Jesus what did he look like?

Question

There are paintings of people before Jesus I wonder why there is not one of him? The Bible does not really say what he looked like. I would believe he looked more Middle Eastern instead of looking more white as what many pictures have him looking like.

Answer 1

I can't think of very many paintings, existing from the time the Christ supposedly lived. There are certainly tomb inscriptions such as the Egyptian pharaohs would be painted but images of individuals, especially someone is low class and unimportant as Jesus, just simply wouldn't have existed.

Does it really matter what he looked like, whether he exists or not, essentially Christian believers could if they follow their religion you will certainly do good in the world. So is it really necessary, to identify with this person called Jesus as a fellow middle eastern man, or *****, or Caucasian, or Jew.

Answer 2

If there was painting on canvas or parchment at the time of Jesus, which I am sure would have been quite uncommon, the odds of it having ever survived would be slim indeed. Most painting in the ancient world was probably decorative, not figurative and done on the walls of important buildings. There are surviving images of people before Jesus that were painted on walls, but I can't think of too many that were painted to represent individuals.

Assuming you accept the story of the life of Jesus as told by the bible, you can also understand why no pictures would have survived. Jesus was on the fringes of Jewish society and would have been viewed by the vast majority of society as a dangerous kook. That would have left few people interested in painting his portrait. Add into that the fact that few people would have been capable of painting his picture and it makes sense.

The New Testament doesn't say what he looked like, because none of the writers of the gospels ever actually knew Jesus or saw him, or at least it is uncertain if any of them did. In addition, the gospels, and the bible for that matter have been changed and edited over the years, and perhaps any reference to what he looked like has been eradicated.

Traditionally, Jesus has been portrayed to reflect an ideal. The artist paints Jesus in such a way as to evoke a response from the person viewing the image. Not surprisingly, The Jesus painted by Leonardo Da Vinci was painted to resonate with viewers in 15th century Milan.

You are undoubtedly correct in your assumption that Jesus looked a lot more middle eastern than the surfer dude with the bleeding heart that I remember from Catholic school.

Answer 3

The Bible never gives any physical description of Christ. The closest thing we get to a description is in Isaiah 53:2b, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” All this tells us is that Jesus’ appearance was just like any other man's – He was ordinary-looking.
Most of the images we have of Jesus today are probably not accurate. Jesus was a Jew, so He likely had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. This is a far cry from the blond-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned Jesus in many modern pictures. One thing is clear: if it were important for us to know what He really did look like, Matthew, Peter and John, who spent three years with Him, would certainly be able to give us an accurate description, as would His own brothers, James and Jude. Yet, these New Testament writers offer no details about His physical attributes.

Answer 4

We had to do this in school.

It is very unlikely that Jesus was white because of where he lived; rather, He would be a lot more tanned. He had long hair and facial hair as well, it is said. Other than that I don't really know. I think He is usually depicted with blue eyes.

When Christianity became the dominant religion in England there were pictures and drawings of Jesus being white because people relate better to things that are similar to them - differences are scary. That's where the misconception comes from.

Answer 5

I have seen Jesus in a dream once. It was so real. God confirmed it with signs following. I will describe first and then give proof afterwards. Jesus did not look like what I expected. He was about a little shorter than me. I am a little over 5'10". Thin boned and fair. He had light brownish red frizzy hair. His beard was so thin that it was hard to see where his face ended and where the beard began. He had a small pot belly with light blue eyes. He also had big pudgy cheeks. I was having a nightmare, I believe that it was warning me what the end times will be like.I also saw ugly and quick, goat legged creatures and I knew that they were demons. Anyways, I was running until I saw Jesus. He said not a word but greeted me as His Brother with a hug. My fear was removed and I was filled with peace as I received the best hug that I ever got.

The next day as I was watching PBS. A documentary on the Shroud of Turin came on. They said that Jesus was between 5'9"-10". WOW! Then the next day, I went to pick up a ride because I was a driver for the hanicapped. While I was waiting, a person who looked just like Jesus entered the room! After a short time, I discovered that they were Jewish!! I then proceeded to lead them to accept Jesus as their Messiah. WOW!!!! At Church, that same week,, I discovered that the Hebrew translation for demon is goat legged!!!!!! I will never forget and I look forward to the day when I will actually meet Jesus face to face because I have accepted Him as my Savior and my Master.

Answer 6

Like a normal middle eastern jew. The people who paint him as a white person, I believe the reason is, it would make it easier for people to believe in him and being a culture difference, give him the same color as everyone else.(To fit in with their beliefs)

Answer 7

The paintings of Jesus that we all know were painted over a thousand years after his execution. The paintings are right out of the imaginations of the Dutch and Italian painters.
No one who lived at the time of Jesus ever even described him. We have no idea at all of whether he was a tall skinny beanpole, or a short rolly-polly. Did he have thick black hair, or was he bald ? Nobody knows. Did he have a big protruding chin, or no chin at all ? Nobody knows.

Answer 8

Some people were so picky that they couldn't get a famous guy to look like them. But eh, Jesus was from the Mid East.

Answer 9

I would think he had a dark complexion and a dark tan with as much as he was exposed to the outdoors.We think the drawings of him over the years have changed somewhat and eventually were made to fit into the norm for society.

Answer 10

I didnt know Jesus took pictures?