Jesus’ appearance has always been a source of debate. It seems that every people group wants Jesus to look like them, which is understandable. Even Newsweek did a piece about the many faces of Jesus. The article presented a multiplicity of paintings depicting the Son of God in various racial forms. One painting even depicted Jesus a woman.
Wackiness aside, even conservative Christians seem to have some issues with His appearance. At Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Jesus is depicted in a bronze statue with His typical 150 pound frame, long hair, and model beard.
Why is it that Jesus always has the same body?
Notice that Jesus can’t be overweight, because that would be gluttony.
He also can’t be too muscular, because that would be vanity.
He must, therefore, have a 150-160 pound frame with a slightly muscular build.
We also can’t have a tall Jesus. Why not? Studies have shown that tall people come across as natural leaders (Don’t ask me to cite the study. I’m sure it exists somewhere). We can’t have people following Jesus because He’s tall, because that would take away from His character. If you’re going to follow Him, it has to be because He has great leadership skills, not an eligibility to play basketball.
But He can’t be too short, either. I’m not sure why He can’t be short, but it would just be weird. We don’t want our Jesus to be short.
We must, of course, address the beard. The beard is the one area where Jesus is allowed to achieve model status.
In just about every depiction of Jesus, He could be a model for a company selling beard trimmers. It’s never a thin wispy beard or a goatee. It’s never too long, because really, who wants a Gimli as a savior?
A few grays are permitted, though giving Him a mature edge. In short, Jesus’ beard is typically flawless.
I wonder if Jesus ever consulted this chart?
Finally, we come to the hair issue.
If He shaved His beard and bleached His hair, He would make a great surfer. But really? Why the long hair?
Humor aside, does it matter to you what Jesus looked like?
Here are the few things we actually know about His appearance.
1. He likely had a beard:
How do we know this? Beards were common, as razors and trimmers were not readily available. Moreover, Jews were instructed not even to trim the sides of their beards.
“You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard.” Leviticus 19:27 CSB
Also, depending upon your interpretation of Isaiah 50, it refers to the Messiah’s beard being torn out during His sessions of mockery and torture:
“I gave My back to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6 CSB
2. He likely did not have long hair:
Contrary to just about every depiction of Jesus, He likely did not have long hair. According to Paul, it was shameful for a man to have long hair:
“Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,” 1 Corinthians 11:14 NIV
3. He was likely not an attractive person:
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2 CSB
So there we have it. He was a 30 year old, unattractive, Jewish guy, with a beard and short hair.
We are left with four questions:
Can you follow a guy who was not of your ethnic background?
Can you follow a guy who had nothing in appearance that would make him desirable?
Can you follow a guy who may not have had a model beard?
Off topic, but can you follow a guy who never ate Bacon?
By the way, here’s what Spurgeon said about beards:
10 Misconceptions about Jesus #1: Jesus’ appearance
10 Misconceptions about Jesus #2: Jesus is the same as He was
10 Misconceptions about Jesus #3: Jesus would never judge anyone
10 Misconceptions about Jesus #4: Jesus was a carpenter
10 Misconceptions about Jesus #5: Jesus was pierced through His hands
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Hey,
Loved your article. Hilarious! ^^
Just one question. Did Jesus wear a sash?
M
Cheers,
Lachie ^^
He may have!
🙂
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Jesus Dreams of Chakra Petals
Jesus dreams of Chakra petals,
Tao kites,
Kabala science fiction,
Upanishad Westerns,
Santeria romance and
Agnostic Mysteries of the Universe.
He can’t help it.
He keeps them to himself.
But occasionally
He’ll forget one,
In the pocket of a robe,
From a five star hotel,
Or at a bar,
Or on a park bench.
And it will fall to earth.
Falling up.
But these dreams
Don’t just belong to Jesus,
Just as they don’t belong
To Buddha, Allah or Krishna,
Who dream only of each other,
Meaning, they dream only of themselves.
Gods are like that.
And because they dream for eternity,
They’ll leave behind their scent,
Or a number
Where they can be reached,
Or highlight reel
Of the dreams they host.
You pick up
Their scent on your walks.
See their numbers in your dreams,
Their app on your i-Pad
You keep it to yourself.
Fail to mention it to friends
When they ask if you’re seeing anyone.
Even though a simple yes
Would do.
The silence
Burns through your palms,
And pockets,
Heart and bone.
You fail to check with somebody.
Any one.
Like, maybe, that voice in your head
Is a good thing?
That maybe,
You are the dream vessel
For the reverie of Chakra petals,
Tao kites,
Kabala science fiction,
Upanishad Westerns,
Santeria romance and
Agnostic Mysteries of the Universe.
Just maybe?
But because people are watching,
It becomes too much;
As if you had something better to do.
You act
As if you’ve failed.
As if it doesn’t make sense
So you’ll live with it,
Accommodating all the gods
Just passing through.
Who leave a number
Where they can be reached
And you find yourself
Falling up.
Falling up,
Even as the petals open,
Like the palms of your hands open,
The petals,
Cupped in the palms of your hands,
Which you bring close to your breast,
To your heart,
Into your bones.
They burn through you,
Consuming you over
And over.
Maybe that should tell you something.
That maybe,
Just maybe
Christ, Buddha, etc.,
Even Adi Parashakti,
Mother of them all,
Comes from inside you,
Burning out.
And what you hear
In the mournful songs,
Are the deaths of squandered stars,
Of a falling brilliance.
