Difficult Questions: What Did Jesus Look Like?

From time to time, we dig into Scripture and seek answers to difficult questions from the Bible. Today, we are asking the question: “What did Jesus look like?” Many people have asked this question through the centuries, but the Scriptures themselves are not very descriptive about Jesus’ physical appearance during His time on earth. There are vague references, such as Isaiah 53:2.

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. Isaiah 53:2 (NKJV)

The Amplified Bible makes this verse a bit clearer.

For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant), And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majestic splendor That we would look at Him, Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him. Isaiah 53:2 (Amplified Bible AMP)

In other words, Jesus was not especially handsome or outstanding in His physical appearance. He was average in His looks. You might say, He was like a typical Jewish male in His appearance. He dressed as was the Jewish custom of the day and had the skin tone and other traits of an Israelite. Anyone who portrays Jesus as a white person or as a black person is not showing Jesus accurately. He was Jewish and would have had an olive complexion like His fellow Jews. His features were not outstanding according to Isaiah. We know he had a beard like other adult males of Jewish descent because the Bible speaks of His beard being plucked out when He was tried, beaten, and crucified. According to Isaiah, Jesus was just a normal, adult, Jewish man in appearance. In other words, if we were looking only at outward characteristics, Jesus would have blended into the crowd.

Let’s consider why God did not give Jesus an especially handsome face or remarkably muscular physique.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 (NKJV)

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

God is Spirit and relates to us Spirit-to-spirit. He does not consider outer looks, but the inner man. I believe He wanted people to follow Jesus not because He looked like some devastatingly handsome man or because He had huge muscles and broad shoulders. Rather, He wanted people to be drawn to Jesus because of the love and goodness of God that He demonstrated. The ministry of Jesus was pointing people to the Father, not astounding people with His handsome looks or incredible strength. Extreme physical ability or attractiveness could have actually been a distraction from the message Jesus preached. Jesus came as a servant, not as a rock star.

Jesus did not come as a military leader to lead Israel into rebellion against their Roman oppressors, although, at the time, some thought He did. Instead, He brought a spiritual freedom. His was a spiritual mission. He came to liberate mankind from a bondage much worse than bondage to Roman occupiers. He came to bring deliverance from death, hell, and the grave. He freed us from sin and the curse. He rescued us from the tyrannical rule of satan. He did not need to impress people with His physical appearance or His fighting ability because He was not fighting a war in the flesh, but in the spirit.

While it is nice to have pictures depicting Jesus as some imagined Him to look, the most important thing is that we see Him through the things the Word tells us about Him. We can see Him as compassionate, kind, and loving. We can see him as uncompromising and unwavering against the false piety of the religious leaders. We can see Him as the Revealer of Truth, the Worker of Miracles, and the Saver of souls. We can relate to Him heart-to-heart, with our spirits being touched by His. Yes, we are all somewhat curious about how Jesus looked when He walked this earth, but His physical looks are secondary to Who He really is as the Lord of Love, Son of God, King of kings, Creator of all things, and Savior of mankind.