Jesus a Punk Rocker?

When you hear the word punk rocker you probably think of a weird, colourful hairstyle, safety pins, terrible language and even more terrible music. But that superficial expression of oneself is only part of the story. Behind all the shock of the punk movement which began in the late 1970's was a movement that was inclusive, non-judgmental and supportive and for many young people like myself who were suffering oppression or worse at home and living through the power cuts, 3 day weeks poverty and deprivation of the time it was a sanctuary where we could be ourselves, express ourselves and stick two fingers up at a nation that seemed to be in self-destruct mode. 

When Jesus appeared on the scene in first-century Jerusalem Judaism had been in self-destruct mode for generations. The leaders of the nation, in many cases no more than puppets of their Roman overlords, used their position as the keepers, interpreters and enforcers of the religious law to "load people with burdens hard to bear” (Luke 11:46) whilst living an easy life for themselves in luxury and false piety. Sound familiar? Then along came Jesus: counter-cultural and anarchic! He challenged the accepted order, lived among the despised and forgotten of society, preached a way of life that was inclusive, and stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. Its no wonder that he was accused of being subversive by the Jewish authorities who preferred to have “notorious prisoner called Barabbas” (Matthew 27:16) amongst them who was “among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection” (Mark 15:7). They saw Jesus as not only a threat to the peace that they had with the Romans, something he had in common with Barabbas, but also a direct threat to them and their authority.

So Jesus was not only inclusive non-judgmental and supportive, he was also anarchic, subversive and non-conformist. Jesus a punk rocker? It's an interesting thought.