messiah fervour began to accelerate until it reached fever pitch. The man became the focus of attention at the cost of the message he had been trying to impress. By the time the first accounts began to be written, the reality had waned and the mythology could wax unabated.
It is up to us to see through the mythology and lift the message free. We can do that.