I'm totally missing the point

So lately, I've been watching clips of Godspell on YouTube. It stars Victor Garbor as Jesus and has some moments of real power, but the rest is completely silly. The main thing that I don't understand is why Jesus is portrayed as a "clown" and acts very scarecrow like? Does anyone have any insight into this? I find it completely mystifying. Is it a comment on that Jesus was seen as a clown or that no one took him seriously? It's very bizzare.