THEY both have a beard.

And they both preach a very different message to the norm.

Plus once word got round, both have picked up followers in their thousands.

And both have got the initials JC.

Yes, some of you may think it is inappropriate to liken the Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn with Jesus Christ.

But given the way some are going on about the MP for Islington North, you would be forgiven for thinking we were in the middle of the second coming.

Both have emerged out of virtually nowhere to become the ultimate love-hate figures.

Both have a habit of upsetting the establishment with their straight talking views.

Both are anti-corruption and anti-war.

And both turn out to be right quite a lot of the time.

The is one major difference though.

The big difference is - if you follow the word of the gospel - is that Jesus’ sole purpose was to lead.

And yet the modern day JC has always said that sort of thing is not his bag.

In fact, the whole selection of him as a leadership candidate was purely to ensure Labour members had a broad church of views to choose from.

Fellow hardline left wingers Diane Abbott and John McDonnell have already stood up to the plate in leadership battles.

So when the race to replace Ed Miliband began to gather pace, as the man I’ve called JC junior said, “it was simply my turn”.

He was supposed to be a paper candidate, a no hoper, someone to appease those party members being pulled away by the left-wing rhetoric being uttered by the Greens and the SNP.

But, somehow he’s ended up a front runner.

And with union support, the thought of him actually winning the contest has gone from unreal to very real.

Now unlike many commentators, I am not going to pretend I know who the real Jeremy Corbyn is.

Heck, I’ll be honest and I say I heard him speak once.

My reaction? “meh”.

He was nothing special.

That’s not to undermine his thoughtfulness, honesty and compassion - qualities which are rare in our politicians today.

But he was hardly Henry V.

JC junior came across as the sought of man who you wouldn’t mind running the local neighbourhood watch.

He’s passionate, experienced, diligent and he’s extremely knowledgeable.

Plus he’s not afraid of standing up for what he thinks is right - even if the majority think differently.

Looking at his track record and on issues such as the financial crisis and the war in Iraq, his at first unpopular view has ultimately in the long-run proved to be pretty accurate.

But as for running the country?

Most would believe there’s more chance of the Miliband brothers being spotted bear-hugging in Hyde Park.

See the thing with Jeremy Corbyn is that he doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.

You can tell that in the way he dresses - with a wide selection of khaki shirts, this is a man that wants to blend in with the background.

Some may think that’s refreshing: a natural cordial alternative to a world of to the over-the-top and manufactured sparkling politicians.

But let’s be clear - here is a man who’s totally put off by the idea of becoming Prime Minister.

He’s already admitted that if it did happen, then he would not live in Number 10.

And quite how he’d ever get that title bestowed on him by the Queen - someone he’d prefer to banish all together - is a head scratcher.

That’s if he even got that far.

Let’s be clear, the Labour Party currently has 98 fewer seats than the Conservatives in the House of Commons.

Even if they managed to win back all the 56 seats won by the Scottish National Party, this would still leave them short - meaning more than 30 seats must be won off the Tories themselves to get a reasonable working majority.

That’s providing he manages to keep his own party together.

For many, a Labour Party led by a hard line left winger would be a return to the bad old days when it remained out of power and overcome by Militant Tendency.

It wouldn’t take much for a small number of influential people to create an SDP style defection, like what happened in the 1980s.

For them, they do not want a second coming.

So if the Labour Party does select JC junior, he will need to work miracles.

If he fails, then it will be a long, slow painful death with little hope of resurrection.