Does It Matter?

​Have you ever wondered what Jesus actually looked like? The stained-glass window depicting Jesus at First Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, where I grew up, was beautiful. Jesus had a loving, welcoming expression on his face. His skin was fair. His hair was light brown. His eyes were likely blue or maybe brown. 
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The New Testament doesn’t describe Jesus’ physical appearance and perhaps due to concerns about heresy, very early artists did not create the likeness of the Son of God. So, what did Jesus look like?

Genevieve Carlton wrote, “If we believe famous Renaissance artists, the Christian Messiah had flowing hair and a long beard. He also had pale skin, as seen in Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper or Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement” (1).
 
That may be what European artists envisioned but how could that be? Beautiful as they are, those masterpieces look nothing like what we know a Jewish man from that time would have looked like.
 
In her article, Ms. Carlton goes on to say, “The portrayal of Jesus has changed quite a bit throughout the centuries. The artists of the earliest painting of Christ were not concerned about historical accuracy, but rather symbolism. They wanted to depict his role as a savior, and they simply modeled him after the typical styles of the time” (2).
 
Now that makes sense. We may be getting closer … maybe.
 
A fresco dating back to 235 Anno Domini (AD), discovered sometime during the 20th century, shows Jesus with short hair and no beard. After the year 400, Christian artists around the world began depicting Jesus in their own image. Think African features in Ethiopia, Asian features in India and Caucasian features in Europe.​
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​In 2015, retired medical artist, Richard Neave, recreated the face of what Jesus might have looked like using modern forensic techniques. This portrait shows Jesus with a wide face, hazel eyes, a bushy beard and short curly hair, as well as a tanned complexion, features of a typical Middle Eastern Jew in the Galilee area of northern Israel.

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).

​​Maybe what matters most is how we see Jesus. Do we see ourselves in His face?
 
In His Name, Janet
 
1, 2: Carlton, G. 2022 Updated 2024. What Did Jesus Look Like? Here’s What the Historical Evidence Actually Says. AllThatisInteresting.com