Author : 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 blond 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).