You know: “Stars?”
Whose light you do not feel for light years.
Whose heat you do not feel mixing
With some personal religion,
(One that names constellations,
That navigates astral kites on solar winds.
Navigates; not falling.
Then falling. Then not falling.
Like a dream of petals).
Whose light is a dream,
Heat,
That consumes carbon and molecules,
Sending the fire of the petals’ flames
Back into its creator as an offering,
As another dream,
Or at least another chance to dream.
Do you hear that?
Yes. You hear that.
Can you do that?
Yes. You can do that.
Will you?
Maybe not.
If you tell yourself
It’s just Jesus forgetting.
Does he ever?
• Richard Marcus
5230 SW Custer St.
Portland, Oregon 97219
(503) 788-9967
Rmarcus8@comcast.net
I enjoyed reading what you wrote. I love how you tell it like you feel in your heart. This is where it all begins your mind puts it into words your fingers are the translation of what comes from within. Keep on keeping on!!!
Good read! But some observations:
King David was crowned by God. David was God’s favorite and God made David handsome and visually attractive(I Samuel 17:42). If God was pleased with David who was not his son why he would make His own Son less attractive?
Jesus was probably not a super model but not ugly either.
Yes, Jesus must likely had a small to medium size beard and mustache, no question about it. I don’t think he had time to shave and trim and look good.
Jesus was probably physically strong. He was scourged, whipped 40 times with a flagella and still carried a 50 to 100 pounds cross on his back for almost a half mile.
Jesus might have or might not had long hair or below the ears. The Paul’s writings about hair in males might not pertain to Jesus. In fact John writes in his Revelations that he saw Jesus as an old man with abundant (way below ears) white hair. Long white hair is symbol of wisdom and glory. Jesus might had in fact abundant hair. Not as long as depicted in the Last Supper or the movie Kings of Kings but probably below his ears. Note that there is a 2,000 years rumor that Paul was bald or totally lost his hair by age 50. He cut his hair bald in one occasion(Acts 21:23-24).
Jesus was probably tall(at last 5’9″). If we go by what the Gospel says about Zachaeus who was short and had to climb in a tree to see Jesus(Luke 9:3). So Jesus was at least 5’9″ and is considered tall average being Zachaeus like 4’11” , very short but not short to be considered midget because he was a wealthy tax collector and midgets were not hired as tax collectors. So this tells us that Jesus was not short.
Jesus was most likely physically and psychologically attractive, and with the charisma and physical attraction to have dozens of women serve him in their homes. Women(even first century Jewish women) would not be willingly serving and following an ugly physically disgusting man.
To my brother in Christ. To your point referencing John’s depiction of Jesus’ appearance in the book of Revelation ( not Revelations), here is the actual Scripture:
“and his head and hairs white, as if white wool–as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire;”
Revelation 1:14 YLT1898
And
“`I was seeing till that thrones have been thrown down, and the Ancient of Days is seated, His garment as snow [is] white, and the hair of his head [is] as pure wool, His throne flames of fire, its wheels burning fire.”
Daniel 7:9 YLT1898
1. John is referring to the glorified, resurrected Jesus Christ
2. Even here, Jesus’ hair is referred to as white wool
(Lambs don’t have flowing locks of hair)
3. If we believe God’s word on David’s appearance –
“and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance.”
1 Samuel 17:42 YLT1898, why can’t we believe His word for Christ’s appearance – “Yea, he cometh up as a tender plant before Him, And as a root out of a dry land, He hath no form, nor honour, when we observe him, Nor appearance, when we desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2 YLT1898
Jesus’ appearance shouldn’t matter much to anyone who is in Christ because we know how easy it is to get caught up having an image in our heads and how an image easily becomes something we idolize. Next, we start erecting statues, pictures, etc., and these become idols. If we do, however, want accurate context clues as to our Lord and Savior’s appearance for deeper understanding of God’s purpose and plan in how He had Christ appear to us, we must always allow the Scriptures, the God-breathed Word, to speak for itself rather than wanting things the way we want it and bending the Scripture to fit into our box.
Love in Him.
To my brother in Christ. To your point referencing John’s depiction of Jesus’ appearance in the book of Revelation ( not Revelations), here is the actual Scripture:
“and his head and hairs white, as if white wool–as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire;”
Revelation 1:14 YLT1898
And
“`I was seeing till that thrones have been thrown down, and the Ancient of Days is seated, His garment as snow [is] white, and the hair of his head [is] as pure wool, His throne flames of fire, its wheels burning fire.”
Daniel 7:9 YLT1898
1. John is referring to the glorified, resurrected Jesus Christ
2. Even here, Jesus’ hair is referred to as white wool
(Lambs don’t have flowing locks of hair)
3. If we believe God’s word on David’s appearance –
“and the Philistine looketh attentively, and seeth David, and despiseth him, for he was a youth, and ruddy, with a fair appearance.”
1 Samuel 17:42 YLT1898, why can’t we believe His word for Christ’s appearance
Jesus’ appearance doesn’t matter to me, but for those it does matter to we must always allow the Scriptures, the God-breathed Word, to speak for itself rather than wanting things the way we want it and bending the Scripture to fit into our box.
I also meant to include the Scripture related to Christ’s appearance.
“Yea, he cometh up as a tender plant before Him, And as a root out of a dry land, He hath no form, nor honour, when we observe him, Nor appearance, when we desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2 YLT1898