What Did Jesus Look Like?

A simple study of the Bible shows that Christ could never have looked as modern pictures or movies represent Him.

As a human being, Jesus Christ was a Jew (Heb. 7:14). He looked like a normal young Jewish man of His time. He was also a carpenter. This means He would have worked outdoors in all kinds of weather. He would have been tanned in the summer and wind-burnt in the winter. He would have had a healthy, weathered look about Him. Since carpenters at the time of Christ were also familiar with stone masonry, Christ would have been muscular enough to carry and place large stones in homes and buildings. He was not weak and sickly looking.

The Bible describes Jesus Christ this way: “[H]e hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2). Jesus Christ had no distinguishing features or handsomeness that made Him stand out in a crowd. Christ used this fact to His own advantage many times. He was able to escape harm by blending safely into a mass of other Jews on more than one occasion. Remember, Judas had to point Him out to the authorities with a kiss (Matt. 26:48-50).

It is also important to recognize that the Jews of Christ’s day considered it a great shame for a man to have long hair (1 Cor. 11:14). So Christ would never have looked like the pampered, long-haired, easy-to-point-out man modern pictures make Him appear to be.

When we think of Jesus Christ, we must think of Him as He actually is today. The Bible states, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:14-15). As the living Son of God, Jesus Christ’s face shines with fiery brilliance. His spirit body burns like molten brass. We could not look into His face and not be harmed by the experience. Be sure to study and meditate on this entire passage. All crucifixes, pictures and statues of Jesus Christ fail miserably to represent Christ as He truly is. They are wholly false and must be discarded if we are going to worship God in spirit and in truth.