“… Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and don’t criticize what you can’t understand, your sons and your daughters are beyond your command …”  — Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are a-Changin'”

It is hard to deny that modern man generally loves the rebel hero.  Many have interpreted Jesus of Nazareth from this vantage point.  To them, he is the ultimate iconoclast or rebel.  His teaching and example were “counter-culture” and thus his main importance is that inciting change, getting others to see the power of a life of love, etc.  While much of this view comes from the 1960s and 70s, it continues to our own day.  The position is well summarized in the aptly titled song by Jackson Browne, “Jesus the Rebel.”  Click on the image to hear the song while viewing the lyrics below the picture.

“The Rebel Jesus”

The streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants’ windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for all God’s graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

They call him by the “Prince of Peace”
And they call him by “The Saviour”
And they pray to him upon the sea
And in every bold endeavor
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases
But they’ve turned the nature that I worshipped in
From a temple to a robber’s den
In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I’ve no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure and I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.

Another popular form of this view comes from Broadway.  In the following clip you can hear and see Jesus presented in the light of the great Rebel from the Broadway musical, Jesus Christ Superstar.  Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971. The musical is loosely based on the Gospels’ accounts of the last week of Jesus’ life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. Many of the events depicted are not recorded in the Gospels.  In many ways, Jesus is presented as the ultimate “hippy.”