March 1, 2004, Vol.4, No.5.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "What
did Jesus look like?" (see
below)
and "Introduction to Romans"
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS:
What did Jesus look
like?
by Tom Rainwater
 QUESTION:
What did Jesus look like when He was here? Did he have the
same skin color and features as most Jews do? Or did he have
blonde hair and blue eyes? Please help me.
ANSWER: Hi! Thanks for
your question.
It's unlikely that Jesus had blonde hair or blue eyes. Most
people of Jewish descent don't. The truth is: No one knows what
color skin, hair or eyes Jesus had when He was on the earth.
The inspired word of God doesn't reveal those things. Therefore
those details don't matter.
All we know about His appearance then was that He was rather
plain-looking. When He left Heaven and came in human flesh, He
took on "the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7).
In Isaiah 53:2, it was prophesied that "He has no form
or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we
should desire Him." In other words, He was an ordinary
looking Jew without any outstanding physical characteristics.
What made Him stand out to the people was the power of His miracles
(John 2:11,23; 3:2; 6:2; Acts 2:22) and the truth of His words
(Matthew 7:28-29; John 6:68-69; 7:46).
The exception to His ordinary appearance was His transfiguration
on the mountain to Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17:1-13; Mark
9:2-13). After Jesus completed His task on the earth and ascended
to Heaven, He appeared to John in a vision, choosing a form that
was powerfully impressive (Revelation 1:9-20).
To sum up, very little is revealed to us about the physical
appearance of our Lord on earth. What matters most is that He
is the Son of God who became our sacrifice for sin (John 3:16;
Hebrews 9:26; Matthew 20:28). His beauty was in His life and
in His love for all mankind (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). He wants
us to remember Him in this way: discerning His body and blood
on the cross (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
One day He will come again in the clouds for judgment (Acts
1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Matthew 25:31-46). Let's prepare
for that day in which we will see His face, by submitting to
Him as our Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36-38).
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