Family: Gemma Teller-Morrow (mother), John Teller (father), Thomas Teller (Brother), Clay Morrow (Step-Father), Abel Teller (Son), Thomas Teller (Son), Tara Knowels (wife), Wendy Case (Ex-wife).
Position: Pesident, Former vice president.
JaCkson (JAX) Teller As
Jesus Christ
Jax Teller, is a second generation SOA member, as son of John Teller (JT) and step-son to Clay Morrow, both of which are former presidents of the club. Therefore, like christ he is born of ‘special’ parentage. JT was actually the founder of the motorcycle club (MC) ‘Sons of Anarchy’, he is not just a former president he’s the creator of the whole thing (Wikipedia, 2015). After finding a book written by his father, JT, about SAMCRO’s beginnings and how it stepped off the original path and into the pit of crime, Jax decides that it is now his responsibility to save the club from it’s criminal ways, and He starts on his way to doing so. Also like Christ, he has inherited a ‘noble’ mission to save his people from ruin and sin.
This whole quest to fulfill his father’s written wishes by Jax mirrors Jesus’s guiding us to the bible, and his own father’s (God’s) sacred written word, choosing the righteous path over the path of damnation. Just as Jesus urged people to follow God’s word, Jax encourages his club to follow what’s said in his father’s book, leading his people to do the right thing, instead of the wrong.
His first act to get the club out of crime is to set up the porn business he calls Cara Cara, a legitimate business to bring in revenue not associated with crime, ‘clean’ money. After all, even Jesus spent his time with “fallen women” did he not (Instone-Brewer, 2012)? Later, He and Nero also create an escort business as well in order to generate more ‘clean’ money. During the episode “Greensleeves” Jax offers a prostitute a way out of her street prostitution. He takes a pretty girl in a bad situation and helps her get a better, cleaner, safer way of living by employing her as an escort (at least as an escort she doesn’t have to be a prostitute) in his business “Diosa”. Overthrowing Clay was next. During the time that Clay was president of the club, he had become corrupt, killing whomever he pleased to cover up his previous horrible acts. Clay had even killed one of his own ‘brothers’, another founding member for the club simply to keep him quiet. After eventually getting clay out of his leadership role, and kicking him out of the club, Jax became the new president and continued on his path to “fulfilling his father’s wish” (Adame, 2014).
The biggest clue to Jax’s symbolic identity as Jesus is in the final episode in which he sacrifices himself to save his sons, and his club from a life of pain, cruelty, crime, and death (Robinson, 2014). The final episode was packed with symbolism depicting Jax, the most righteous of the sons, as Jesus Christ himself. The final episode of the series foreshadows an episode full of religious references. During this episode Jax confesses to Patterson, a detective with the DA about some of the things that have been going on lately, giving himself up to Patterson, while buying himself some time to do what needs to be done (Adame, 2014). Jax also finally cuts off the ties between the club and and the IRA, August Marks (a corporation type who deals in criminal drug and gun sales on the side), and Barosky (a crooked ex-cop). Though it is a little less ‘turn the other cheek’ and a little more thou shalt smite... he does free the club from more of it's members being killed to coerce them into staying in criminal affairs with bad people.
Jax also has a discussion with his own little angel of death, a homeless woman who’s been there since season one (Robinson, 2014). Usually this woman lends Jax a hand in a time of need, now she tells him that it's time for his sacrifice. Johanna Robinson (2014), a writer for Vanity Fair, points out that the homeless woman’s cloak/blanket makes her look a lot like the reapers that each of the Son's wear, further reinforcing her role as an angel of death or a reaper. That's not where her symbolic significance ends though. This woman happens to be feasting on a meal of wine and bread (Robinson, 2014). Jax's own last supper with the angel of death? Jax says his goodbyes, and he’s off to finish his day. Before he does though, he visits the spot where JT’s name is painted on stone, and has his last words with his father, just as Jesus did with God (Robinson, 2014,Wikipedia, 2015). Finally, Jax rides off to his death on his father’s bike, arms spread wide, crucifixion-style (Robinson, 2014). This further reinforces Jax as Jesus, and JT’s bike as his cross. After it’s all over, the final shot is of Jax’s blood reaching out for a hunk of wine-soaked bread with two crows picking it over. The final episode of the series is a battery of references to Jax as Jesus.
“..do you believe in God?”
Jax: “What’s important is that you do”