Questions concerning Jesus: Was Jesus Attractive?
Was Jesus Attractive?
Introduction
Another challenge in the life of a
Christian is trying to get an understanding of what Jesus looked like. A lot of
times you’ll see an image posted on Social Media of a young man in a robe with
a beard and mustache. They tell you it’s Jesus and you should share this image
in others. Of course, if you know your Star Wars movies, it’s
the character Obi Wan Kenobi from the prequel films.
The question posed is: What did Jesus
look like? In article to follow, we’ll try to answer this question.
Paintings
before Photographs
The images below can easily be
identified as: Ludwig Von Beethoven, George
Washington, and William Shakespeare.
At
least, that is what we are told by teachers and experts. We have to go on a
sign of faith to agree with them that this is who they are. Photography wasn’t
invented until the mid-19th Century; when some of the first pictures
were that of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
But what of those who lived in the first
century and earlier? We don’t have any real idea of what they look like; just
artists impressions of those individuals. The most painted individual would be
that of Jesus. If you were to do a search online of images of Jesus, you’ll
find hundreds and most don’t look alike. If you were to do the same with the
other three men above, you’ll find several similarities in the images.
The Image
of Jesus
Below are two specific images of Jesus
that I’ve selected. The one on the right is the standard image that everyone is
familiar with. The one on the left is one created by anthropologists and
forensics of what people looked like back then.
You
can see a vast difference between the two and most would immediately gravitate
towards the image on the right. Why? Because, to them, that is the image that is
emblazoned on their mind of what Jesus really looked like. Except, Jesus wasn’t
Caucasian. Since he was born in Bethlehem, and he was a Jew, he would have a
darker skin color like the image on the right. People would reject this image
as it doesn’t match up to the other and similar images found on the internet.
What does
the Bible Say?
Let’s turn to scripture and see what it
says about Jesus in appearance. First, let me say that this is not actual
description of him or anyone else. If the bible were simply stories, I’m sure
each of the “characters” would be described.
In Isaiah
53:2 the prophet had this to say, “For He shall grow up before Him
as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or
comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”
From this we can conclude that in as far as physical appearance there was
nothing special about him to separate him from the rest of the Jews. To say,
“there is no beauty” doesn’t mean he was ugly for in that he would stand out as
well as if he were attractive. This verse simply means that Jesus was ‘just
another face in the crowd’. His preaching, teaching, and miracles were what
made him stand apart from the rest.
Conclusion
Here some
commentary on Isa. 53:2 I found from Jamieson, Fawcett, and Brown: The
studied reticence of the New Testament as to His form, stature, color, etc.,
was designed to prevent our dwelling on the bodily, rather than on His moral
beauty, holiness, love, & etc., also a providential protest against the
making and veneration of images of Him.
From this we can conclude that the focus
should be on Jesus’ words and his spiritual presence, not his physical
appearance. If you are posting pictures of the supposed image of Jesus, or
having these things hanging in your house, this is a form of idolatry (Ex.
20:3-4).
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