Was Jesus Handsome?

[Bro. Ruben]

What I only knew was that He’s a carpenter (am I right?); climates here in the Middle East are terribly harsh especially during summer, so having such a job Jesus might be bit dark in complexion, also maybe long haired and bearded.

I’m sure He’s muscled because He won’t be able to carry the cross that long if He was not and having been beaten, scourged and punished prior to the ascent at Calvary.

But being handsome is a different matter . For me, I guess He’s really handsome because people give high regard to beautiful people; surely He needs an appealing look for His public ministry.

Sounds comical but how can one imagine of Peter and the other disciples calling Him “Lord” if Jesus looks repulsive and hideous? Let’s accept it, God looks at the heart but man on the outside.

My,… curiosity! [img]graemlins/saint.gif[/img]

[music4Him]

Seems that I read somewhere that he wasn't comely to look upon and that he looked like an ordanrary man. I sometimes believe you can be not so beautiful, but if you carry yourself right then people are going to notice you. Just as they did Jesus.

[Ulsterman]

In an article by Dr. Orman L. Norwood, of International Board of Jewish Missions, I read;

During the ministry of Jesus, the following description was sent by the President of Judea, Publius Lentulus, to the senate of Rome. This quote is from an ancient Roman manuscript:

“There lives a man of singular character whose name is Jesus Christ, in Judea. The barbarians esteem him as a prophet, but his own followers adore him as the immediate offspring of the immortal God. He is endowed with such unparalleled virtue as to call the dead from their graves, and to heal every kind of disease with a word or touch. This person is tall and elegantly shaped; his aspect is amiable and reverent; his hair flows into those beautiful shades which no united colour can match, falling into graceful curves below his ears, agreeable couching upon his shoulders, and every parting on his head like the head of a Nazarite.

His forehead is smooth and large. His cheeks without either spot, save that of a lovely red; his nose is smooth and formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard is thick and of a colour suitable to the hair of his head, reaching a little below the chin, and parted in the middle like a fork. He rebukes with majesty, commands with mildness and invites with the most tender and persuasive language; His whole address, in deed or word, being elegantly graceful and characteristic of so exalted a being.

No man has ever seen him laugh, but many have seen him weep, and so persuasive are his tears that the multitude cannot withhold theirs from joining in sympathy with his. He is very temperate, modest and wise, and in short, whatever this phenomenon may turn out in the end, he seems at present from his excellent bearing and divine perfection, in every way surpassing the children of men.”

He is "altogether lovely." (Song of Sol 5:16).

[rbell]

Most scholars agree...the letter is not authentic. I'll quote just one expert...there are many others...

This "letter" originated in medieval times--probably around the 13th century. One historian, Edgar Goodspeed, writes:

I'll quote his evaluation of the description from p.91 of his book:

"The 'Letter of Lentulus' is evidently a fiction, designed to give currency to the description contained in the printers' manuals about the personal appearance of Jesus. The varying accounts of its provenance are simply devices to explain its survival from antiquity until today. It is probably as old as the thirteenth century; but it was unknown to Christian antiquity, and has no claims to serious attention as throwing any light upon the personal appearance of Jesus."


Besides, I think the letter makes a ridiculous statement: "No man has ever seen him laugh."

Granted, Jesus had burdens we'll never understand, but I bet he enjoyed more belly laughs than most of us! I mean, he had the disciples, didn't he?

FWIW, it is rather funny to see the blue-eyed, blonde-haired version of Jesus...

[rsr]

The letter from Publius Lentulus is a pious fraud, perhaps written to legitimize medieval depictions of Christ, although one expert claimed to have been able to trace it back to third century.

[PastorSBC1303]

Was Jesus Handsome?

What difference does it make?

[Gold Dragon]

These messianic verses in Isaiah are often quoted as indications of Jesus' physical appearance.

NASB: Isaiah 53:2-3


For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

And yet, the crowds flocked to him in the gospels.

[donnA]

I was going to post Golddragon's verses then saw he already had. To me, these verse say he was probably not a physically attractive man, nothing about his face would draw anyone to Him. Otherwise they could say thats why people followed Him, listened to Him, believed what He said, I mean we know and understand this concept quite well, they use it to sell us stuff in advertising all the time. Nope, there couldn't be anything about His physical appearance to draw people, there had to be that unexplainable (unless you know the story like we do today) something about Him, something attributed only to God's presence and work in man.

[Athanasian Creed]

1 Corinthians 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

For this very reason i seriously doubt Jesus had long hair. And, since God emphasized the fact that He looks on the inside not the outside, i'm sure Jesus, while certainly not ugly, was not 'model material'!

Jesus 'beauty' came from His magnetic personality and from the words which He spoke -

John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

I find to get a greater understanding of the magnitude of Person Jesus was is to read of His interaction with evil spirits who KNEW without a doubt who He was, though veiled in flesh in His voluntary state of condescension and humility -

Mark 5:6-7 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

Thank God that He is benevolent and merciful!


Ray [img]graemlins/wave.gif[/img]

[Johnv]

Originally posted by Bro. Ruben:
What I only knew was that He’s a carpenter (am I right?); climates here in the Middle East are terribly harsh especially during summer, so having such a job Jesus might be bit dark in complexion, also maybe long haired and bearded.

The word "carpenter" in the Greek typically referres to stone carpentry, or, as we would refer today, a stone cutter. We think of Jesus as a carpenter as though he would have been a Bob Vila type woodworker. But 1st century capenters dealt with stone work. So that idea lends credence to the idea that Jesus would have had a somewhat muscular build.

As for complexion, Jews of that region had a complexion similar to Arabs. Dark, but not black. As for the beard and long hair, that was the custom for men in those days (though they didn't consider their hair to be long).

I’m sure He’s muscled because He won’t be able to carry the cross that long if He was not and having been beaten, scourged and punished prior to the ascent at Calvary.

It was common practice for cricifixion victims to carry their own beams, regardless of their stature. So the fact that he carried his cross is not difinitive to his stature. Now, in Jesus' case, he likely was beaten along the way, again, as was common practice. But, notice that he fell numerous times, and they had to get a stanger out of the crowd to carry the cross for him. Again, it's not difinitive either way.

But being handsome is a different matter .

That's something we simply don't know. We know that Jesus had the ability to blend into a crowd and disappear. That might suggest that Jesus wasn't noticeably ugly, but also not handsome to the point where he drew attention to himself. Other than that, it's really speculation.

surely He needs an appealing look for His public ministry.

Again, not difinitive. In fact, in at least one place, he has to shout "Listen!!" to get the attention of the crowd, suggesting that people weren't listening to him.

Sounds comical but how can one imagine of Peter and the other disciples calling Him “Lord” if Jesus looks repulsive and hideous?

They actually called him "master" (translated "Lord"). But they did so because they loved him, and they were his friend. I certainly hope that my own friends do not esteem me based on my looks, or I wouldn't have a prayer. My wife thinks I'm very good looking, but she's biased.

Let’s accept it, God looks at the heart but man on the outside.

I think stangers look at the outside, but friends look at the inside. Hey, just look at John Hagee, Alan Greenspan, and Bill Gates. Not exactly the best looking folks, yet people listen to them.