Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher. He was teaching us how to be like Him by accepting Him within ourselves. He even said that the tings that i do and even more you too shall do in my name...
If I am doing just a few of those things in His name, wouldn’t it appear that I am following His teachings?
Which would you sooner have, a lifeguard that waits until you are drowning or a lifeguard that teaches you how to swim?
Jesus was/is teaching us how to swim..........
He was setting an example and teaching much - also telling us of things to come and putting it in context of the outgoing Old Covenant.
If He thought that we could be "apt learners" He would not have had to die for our sins.