Christian Message Boards: The "look" of Jesus

This is topic The "look" of Jesus in forum General Discussion at Christian Message Boards.

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Posted by Chris (Member # 331) on :

Often, Jesus is potrayed as a somewhat skinny young man with long hair and beard, or some variation thereof.
However, it's important to note that this common picture of Christ did not pop up until about the 4th Century, when Christianity became legal in Rome and the beginnings of the Catholic church occurred. The image of Jesus we have today is no more valid than the image of Satan we have-and could be misleading. Maybe that's why we should heed the second commandment when it comes to religious imagery, even those of our religion. As for the Shroud Of Turin, I think it's obvious it's a fake-Jesus was not put in a shroud, he was put in a set of wrappings. The only true description of Jesus's appearence is in Revelation, however then it appears he's in some kind of transfigured/transformed state.
So what did Jesus really look like? Well, having looked into the subject, we should take the following into consideration:

1-He was Jewish. The common picture of Jesus usually shows a person with Gentile bone structure. However, the Jewish skull is often wider than that of many other cultures, so Jesus probably had a more squarish head.

2-Hair. I believe in one of the Epistles it's stated that it's shameful for men to have long hair. Hence Jesus probably had the traditional Jewish hairstyle. It's possible he still had a beard, althogh this is hard to tell.

3-Muscles-Being a Carpenter in those days-something Jesus was before he began his ministry-required a lot more work than it does today. Basically you had to be a lumberjack *and* a carpenter. So Jesus probably was not thin, and perhaps rather well built.

Posted by Jessie Nicole (Member # 304) on :

Funny, I never thought of Jesus being "built" [Big Grin]

I think he had zits though. I mean, if he went through everything we do, then he's have to have zits... [Laugh]

Posted by Waterdog (Member # 24) on :

Michaelangelo was commissioned by the RCC to paint a picture of Jesus. Not knowing what Jesus looked like (as no one does), Michaelangelo used the most convenient model he could find, his brother-in-law. That's why all the traditional pictures of "Jesus" show him with long brown hair, a beard, and a European face. So, all those people with pictures of "Jesus" on their walls (like my grandparents) actually have a picture of Michaelangelo's brother-in-law on their walls.

Posted by Chris (Member # 331) on :

Actually, I think the look dated back a while before Michealangelo.

Here's hoping Ubb code works here...

These come from Faithcentral.com.
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An early rendering of Christ bringing Lazarus back to life, made in the 200s or so.

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A mosaic. Notice the lack of any beard.

web page Another beardless Christ.

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One of the early 'bearded' Christs. Around 500 AD.

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Another beardless Christ from around the same era.

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Another beardless version.

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The more traditional version comes into play here, around 500 AD, showing a rather thin, bearded man.

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A Celtic cross of Jesus.

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A rather bizzare picture of Jesus getting arrested.

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"Ruler of all". This shows a rather stern-looking Christ. This was around the beginning of the second millenium AD.

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A rennaisance potrait, pretty much setting the visual standard for modern views of Christ. Believe it or not, the guy with the long beard on the right is suppossed to be Pilate.

Posted by helpforhomeschoolers (Member # 15) on :

They Chris:

This is a cool post. I really liked the one with his foot on the head of the serpant, and the ruler of all one.

By the way to post a link;
1. place your cursor where you want the link to appear,

2. then click on the URL button below the frame you are typing in.

3.Paste your link's url there and click ok.

4.Then it will prompt you for the test you want to appear or you can just leave it to say web page like I did here with your links.

Wa Lah your links are clickable and the open in another frame.

Posted by Thunderz7 (Member # 31) on :

We can at least settle the beard question.
Prophesied by Isaiah, of the Messiah,
Is.50:6-"I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out my beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting."
Its written, so its true. At least at the end of this earthly walk, Jesus had a beard.

Long hair is relative to culture and time.
Long could mean anything more than a flat top to one, and more than shoulder length to another.
Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness, but, He was hardly traditional.

Having worked in construction for many years, I can also point out that carpentors come in all sizes, short, tall, fat, thin, and every combination.( I also know some rail thin pulp-wooders).

So what do we know?
Heb.11:6-"without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

may your faith be rewarded,
may you look upon His face,
may you find the answers you seek,
in Jesus
T7

Posted by murray savage (Member # 409) on :

We souldn't dwell on what Jesus looks like for it matters not, for the flesh was only a matter of God coming to earth. Since we as humans can not look onto the glory of God it was the only way for him to bring us to salvation. Jesus is the beginning and the end. We must dwell on what Jesus stood for and not trivial things as what He looked like. For when He returns we will all know and all will bow down before Him