Who were the Jesus freaks? What was the Jesus Movement?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

While the term “Jesus freak” is not mentioned in the Bible, there are descriptions of what our faith should look like. David is an example of a follower of the true God who fought a literal giant based on his confidence that God was on Israel’s side. The book of Daniel describes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defying Nebuchadnezzar’s order to bow to an idol under threat of being thrown in a furnace. Their boldness resulted in the king acknowledging the one true God. This is a lesson for believers today, and one that the apostles of the early church lived out. Peter and other apostles rejoiced at being beaten for refusing to stop preaching the Gospel. Paul faced shipwrecks, beatings, stonings, rejection by his people and more, yet he could still write to the Roman believers, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). Believers today should be enthusiastic about their faith—”freaks” in the sense of our passion for spreading the Gospel. But Scripture also shows that we need to tailor our presentation of the Gospel to those we are preaching to so as to draw rather than repel them (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, 14:23). Our faith should be evident to those around us as we live differently from the rest of the world with boldness.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Proverbs tells us that the “righteous are bold as lions” (Proverbs 28:1). Faithful Christians should manifest boldness about the Gospel.
• David, although just a youth, approached Goliath with boldness, not based on his own strength, but on God’s: “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). Our confidence when speaking the truth should be in God, not in ourselves.
• Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego served as a powerful testimony of the one true God when they refused to bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, even though not doing so meant death (Daniel 3:16–18). Their bold witness to the truth, resulted in Nebuchadnezzar exclaiming, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28). Likely, today, the three young men would be called “Jesus freaks,” but they, no doubt, would proudly wear that title.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• After Peter had confessed Jesus as the “Christ of God” among the other disciples, Jesus explained the pain He would endure and the pain His followers must be ready to endure. He followed that with a call to boldness in preaching the Gospel: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:23). Christians must be ready to witness, no matter the trials we face or the names we are called.
• Despite facing rejection by many, the early church apostles proclaimed the Gospel with boldness. Peter and other apostles were commanded by the Jewish council to stop preaching the truth, but Peter and the others told them, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). They were beaten for their stand, but nonetheless, “left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:40-41). They didn’t back down, and neither should we.
• Even though Paul faced many hardships, he didn’t stop “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31). We should do the same.
• Though we should boldly proclaim the Gospel and should not fear what people can do to us, we should also do as Paul did and tailor our presentation of the Gospel to our audience. Paul wrote, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. . . . To those outside the law I became as one outside the law . . . that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
• Paul also warned believers that tongues were for other believers, not for outsiders who could be repelled from the Gospel by what they don’t understand: “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” (1 Corinthians 14:23).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

“Freak!” “Extremist.” “Holy roller.” These are a few names that unbelievers have called faithful Christians over the years. And they’re right—in their view of our enthusiasm. Many today binge-watch Netflix series or spend hours on physical appearance. In other words, everyone is a “freak” to something, so wouldn’t you rather be a “freak” for Christ, the One who deserves our whole-hearted devotion? True believers, after having experienced God’s saving grace, will be compelled to tell others, no matter the name-calling.

This was the case with the “Jesus freaks” of the Jesus Movement, a revival of sorts in the late 1960s and early 1970s that started among the counter-culturalists on the West Coast who found meaning in Jesus' teachings on love and peace. The movement was Pentecostal in nature, emphasizing healing, signs, and miracles. Those in the movement combined aspects of their old lifestyle, like communal living and modern music, with their Christian faith. The movement brought fresh music to traditional churches and developed Calvary Chapel and Vineyard churches and mostly ended in the 1980s.

The “Jesus freak’ term is used less today but may still describe someone who is enthusiastic about their faith. In this sense, we should all be Jesus freaks—while also being aware of how we present the Gospel message. We don’t have to grab people by the lapels or shout on a street corner to share the Gospel; in fact, doing that in most cultures will repel rather than attract. Like Paul, we can be “a servant to all, [to] . . . win more of them.”

UNDERSTAND

• The term “Jesus freak” began with the Jesus Movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
• The Jesus Movement was started by counter-culturalists who wanted to follow Jesus’ teachings rather than their old lifestyles.
• While not used as much today, the term can still apply to those who are bold and enthusiastic about their faith in Christ.

REFLECT

• How are you bold about your faith?
• Have you ever been called a derogatory name because of your devotion to Christ, and if so, how did you respond?
• In what ways do you adjust how you share the Gospel to reach different people without compromising the truth?

ENGAGE

• What can we learn from the Jesus Movement about engaging culture while staying faithful to Scripture?
• How can believers today balance boldness with wisdom in presenting the Gospel to a skeptical world?
• Which biblical examples of courage in faith (David, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, apostles) encourage us in living out our faith?